Czech Yamadori

Every single year I would stay in front of the benches with a tree in my hands thinking: where I can place this one.  And for sure, this is not about thinking which place will suit this specific tree the best.  It is realy just about squeezing it somewhere.   And with new growth this space problem    is just mounting up.   " I need to cut the number down" - a thought  that has never came materialised  - well, with just a few exceptions.   What about this year? All that means  that every single year I am there thinking how to inflate the available space... A project for this spring:  Miniature bonsai stand Just to get some feeling about dimension: top deck 20 x 20 cm, total height 40 cm approx.  If you wonder what is at the bottom - a vice that keep the stand in position.  Thanks to that - I can move the stand  to another location ( within this long bench at least ). This stand was just a ...

When I have twisted a branch for the first time I was quite supriced checking the status after a week or so.   Most of the leaves have turned back  the "right" side up.  This time I have taken some pics.  The first one is just one day after twisting the branch 180° and the second the forth day after  it...    17th May - starting to get back with the right side up... 20th May  - nearly finished and back to work.

I  tried another air layer last year and this time it was on a spindle tree ( Euonymus europaeus ).  The idea was to get rid of a thick raised root.   Started in May 2019, the same technique I am using on my other layered trees.   First check in early July - hardly any new roots! Raised eyebrow.   What's going on?  I have not expected the spindle tree to be in any way hard to air layer.   Another check in  second half of August.  The same results.  Gosh.  Hardly any new roots just steps ahead of  an autumn. Not to mention the winter.   Some time spent on pondering about options.  Then I have decided to carry on and make the best of the few remaining weeks of the growing season. The air layer has been left  untouched. I have just  added a layer of  dark pebbles on the top of the air layer and the whole pot has been wrapped in a black plastic bag.   Witht the idea behind to...

This small pear is a result of a successful air layer completed in 2019. The vitality of the plant was excellent so I have decided to speed up a little bit and to select structural branches and to carve a section of the trunk to get there some taper.   From now on it is again on the tree to do its part... Current front.  Due to the size restriction there is no chance to aim at natural looking pear tree. I mean a tall tree with relatively narrow crown.  At least that is the way pears look like in this country. The taper of the trunk seems to be OK.  Well,  on the cost of removal of a bit of flesh to be fair... Carved section ( current back ).   I hate to say that as my attempt is always to make 360° trees. AGE! Natural jin The height at the moment is just about 10 cm - up to the cut on the main trunk.  So there is still enough space to fill...

Well, there are not many elms in my neighborhood but I would think about nice tall tree proudly overlooking green meadows.   Now in reality, just looking on few elms at our place,  they paint a quite different picture. Just like this one... Two trunks merged together? Collected in 2017 in Central Bohemia.   Love on a first sight.  I have been passing around this little fella for a good number of years.   Apparently always looking on the other side of the track and not bothered to inspect the surrounding bush more carefully. First styling ( rather a butchery I should say ) on 5th May 2020.   Later on I plan to extend the butchery a bit further - for the time being I plan to extend the uro on the main trunk all along the debarked section of the main trunk.   I guess this plan looks better than the original one  - to remove the double section by an air layer and keep just the part where the both trunks ar...

For a thirsty birch this pot is a bit on the smaller side.  But I love it and I do not have anything that will suit the tree better.  So another season in small shoes... The only think I can do better -  instead of  a "normal" watering the tree will enjoy frequent submerging in the tub full of water.  I do that with a number of my other trees anyway.  The crown look a bit heavy rihgt now and it will stay that way ( and even worse ) for another few weeks.  One of the side effect of the flat container - it helps to form surface roots with a lot of character.

Busy days with watering as the temps are pretty much like in the early summer and rain nowhere in sight... Just thinking how it will look like to lay flat on my back under this tree.  For sure a pain seeing all these pieces of lava there...  But still,  would be nice to do it.