Czech Yamadori

  It is quite unusual  to see a blackthorn in such nice fall dress   (at least for me... )

 There are a lot of species that change their dress into something more fancy to celebrate the fall fiesta. Sugar maples are first to come to my mind ( even though it is based solely on the pics presented on different media ).   Pseudocydonia sinensis was another tree that falls into this group I thought.   Well, until I bought one  and eagerly waited for the fall full of expectation  to see how its dark green foliage turns in vibrant shades of yellow, orange and red.  Bad luck.  Clearly it may happen but it depends on the right cocktail of  sun, temperatures and sugar contents.   Anything else?  Well yes, reasonable water/nutrients  supply helping tree to be in a good shape to start with.   No pests for sure. In the region I live there are trees that produce great autumn colours too.   Burning-bush ( Euonymus ), some species of Pyrus or Sorbus, Ginkgo, Cornus and for sure some more if only I can r...

31.12.2003 Last day of 2003  and I am in a woodland looking for yamadori on a loamy slope of Central Bohemia.  Location facing south with scarce supply of water. Place where you can see dwarfed oaks, common junipers, and dogwoods.  I was searching through an undergrowth when I spotted a tree partially buried with fallen leaves and branchlets, but the visible part has some interesting deadwood. And if you are a yamadori hunter, you know what it means. The heartbeat rate goes up,  you go down on your knees, and your fingers start cleaning the area with eager expectation of what is under the cover.  Sometimes a disappointment or a hesitation and sometimes a sheer pleasure... 2015 2018 2025 Height 55 cm Pot: China

In the early years of my bonsai passion I have spent most of my weekends somewhere in woodlands  criss crossing selected areas with the hope to find the TREE of my life.  Most of the time I came back  empty handed just with a hope for the next days.   But HAPPY anyway.        The main challenge for me at that time was not about finding a tree but to select the one worth the collection in terms of the quality and potential success rate of collection.   Soon I have realised that leaving that only  on my heart is not the best way to follow.   Suppressing the burning desire to DIG for a while leaving it for next day, week, month or even year(s) proved it is the way forward for me. This was especially true for such special trees such as blackthorns as it is very rare to find  a tree with a character you look for.   You want it so desperately that you are tempted to lower the bar pretty low. Just have a ...

  Pears and cherries are trees of my childhood.    At my Grandparents there used to be an very old pear with small fruit.   Was it a P. pyraster?   Don't know.   I only remember the  starlings singing in the morning  somewhere inside the crown near their nesting box...     There are so many things we would like to know but the people who could help you with that left this side of river many years ago... A bit of the history of this tree: Air layered back in 2019 from a donor tree.   Spring 2025 Height: 20 cm Pot: Jakub Malcharek.       The colour of this growing pot reminds me the area where I search for my mahaleb or pears.   Dry slopes with scattered reddish rocks and tiny vegetation flowering in the spring.    As a display pot I will select probably slightly more masculine, smaller and darker pot.    One day perhaps 

 Which one is better?