Final Preparations for the National Show

It’s been a busy week collecting moss and carrying out the final preparation of my trees for the Scottish National Bonsai Show tomorrow. Fortunately the weather has been kind and we are enjoying sunshine and warm temperatures at the moment.

Here are some pictures I took this morning of the trees and accents I will be taking with me.

Chuhin Japanese Larch

Shohin trident maple in a pot by Eimei

Shohin Deshojo maple in a yellow Shibakatsu pot

Cotoneaster in a pot by Eimei

Zelkova Serrata in a pot by Ikkou Watanabe

Hinoki Cyprus in a pot by Hokido

2 Pinus Parviflora in Bigei pots

Sedum Spathufolium Capa Blanca in a pot by Junsun Yamamoto

Saxifrage in a Suteki accent pot by Simon Haddon

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The Re-potting Continues

At our midweek get together, Gerry and I continued with the re-potting and maintenance work that we started last week.

First up, were a few of Gerry’s shohin trees. Some of these were discussed in an earlier post, this is how they look at the moment after a re-pot.

This malus was removed from its’ plastic training pot and placed into a nice blue ceramic one. The white flowers in summer will work well with this pot.

This trident over rock was re-potted into a sky blue ceramic rectangular pot.

This seka hinoki needed a change in the planting angle and a slightly deeper pot. The pot we used is not ideal but it has the correct dimensions and depth.

And to finish today I thought I would share a picture of another recent acquisition. It’s a viewing stone that I found on a local beach last week. I am always on the look out for these when I go to the beach but I rarely find anything that I would want to take home.

 

Midweek Getogether with Gerry

My good friend Gerry paid me a visit today to catch up on the local bonsai news and to see how my trees have been progressing in the early spring sunshine. Gerry and I live about 75 miles apart and the climate in both our backyards is quite different. I have had a little more sun recently so my trees are slightly ahead of his.

Here are a few trees that had our attention today.

One of my shohin hawthorns. This tree was re-potted last year so it only required some weeding, moss removal and refreshment of the top layer of soil.

This kiyohime maple was also re-potted last year so only required a clean up today.

Gerry brought along a small trident over rock and a seka hinoki for discussion. The trident has some nice ramification already but the new growth in the lower right branch needs to be developed outward to accentuate the movement in that direction. I think he’s also planning to re-pot it next week.

This little hinoki definitely needs a change in planting angle this year.

This is one possibility that we considered. It might also benefit from a slightly deeper pot.

Gerry also brought me news that Wattston Bonsai will be receiving their new stock from Japan on Friday. I will certainly have to make a trip up there this weekend.

Some of My Evergreen Shohin Trees

Here is a recent picture of some of my evergreen shohin trees. Now that the days are getting longer and a little warmer it wont be long before they awake from their winter rest. Remarkably, the cotoneaster  at the top right hasn’t lost a single leave or berry this winter.

All Ready for Bonsai Europa

As I set off on the journey south to Bury, here’s a preview of the trees I will be contributing to the Lanarkshire Bonsai  Club display at Bonsai Europa this weekend.

Juniper over rock in a Chinese pot

Dwarf Hinoki in a pot by Hokido

Trident maple in autumn colour ( I just hope the leaves don’t drop off)

Cotoneaster in a red pot by Eimei

Zelkova in a pot by Ikkou

Lanarkshire Bonsai Club Meeting 6/9/2015

Yesterday in glorious late season sunshine, I attended the monthly meeting of the Lanarkshire Bonsai CLub at Wattston Bonsai. It was very well attended  as always, and the members were taking care of seasonal work on a variety of species or catching up on the latest news in the bonsai world. Here are some pictures from the day.

Our host, Dougie, advising the ladies on the future possibilities for their tree.

Gerry selecting a new pot for his sekka hinoki.

Stuart brought along these excellent display stands that he fabricated from steel. Excellent work Stuart, I am sure there will be a lot of interest in these.

Here are a few small trees that Maurice was working on.

Cork barked elm started this year from an air layer.

Clump style cork barked elm.

Mame cotoneaster.

Callicarpa Japonica.

Trident maple.

Mame elm.

 

Getting Ready For The Show Part 2

Here are some more pictures of the other trees that I will be taking to the Scottish Bonsai Show in Troon this Sunday.

Japanese Black Pine in a new pot by Bigei.

Dwarf Hinoki Cyprus in a pot by Hokido

Zelkova Serrata in a pot by Watanabe Ikkou

Another Zelkova Serrata in a new pot by Walsall Ceramics

The first three will be in our club’s display and the last one will be entered in the separate shohin competition.

What’s Happened to the Weather ?

The Spring re-potting of my deciduous trees got off to a good start last week but quickly came to a halt as the weather changed for the worse. My trees seem very confused.

Some, like this acer and my 2 flowering cherries have valiantly pushed onward with great vigour.

Others, like my pomegranate and zelkovas seem to have gone into retreat and are stubbornly refusing to push out new growth until the weather warms up.

The worst affected is this kiyohime maple, which was covered in small buds some of which have died back with the recent cold nights. I had hoped to have re-potted this by now but I’ll now have to wait until its looking a bit stronger.

In contrast, my evergreens are getting greener every day with the increasing daylight.

I just wish it was a little warmer.