Pomegranates

I managed to sucessfully train 5 of 7 seedlings I started out with in 2014 into what might become bonsai in some years time. They were repotted twice and were just cut back each autumn roughly and branches or leaders were selected in spring and then let grow freely. Most will be trained to be shohin sized trees or just slightly bigger so I will have to do a harder selection on the roots and the trunkline/branches next spring.

Acer buergerianum

This was the first tree I aquired and its development was therefore quite the opposite of what I would refer to as straightforward. It was wired by me when I bought it, my first wiring I ever did, and almost died a year later when I was still keeping my trees in a super well draining substrate and on the hot, south-faceing balcony. It surprisingly survived these summer days, contrary to some other of my first trees, and I decided to just dig it in the ground to let it recover. It was then field grown for  about 5 years and I just decided to create a rock planting 3 years ago because the shape of the roots was weird already because I never paid too much attention to it. Yes, the stone I took is not particularly interesting for a root-over-rock style and the attachment of the roots is far from perfect. But I am delighted that I managed to create something with a somewhat hopeful future from what was destined to be a failure.

Now Im focusing on creating this inverse taper and let some sacrifying branches grow stongly during the next growing seasons. The roots will also be exposed gradually and I am working on creating a nice, flat rootball. This year was the first after the long time in the field and I think it will make big progress next year.

Cotoneaster update

The shoots were cut back throughout the growing season and some decisions were made regarding the branch structure and the arrangement of the main trunks. It resembles a multitrunk tree and the trunks grow from one common base that is quite thick under the soil. Im sure this tree will be interesting and unconventional espacially when thinking of the display with either the white flowers or the red berries.

Crataegus

This hawthorn was bought 2014 and is from Italy. The main work I did so far was to reduce a big branch or possibly subtrunk that didnt fit for how I saw the future of the design. I reduced and cut back the branches and repotted it twice. The roots require more attention as there is a fat root while on the other side of the trunk the roots are think and sparse.

Weigelia

This is a fun project that started 3 and a half years ago when I took a walk in the nearby forest and found 2 big weigelias that were disposed there. It was in the middle of summer and they were dry with the roots exposed and in bad condition. Also the stems of the stumps were full of a  fungus that grows on dead wook. I decided fast that I have to give them a chance and got the biggest bag I could find and carried them home seperately and immediately potted them up. One of them was put in the ground one year later while the other one stayed in his pot, one time repotted so far, which is this one.

While repotting, I removed big parts of dead roots and stumps from the base of the tree that will allow me to reduce the size of the next pot significantly. So far the branches were allowed to grow freely during the growing seasons and were cut back in spring each year. The long stumps were reduced but I will create a really compact, clump style tree using the branch structure that has started to develop. So it will be quite a task to work on reducing the stumps and getting rid of the rotten wood at the base of the tree but I feel that it can have a bright future.

Chinese Elm update

A new leader was chosen to grow this year which was allowed to grow freely till late summer. I feel that I could improve or establish the trunkline quite well so far and I am focusing on styling the primary branches. Some branches got thick already and I will do some selection next spring when I have to make some decisions about the main branches espacially at the top of the tree. Some of the branches are also not tapered enough for my taste or are too straight which asks for some more bending or cutback. Im pleased with the wound healing that took place so far.

Prunus mahaleb update

This tree was allowed to grow through the last 2 years with only moderate cutback as I want the branches to thicken more. I repotted it this spring into the same container and it flowered nicely in spring. I will give the branches a stronger trim this spring to get better ramification and think about working on the big wounds and refining the deadwood.

Prunus mume repot and trimming

I repotted the japanese plum this spring and cut it back just moderately. To be honest, despite reading articles on the species and how to go about pruning them, I dont feel comfortable yet to give it a real hard pruning that is certainly needs. It is in flower at the moment (mid december) and I am thinking hard how to go on with this one...

Bonsai work table

Last year I decided to build a bonsai table that would allow me to both rotate and tilt the trees in one plane while working on them. Inspired by some tutorials how to make them yourself which you can find online and some commercially available ones I came up with a quite simple version. I decided to choose a more durable wood for the top layer of the table so it can get wet even though I would not advise to keep it outside in rainy weather as its lifetime will suffer for sure. The bolts can be changed depending on whether I want to fit a round/oval or rectangular/square pot or container on it while tilting the table. It can be adjusted to a broad variety heights due to the block that allows 3 different options. I bought a relatively cheap turning wheel made from plastic off amazon, but it should be strong enough for all sizes of trees im planning to put on the table.

Prunus Mahaleb Update

Chinese elm Update