Czech Yamadori

It would make more sense to solely focus on the ramification as the Chinese flowering quince  Ch. speciosa is known for its reluctance to ramify.   But I cannot resist to keep the blossoms buds on the tree.   At least for this year.    To deal with this clash_ramification x blossom_ I have three blossoming quinces in pots  so maybe I will keep only one to bloom next year.      

 

 ... repotted this spring into new pot from Martin Ašenbrenner.   A bit burned but that is something that may happen in wood fired kiln.    And yes, the pot is a bit oversized in length and height but it was still the best fit from those readily available.  I have something like another 2-3 years to get some more pots to find the right one.   As " my portfolio " of shohin is growing  nicely I need to shop for more pots anyway.     

 The spring is about the joy of new life.  Blossoms on our trees are  cherries on a cake of  the new season.    Blossoms on larches are something special you do not take for granted.   They may come every single year on some trees while on some others it is a kind of special treat if they appear.    Female blossoms & a cone from the last year.  No male blossoms there yet.

There were few days with temps well over 22°C.   Nice sunny spring days.   The weather fcast for next fortnight has looked quite nice - so I could not resist to take trees from their winter shelter and place them on the shelves.   With the Easterns on their way the temperatures went down.   We may get some snow again and temps may go slightly to the red zone.  No major problem for most of my plants. Nevertheless I will move some of them to the non frost area anyway.  Freshly repotted shohins etc.  Physical activity is supposed to extend your life so I do not complain... 2nd April From this angle the lower part looks like a typical masculine feature.  The picture below is from the 24th March 2020.    

 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.

   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