Czech Yamadori

If the dogs look like their owners does this also apply to our trees?    The logic is pretty much the same, isn't it.    We tend to select things that are somehow "compatible" with   perception of ourselves.  Prunus mahaleb_Double          If the above statement holds then I am affraid my problem is much bigger than originally thought...    

Another year spent on building the surface roots.  So far all the efforts were solely based on the usage of a sphagnum moss.  For the next years to come I will cover the soil with "standard"  moss while adding more acadama to the roots encircling the rock.  I feel that the first root from the top looks a bit strange.  Time to cut it off?  Happy for your thoughts. Happy with this deadwood.  Nice focal point. The roots shouts: " GO! Catch more sunrays, we hold you fast".   So it means a cascading trunk despite the horizontal line of it.  See the second and third pics.  I feel the third one is about right.   And if so I have another problem to find a suitable pot.  I do not like the crescent bonsai pot that one should "normally" use.   I guess I would need to combine something different to please my eyes. Despite the fact I do like semi or full cascades similar to this one I have to admit they a bit of a nuisance o...

 Most of my mahalebs are the last to drop their leaves.  Right now ie on the 30th of November there are still four of them with no signs of  changing color or being  damaged by frost ( the lowest temps so far was only -3°C,  27°F ).   While the other species in the garden have started  the colour festivity around early Nov the majority of mahalebs were in the status - what is the fuss about?   With the arrival of first frosty nights some of them have started to change their colour from green to something yellowish but definitely nothing spectacular.   Some others have simply drop their green leaves.  And the last group is still in full swing.  I can hear their whisper : carbs, carbs, carbs.   Height: 19 cm   The target height should be in the range of 23-26 cm.  

 

 This little-leaved linden is not very keen to callus open wound left after size reduction/horticulture cuts.  It doesn't look so bad at the first picture,  but if you look at the second one-you will understand. In the course of last 5-7 years I  have not seen any reasonable attempt to form a callus there.   So inevitably the time to pick my milling machines is getting closer.   As a last attempt I had made an approach graft earlier this spring - see the blueish circle at the second pic.   And I still plan to add another one on the other side of the wound - green circle.  I know that the wound of this size will never be closed but I just want to make it a bit narrower so the inevitable hollow will be less dramatic.   If I keep the front as it is in the first pic  the hollow will not be noticeable I guess.   And if I do the carving well - I can still use the other side as a front and have the tree in my prefe...

Massive nebari is probably the most attractive feature  right now... The trunk has nice white color... The crown starts showing some initial branch structure and even some sort of ramification...    Is it a birch, though? Birches tend to be slim, tall trees with thin long branches.  White in color with lots of black spots.  Joyful dalmatians.   Well, at least the vast majority of birches looks like that.    For sure, this tree will never have such typical habitus.   On the other side there are some very old gnarled birches that definitely differ from the " typical" birch perception.    Looking at this one I know that I need to go into this direction.    And that would require a lot of time to get the right appearance of age.   This tree looks promising but still looking way  toooo young for that category.    

Dewired and lightly pruned. Need to fix the scar in the top section next season.                                                                       

 I have this larch in my collection from 2013 I guess.   We had met few years before the collection in fact neverthless I was more focused on the deciduous trees at that time for one and I did not like the strange looking elbow like branch near the top of the tree.   Luckily that did not prevent me to visit this tree  any time I was in the area.   Still it has taken me few years to realise that the elbow like branch is something special.  Something similar to what  makes  monumental larches in Switzerland so special.    Collected: Central Bohemia 2013 Height:  43 cm Pot: Tokoname  Getting there.  Need some more styling and time to improve...   Elbow like branch_situated on the back of the tree Elbow like branch Flower buds ready for next spring The only cone left after the removal of blossoms in the spring Improving surface roots I have added the moss on the surface only this spring with the hope t...

With the late autumn approaching and my deciduous trees  gradually changing their colours and loosing their leaves I feel a bit more curious about the structure of their branches.   Yeah, you try your best to keep it and develop even in the peak season but the real picture is shown only now.  Winter look.        Repot next spring and try to have more ramification.  Frankly, not much of a progress this year.  I do love this pot but maybe the birch has different view...    

 Long autumn evenings, short rainy days - what a great time to spend some time on dead wood carving.   Well, for sure.  There is a lot of other work to be finished before the winter but my fingers were itching so badly that I have no other choice than to grasp a Dremel and few chisels.    Still long way to go but it starts showing the potential...   Airlayered in spring 2020, separated in Sept.   There is more details in the post published on 26th Sept.  Reworked at the end of October Possible new front Need to decide about the direction of the main branch.  Semi or full cascade?  I would prefer a cascade - just a matter of my preferences - but the trees is quite strongly asking for a semi... and much more work on the dead wood. 

Basic data: Origin: Yamadori Collected in 2011 Height: 38 cm Width: 50 cm Pot: Growing - China  The tree has been nicknamed "The Drunkard"  thanks to the lower section of the trunk.   The current inclination of the trunk is +/- the same as it was on the original biotop.   At the very beginning I was thinking to follow the line of the trunk and develop a subtle crown  with opposite inclination.   You may recall a Collin Lewis's hawthorn  that I had in my mind as a design to follow.   Well, I guess most of us was trying to imitate someone else's bonsai in their early bonsai age.   Worse for me, I was in bonsai for nearly 10 years then.  Shame on me... Luckily I have decided  to make it different.  Maily because of the character of the trunk - not much movement in the middle section and overall thickness not very suitable for the Bunjingi.  So I have built a kind of Myogi instead.   Maybe no...