Czech Yamadori

In the first part I have got even with the first group of potential yamadori pests. In this second part I am going to deal with the second group - wild boars. WILD BOARS        When it comes to the wild boars my oldest recollections go well back to my early childhood.  The first one is linked to the tragic accident - a local hunter has by mistake shot dead his son while they were hunting for wild boars.   The second one is a moral often repeated by my parents and grandparents - never ever touch the youngs of wild animals  especially small piglets - their mother can kill you.  So since that time I remember. Wild pig = Danger.  But is that really so?      I have met a herd of wild pigs many times.   Well to be honest, most of the times I have only smelled their typical odour while they were laying in the cover or they were sneaking away from me.  Quite often I can hear only a rattle of broken branches or rollin...

I am sure most of bonsai enthusiasts have some experience with pests.  Bonsai simply  attracts attention that  is not always welcomed.   To some extent it also applies to yamadori... There are two main yamadori  pests categories:  human beings and wild boars.   Please note that for me it is sometimes quite difficult to make a clean split between these two groups,  but for the purpose of this article I will do my best to keep it separated. HUMAN BEINGS 1. FOREST WORKERS  The above  note in italic doesn't apply to this group as they simply do the job they are paid for: ie removing self seeded shrubs/trees, trees with problematic growth pattern etc Anatomy and description: Very often well built and muscular individuals.  Avoidance of direct physical contact recommended. Due to the lonely character of their job they might be difficult to approach and not very communicative. This picture is only informative. ...

 I had never ever defoliated any temperate tree in February.....until today.     Frankly I was a bit hesitant taking the scissors but as there was no warning signals from my guts I have cut off the first leave. No shout.  So the rest has followed swiftly.    I have not done this kind of excercise on this little firethorn very often. Perhaps once few years ago?  Good to see that the structure is not too bad.    Unwired and cleaned a bit - few thorns and some twings - leaving a little stub there that will be reduced later in the growing season.   No need for any major repair - larger branches removal.  If I would need to remove any bigger branch I will wait til spring  Height:  19 cm

 Just looking at this mahaleb last autumn I realised  that all my previous attempts to change the angle of the trunk in its last third were just a mere tickling.   I was thinking to fix it  immediately but giving it a second thought I decided to postpone the activity till the time the tree enters the post pormancy period = the level of hormones inhibiting the activity of the tree is low but the tree is not starting its activity ( I mean visible activity  such as the growht of the buds ) because it is kept low till the time of longer days and warmer temps.   Autumn and winter are in my experience the most suitable periods for heavy bends  but the most problematic one at the same time.  Heavy bends mean a tissue damage that could suffer even more because of the winter frost.  So you should keep such trees in the non frost area. Not below freezing point and not above 5-6°C as this is about the right range to keep the trees in dormancy....