Czech Yamadori

The last week before the Xmas eve has a very special atmosphere.  You can feel it everywhere.  Even the anonymous crowd that is  moving along the streets vibrates with it.  Someone is  full of despair  trying to grab what has left on the desks but some other people look  quite different.  And if you look at them a bit closer you can spot a strange glare in their eyes.  Especially in those of small kids.   Is it EXPECTATIONS perhaps?  Anyway.  It is early morning of the18th of December and despite the cold outside  somewhere there is singing a blackbird.   It is a treat...  As much as the fact that my small flowering quince has developed a blossom... Height: 14 cm Width:  20 cm Pot: China December Strange, in the spring the same plant has reddisch blossoms And the bigger sister...  

A corkscrew should express the movement of this tree much better than a static spiral but thats life.  I guess that the Mother Nature has tested on this little tree some techniques used in  mass production nurseries exporting their products to keen bonsai crowd in Europe /US.  Luckiky she has decided that it is no go and thats the reason why it is quite difficult to find them here in woodlands.   Height: 45 cm from the rim of the pot Pot: Tokoname ( ??? ) In training since 2012 As you can see on the winter silhuette the transition between the old part and the new one is still quite poor.  Need to work on it.     I guess it needs a small turn to the right.  Compare the first and last pics.

Another fairly small tree I have in my collection.   As I have defoliated this little guy quite late in the summer - early September in fact - I should keep  my fingers crossed for him to make it over the winter.   I do defoliate some of my mahalebs around that time but that is a quite different species.  They can keep the newly formed leaves till the end of December in my garden ( if you provide them with a little bit of special care ).   At the bottom -this is a pic of one of my mahaleb as it looks now.  Please note-this is not a standard practice I would recommend.  Height: 18 cm Pot: China In training since 2010 Prunus mahaleb_shohin 11th December.  Sunny day with temp around 2°C . Not sure if such extended season makes any significant change in terms of accumulated energy but it is a fun to have something that green in December.

Crataegus monogyna Height : 38 cm Width:   50 cm In training since 2010 October 2019 December 2019 After autumn pruning

I do not think there will be a day when I say: "Enough is enough"  and as a result I would stop collecting this genus. Perhaps it is because they are part of my life since the time I can hardly remember... An old  bird cherry was the first tree I was able to climb. At was at my age of  three or perhaps four?  And it was only possible with a massive help of the girls who were taking care of me.  It must have been a hard job to push my fat ass up the tree.   Frankly, I do not remember that part too much but,  I do remember the feelings when I stood on the lower branch with the whole world below me.  Who would care that I was not able to reach any of the cherries - the girls did a good job there as well.    And what about blackthorns?   I used to watch the berries,  as they were moving up and down in the large storage jar that my beloved grandfather used for making wine.  Much more worth than most of the programs on TV...

This little tree seems to be not very cooperative in helping me to have a more oval shaped crown... Height: 34 cm Width: 35 cm Pot: Martin Ašenbrenner_wood fired kiln In training since 2012 Nov 2019 October 2019

The picture below has been taken in 2018.  Happy days... On this picture you can see the thread graft - on the left side of the trunk.   I was quite optimistic that it is on a good way to make it and that it can be separated  later that year.   Reality? You can see the remains of it on the picture taken in early October 2019.   Bad luck or doing something badly? As you can see I have left this year growth untouched.  Till the early November to be precise... Then a short visit in the barber shop and another meeting with my Dremel.   But that was just a fine tuning. No dramatic change. November 2019 I have left the low branch on the right side in place.  Not sure if I will keep it in the future design.  Height: close to 50 cm