Czech Yamadori

 The life seems to be like a fast train.   Weekdays like a stations you pass without stopping and weekends are short stops to see some other people outside...  How different it is at the age  of -teens and now.    I shared this tree just about three years ago.  If interested you can find that post here: https://doriyama.blogspot.com/2018/07/    The tree looks a bit more mature now.  The crown is a bit heavier but I am  still thinking about it much more like a deciduous literati than anything else.   ( Well, I know. It looks  quite heavy in fact, but don't you think that one can see things the way one wants?  First there is the Wizzard of Perspective, second the Witch of Camera and last but not least the Kind Lord of ones Mind ) Total height of the tree above the rim of the pot is about 50 cm while the first branch is at 30 cm.   Very dramatic dead wood feature.  Because of the changed pos...

It would make more sense to solely focus on the ramification as the Chinese flowering quince  Ch. speciosa is known for its reluctance to ramify.   But I cannot resist to keep the blossoms buds on the tree.   At least for this year.    To deal with this clash_ramification x blossom_ I have three blossoming quinces in pots  so maybe I will keep only one to bloom next year.      

 

 ... repotted this spring into new pot from Martin Ašenbrenner.   A bit burned but that is something that may happen in wood fired kiln.    And yes, the pot is a bit oversized in length and height but it was still the best fit from those readily available.  I have something like another 2-3 years to get some more pots to find the right one.   As " my portfolio " of shohin is growing  nicely I need to shop for more pots anyway.     

B. sempervirens_boxwood_box_krušpánek_zimostráz_??? Whatever name you like,  it is all about the same hardy plant. Hardy?  For sure the bush is quite resistant to the attacks of many pests but as we know a keen non well seasoned greenfinger or a delicate moth could do a lot of damage to it. Just have a look how this tree has looked like in spring 2018:  And now in winter  ( 30.12.2019 ) It looks a bit less regimented perhaps.  But if you look closer you will see a lot of dead branchlets all around the crown. See the pic below... At the first thought about the reason I was quick to blame the vigorous blossoming in the previous year.  And based on that I have tried to strip as many new buds as possible.   Quite a job.  You need a good amount of time to deal with that.  The good point of it - it gave me a lot of time to think. And maybe having a bit deeper and more honest look on the possible root causes....

The top section still looks quite empty.  Not much growth this year.  Not sure what was the reason for that.  Was it because of the thick layer of moss I have left to grow there during the top season?  I guess I have relied too much on its water holding capacity and have not supplied  enough water.    Obviously  an old age  in itself  doesn't provide adequate protection against stupid errors if you switch off your common sense ( not to say your brain ). So this is for me: Birches do love water you damned stupid old man. Height:  close to 90 cm Pot: Plasthalla In training: since 2009

I do not like the  before and after series when it comes to styling a tree.  That is a kind of a shortcut that is more about the person than about the tree.  On the other side  I am happy to accept that series of  pictures  mapping in detail a transition of  a starter pine into a piece of art ( such as we can see with Kimura, Suzuki etc. )  is a great studying material. But for me this is a quite different story.    And what  about sharing pictures that map  a development of the tree in the course of years?  Well, I think it is a bit different  but still  maybe not fair  ( at least  from the perspective of the tree ).    Would you ask Bella Hadid to share  how she looked like at the age let say twelve?  Would you be even interested to see it?    Please meet my Bella Hadid.  I hope  it doesn't mind sharing the pics from its early times in a pot. ...

Cornelian cherries are one of the most attractive deciduous trees for bonsai.   Not easy in terms of development ( I should really take some deshi time at Maros's ) and they will always look a bit rough.   But in any other aspect they are just great.  At least for me.    ( Well, one should not take this too seriously. As my wood guru said: "If there is not the timber  I love,  then I love the one that is available here".  ) The wood of  Cornelian cherries is extremely hard. Dense and Hard.  Difficult to carve but very resistant to the rot.  It means the deadwood is a quite natural feature.   The flowers are quite special.  First the flower buds are formed into small but distinctive balls that makes this tree look through the rest of the season different from any other species in our region.    The buds are formed in the summer and they are really very keen to show their unpretending be...

How much dead wood is too much???   Well,  if I look on some specimen of Prunus mume I know there are no limits for that.   So lets go and see what the tree will look like in another 5 years from now.  I certainly hope for more visible progress... 😎 2017 Finally,  I have separated the stronger of the two threadgrafts.  The other one doesn't look like it is ready to go without the feeder.  Let see how it goes next season... CURRENT FRONT FRONT_OPTION LEFT RIGHT 2012

2013 2015 14.11.2017  Exactly 4 years of growth since the first image. 5° tip to the right I am about to make a light pruning later this week.  Just the terminal buds and a smaller section of the twigs.  No wiring.  I leave that for a spring just before the new growth starts to think about lignification.  Then I will do some pruning and wiring.  Later in the  summer after the second flush I will consider a defoliation to get the third flush. Well, just  laud thinking.  It is the tree who is in charge... Then I hope we will get closer to the new pot.  Masculine and a bit lighter then the current one.

2015 2017 Height: 38 cm Width:  50 cm