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Prunus mahaleb_Small cascade

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  Prunus mahaleb Current height:  8 cm Width:  30 cm  with the target 26-27 cm Tree has been collected in 2019 with the plan to make a shohin sized cascade.    Due to the damage of the some important roots during its collection,  the tree has decided to  quit some live veins on its trunk resulting in a massive deadwood.    Air layered in spring 2020 and separated in Sept of that year. Spring 2021.   The inclination of the tree has been moved even further to the  left.  That made a full cascade BUT I did not like it.  It looks too long due to the separation between the trunk and the foliage mass.   IN order to bring the foliage closer to the trunk,  I had to bend the top of the trunk back to the right quite severely.   Step by step in the course of two years we get it in more or less vertical position.  And at the same time span we have used one of the lower branches to create the cascade or maybe just a semi cascade.  We will see... The current crown is still visibly separated from the

Prunus spinosa

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 Prunus spinosa_Blackthorn is one of the most attractive trees that can be used for bonsai.   Abundant white buds that look like a pearl develop in full blossoms early in March.   Leaves come a bit later.  And as they are quite small they doesn't "spoil" the elegance of the tree.  The fruit is green  at the beginning but later on it develops its typical dark blue colour.   And again  the size of the fruit is quite small so it is almost perfect fit to the tree.    

Prunus mahaleb_Airlayered

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  Stupid or Greedy?   Well, why not both... For a good number of years I am planning to reduce the number of my trees.   And yes, some of them have gone, just to be fair with me.   Few of them left for free to my brothers in arms - bonsai enthusiasts and some of them via the European bonsai auction to bargain hunters. Sounds good, doesn't it? But at the same time I have started few projects ( seedlings cutting_Pinus nigra, Taxus cuspidata and Pinus parviflora_Zuisho cuttings, bought some interesting varieties of satsuki...   So at the end there is more leaves/needles than before.   And  NOT enough of that - I was about to give away a little mahaleb that was a honorable member of the Downsize club.  On the D day I have taken it from the shelf with the plan to let it go to some new place with more attentive hands.    I know this is the moment I should close my eyes and to armour my heart...  What do you think?   Neither of that was the case.   I have started to look on the tree from

Wars of the blossoms

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 Cold.    This is the first thing that would cross my mind talking about this Spring.   It means  some extra portion of physical activity in the evening and then in the next morning to move some trees into and out of the shelter.  But thats OK.  Physical activity is good for our health so no reason to complain.  And to look on it even from a brighter side - the cold spell has extended the Hanami - flower viewing quite significantly.   Flowering quice Blackthorn

Prunus spinosa_Kifu

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Kifu sized blackthorns_26 cm.       

Chaenomeles speciosa/Japonica v. Cido _Japanese quince

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 A single trunk  specimen with a raised root that is fused with the main trunk well above the current soil level.   That  indicates that originally  most of the current trunk has been burried under the soil.   The tree is well over 30 years old - it has been planted as a 2-3 years seedling at the side of the D4 highway in central Bohemia.   Lot of refinement ahead but that is a joy with all these blossoms seasoning the journey in late winter/early spring.   

Larix decidua_a blooming starter

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  You never know.      Just imagine.  You  have a very old larch.  Each autumn you eargerly check the buds to see if there is any that could possibly develop into the blossom.   And year after year there is NO SINGLE ONE. Then you pass by a neglected small something that is much closer to a seedling than to a reasonably sized tree.   Gosh.  You can't believe your eyes.  The little blooming bastard is in bloom... So it is now proudly sitting on a prime position next to a sizeable mahaleb.   Let it enjoy a few moments of glory. Note: This small larch was collected just few years ago just like 2-3 years old seedling.  Years from collection 3-4 ?   How old it could be then?   Definitely less than 10 years. Most of the scientific papers would quote the age of 15 as a point when larches reach their sexual maturity.   See below one of them.  Jan Matras1 and Luc E. Pâques2  1 Forest Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland 2 INRA, Research Unit AGPF, Olivet Cedex France Larix decidua Larch tr