Czech Yamadori

Kifu sized blackthorns_26 cm.       

 A single trunk  specimen with a raised root that is fused with the main trunk well above the current soil level.   That  indicates that originally  most of the current trunk has been burried under the soil.   The tree is well over 30 years old - it has been planted as a 2-3 years seedling at the side of the D4 highway in central Bohemia.   Lot of refinement ahead but that is a joy with all these blossoms seasoning the journey in late winter/early spring.   

 ...I mean the winter silhouette of the small Pyrus pyraster.      Airlayered yamadori. Height 38 cm Training pot

 X-Men?   The Hug Men?  Predator?     Forget it.   My brother in scissors Rasťo has come with the perfect name.   Frankly, I had to look for the meaning of Ent in the wiki but once I saw the picture  I was in love with it.    Perfect.   Thank you, Rasťo.   OK, back to the Ent. I  have made some corrections to lower parts last night.   It still needs some indian ink to blend nicely with the rest. And then few coats of resin to preserve it.    The crown  needs to add some wood.  Not too much though.   I do not like trees that have a lot of deadwood  combined with a flourishing crown full of branchlets.   But that is not a problem of the tree but rather of the person behind it... Prunus mahaleb_The Ent Height: 50 cm Pot: Training China          

 About 4-5 years ago I started pondering about getting some more native species to my collection.  Specifically cornus and eonymus.   It is easy to plan but knowing the growth habit of these species I knew it would require a large amount of luck while being on my knees thoroughly searching undergrowth.  For sure there are plenty of them all around my place.  The only problem they are in form of straight sticks... Anyway, here we are:  Euonymus europaeus in early winter colour boasting with few fruits that I left there for joy.      Origin: Ground layered yamadori Height:  17 cm Pot: Klika&Kuratkova.   A bit oversized one but it is the way I prefer

 What a strange name of a bonsai I thought the other day while reading some bonsai magazine featuring a stunning bonsai in early stages of blooming.     Few days later I have looked on one of my blackthorns and suddenly I have noticed that there are pearls all over it... Can you see them?      

 Another fairly small but massive mahaleb cherry with a lot of deadwood.    Height: 44 cm above the rim Pot: Hugo Studeník    

 The first few days of the new year are a bit lazy. So why not to take the advantage of it and share some other trees? The mahaleb Zorro is one of my largest trees.  Well, better to say heaviest ones.  It is not very large, in fact it is just about 50 cm in height and about 70 cm in width.  But the trunk is quite massive and the pot needs to be quite large to accomodate the long surface root.   The shape  is not very typical for deciduous tree but I do like it that way.  And that counts...   Still long way to go...   The "new part" clashes with the old one - just looking like a baby's arse.  Not to mention  a better taper and finer ramification... Hope to find some time later on to repot it and while there to change the planting angle. The left side is right now planted too deep. Height: 50 cm Width:  70 cm Pot: China  

 New Year's Day.    Outside temperature: +11 °C, cloudy with possible rain later in the day.   I plan to go out after the lunch to get some wood for my future projects such as bonsai tables etc.   It takes at least 4-5 years to have the timber ready for usage.  There are for sure much faster methods for drying but  first I have more than enough load on my hands right now and in next 2-3 years, second - drying chambers calculates in cubics - well above my projects and lastly - just being happy to let the Nature to do her job. It was quite sunny on the 31st Dec so I have taken few shots of some of my trees.  Not the best pics but their main purpose was to see the structures through the lens.   Good practice to follow. Here is the biggest birch in my collection.   +90 cm right now.   It is quite interesting to see how the hollow has been reduced over time.    2021 2015   Well, I should mention a method that has been used to force the callus to grow in specific direction.  The second p

Black wiper It was the dark lower section of the trunk that gave this tree its name. Lovely tree, in my eyes at least.    I know.  The thick elbow like branch in the middle is an eyesore. Even more it is just  a piece of a dead wood.  Dead wood on a birch? Are you serious?    And what about the transition between the old and new parts?  Yeah, it doesn´t look very nice rigth now.    BUT If you look on this lady from a reasonable distance, its getting dark and your eyes are not so sharp as they used to be ....    I guess you know  how this goes on...   I have heard this from one of our best actor Mr Jan Werich and I hope he would not mind if  I use it now and then.   Funny,  he crossed the river long time ago but he still there in our minds.  At least when it comes to my generation.   Autumn 2020 Summer 2020   Colour festival in November 2021 Who said: " Not worth the effort" ?

 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 position the remains of the root on the left are now showing the straight cut - some more carving

 Collected in 2015 in the Central Bohemia.      Height : 70 cm;        Pot: Martin Ašenbrenner Challenges to tackle: This branch has been pulled down by about 7 cm.  There is a cut at the base and another one in the middle.     Will see if  I can go any further in the bend.  If so I would need to reconsider the presence of the first branch on the left.  It looks a bit redundant even now and with better inclination of the problematic branch it will be even more so. The other one is a real brain teaser: massive outstanding root.   There was a stone between the trunk and the root that has been removed in the course of time.  And now what?   Get a new stone there?  Remove the root?   Try to pull them down under the soil surface?  And what about the reverse taper? Well, we will see.  I hope to start fixing this challenge next year. And another one.   Different bucket though.  I am really looking forward to fix this one.   Remains of  wood that used to be the main trunk.   It was given the

  One of the early runners.   Lot of blossoms here while some other mahalebs are just about to start showing first flowe buds.  Most of them came from the same yamadori location meaning that their genotype is/should be fairly similar  but they were overwintered on differenet places around my place.  Good for me.   Thanks to that the spring festivity season will last longer... Pot: Hugo Studeník

Being strict with its height of 22 cm above the rim this little mahaleb should not qualify into the shohin category.  With some more needed development I think that  the final height is somewhere around the 25 cm mark.    Repoted, some root work and back into the wooden box.  Covered with shredded sphagnum moss and plastic mesh to keep blackbirds away.   Some females love to use this moss for bedding in their nests...That's above their rutine digging activity.   They make life harder but I do like them.   Nice to watch them taking regular bath in the pond in the early morning regadless the weather.  Winter? who cares...  Lovely to see the young birdies - little downy balls - sitting somewhere in the undergrowth demanding more worms from their parents.   And their parents trying to keep away faddy cats and plundering magpies.  Well yes,  they are a pain in the butt with all that mess they create in the garden looking for food.   But if I look around in the Nature - using slightly di

 Pears are  one of the best trees for bonsai in temperate zones.   And for me the P. pyraster ( European wild pear ) is really on the top.   Cracked bark, tiny fruit and small leaves with spectacular colours in the autumn.   That really makes them hard to match.   Yes, Prunus mahaleb or blackthorns  are great. Aged bark,  blossoms, tiny fruits - in all these characteristics they are similar.  But when it comes to the autumn color festivity - no match for pears.   Unfortunately, there are not many of them on the benches or even shows.   Is it because of the fear of the pear rust ( Gymnosporangium sabinae ) killing  pampered junipers ?  Difficulty to find /collect one?    The rust might be a problem for sure.   But I do not agree with the basic recommendation you may find - if you grow junipers do not grow pears ( and vice versa ).   OK, it may sound good, but what about trees grown by your neigbours?  The spores may spread hundred of meters from their place of origin by wind or insects.