Prunus mahaleb_Cascade_Midway

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Mahaleb cherries are hardworking trees.  At least the ones around my place.  These pictures have been taken in mid Nov and as you can see - bright green leaves, eagerly absorbing sunrays to fill the tank with sugars...
It applies to all my mahalebs but it is most visible on trees that were collected relatively recently.  Like the one featured below.  Collected in spring 2018 from the very hostile place.  Because of the scarce water supply the tree is taking any opportunity to grow if there is some water around.   Sometimes loosing its leaves in the summer and starting new ones later on if there is more rain.  Then working till the first hard frost.  And then the leaves fall down without changing color.
  It seems though that after a few years in the garden these trees  would get to more standard life pattern - showing some yellow autumn colors.   Is something like that possible in such short time?  Maybe interesting but not important, anyway.

OK, let's leave the tree to work and focus on some activities I like to do in the autumn.

November is a great time for doing some easy going work on my trees and making a lot of pics.
Why November?   As you know, during the hot summer we are all quite busy with watering. Watering. Watering and Watering.  Not a big surprise that by the end of summer I am quite fed up with that.  September - finally well deserved rest.  Well, at least if there is some rain to do the job on my behalf.   In October I feel that perhaps I should do some bonsai. But at that time it is more just a feeling than a need.  It really starts in November.  As most of the trees are leafless I can do some light pruning, leaving the shoots a bit longer.  They will be shortened to the right spot in the early spring.
It is a double work,  but doing the first part in the autumn - the tree doesn't waste too much energy on the development of buds on long shoots.  And at the same time there is more light getting inside the tree helping inner buds to develop.

The second most important and interesting job for me is the planning.  Taking pics of some of my trees and thinkíng of their next development.  Nice activity for the long winter evenings...

Prunus mahaleb_Cascade_Midway

Height: 45 cm
Width: 25
Collected: Spring 2018

Planned style: Strange cascade



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Nicely aging bark
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Right angles?




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Main trunk line &  Natural shari 


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Reversed taper

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Even worse - problematic roots 


Lets see what we can do with it. 

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