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Showing posts from March, 2021

Pyrus pyraster_European wild pear

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 Pears are  one of the best trees for bonsai in temperate zones.   And for me the P. pyraster ( European wild pear ) is really on the top.   Cracked bark, tiny fruit and small leaves with spectacular colours in the autumn.   That really makes them hard to match.   Yes, Prunus mahaleb or blackthorns  are great. Aged bark,  blossoms, tiny fruits - in all these characteristics they are similar.  But when it comes to the autumn color festivity - no match for pears.   Unfortunately, there are not many of them on the benches or even shows.   Is it because of the fear of the pear rust ( Gymnosporangium sabinae ) killing  pampered junipers ?  Difficulty to find /collect one?    The rust might be a problem for sure.   But I do not agree with the basic recommendation you may find - if you grow junipers do not grow pears ( and vice versa ).   OK, it may sound good, but what about trees grown by your neigbours?  The spores may spread hundred of meters from their place of origin by wind or insects.

Shohin_Taxus baccata_ROR in development

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   This little yew has been collected from a garden colony  in 2017.   It was clear that there is reasonable potential for a small cascade.   With a bonus  challenge presented by a straight trunk and one of the root.     In early spring 2019 I have managed to bend the trunk.  The yew has struggled a bit but being a tough guy it managed to make it.    9th March 2021    Earlier this morning I have taken the tree into the shop together with few stones collected in past few years with ROR in mind. And this is the result.   It would be much easier to have 4 hands rather than just two  but somehow I have managed to fix it.   The fit is not 100% but taking into account the size of the tree and the stiffness of the wood of yew - I can live with it.     As a next step I will put around the stone a plastic mesh to create a kind of container that should work as a incubator for the growth of new roots. I do not present the Before x After pictures very often.  And I will continue doing so for reaso

A few shohin tables made this year...

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all but one are copies of tables designed by guys that are  on another level.    Long way to go but fun. Copying someone else is not a big fun in a long term rather  a way to hell but helps me to understand the production steps.