Czech Yamadori

Apart from collecting some really big trees I am also building up the number of small trees.  There are basically two practical reasons for that.  First - weight,  second - it is faster to achieve reasonable results in case you are starting from seed or cuttings.  Starting from seed or cuttings? Yes.  It is definitely the best way to start small tree.  Well, I know, small trees collected  from  Nature may have a great character. But there are also a lot of challenges.  Is it worth the effort?  Don't know, leaving that open... Let's start with Yamadori.  The following little mahaleb could make a good representative of this category. So what do we have to start with? Problematic roots The only solution to fix this is the air/ground layer.   Keep fingers crossed to get nice even distribution of new roots that could be used to grow nice nebari. Got it?  Great, but it is only the first step.  Then, how long does it take to the point when new roots will get the similar charact

...happens. I have been stricken by spotting fruits of  common spindle tree. It has taken me few years of search to find a reasonable sized trunk.  Just that.  So I need to build it from scratch.  Lovely. At the same time I was also searching for much smaller specimen to get a base for shohin.   It was even more difficult ( for me ) being as blind as Jan Žizka in his old age.  But at the end  ( as it should be in good Czech fairy tails ) I was lucky to stumble over something that has looked  ok.  If we forget the long nasty looking root and overgrown leader.  Collection in spring 2017.  Active growth for the full season.  Late spring 2018 - decided to ground layer the small beast.  Done.  Then really hot and dry summer.   The poor thing has lost most of its foliage.  First careful check of the ground layer in early September.  No visible roots there.  Luckily the autumn was quite nice and warm. I have been moving the pot with the tree around the yard to give as much

Height: 19 cm Another curvy yamadori.   I really do have a problem to find a decently straight tree in my backyard. Well, to be honest, there are few ones. So I should present one of them next time.      Pot: Growing nursery Looking for a new pot but no hurry.  At this stage of development the visual quality of the pot is not as importans as its size.   But still loking for something more rounded to have enough space for the sound development of surface roots.  Badly needed roots I should say...  The ageing bark highligts the visual age of the little hornbeam. The blogs are full of autumn colors.  But what about a gust of spring nearby a larch in its  autumn dress?

Autumn 2015 Spring 2018 Autumn 2018   Height 16 cm Width: 20 cm Oversized pot still in action due to the problematic roots.  I will check their conditions next spring to se what can be done there.  

Pyracantha blossoms nearly in full bloom...

What's that? Is it a Spring hammering ice on the river? Or perhaps a woodpecker marking his territory? NO. It is a bonsai enthusiast chopping down some of his elms to get  starters for new shohin sized trees. Little stump Michal Now I will keep both guys in the frost free attics in order to avoid possible frost bites. 

Even with a small punch you can make a big show... said a Czech tennis player Barbora Strýcova asked about her feeling after the Czech ladies  have won  FED Cup  match against France.   Barbora is a great lady, very active and straightforward, who can match any sailor in the world when it comes to the use of  language.   In this specific conversation she has used a phrase that  expresses a fact that even a man with a small  penis can  make a big performance.    That was exactly the case in that match.  Barbara with her 164 cm of height looks very small in the world of ladies over 180 cm.   But her performance on the FED Cup was really great. I do believe that she has made the decisive turn around in the match and destroyed  the hopes of the French team to win the Cup.  I do admire the French ladies for their endeavor  and skills,  but I am very happy that the Czech team could make it. AGAIN.  A hat-trick in fact and the fifth win in last six FEDCups. The title of this post could as