Czech Yamadori

 Yamadori collected in 2019.   Air layered at the end of May 2020.  This time I have used only pure zeolite small fraction 3-5 mm.   First check in mid of July.  I would say this was much earlier than I normally do but I was a bit concerned about the substrate used.  Does it hold enough water based on my watering schedule?   The answer was: probably not.  So I have added chopped sphagnum moss & little bit of compost.  Another check at the beginning of Sept.  Much better results.  But I have waited with the separation till yesterday.     It looks much more like a Nessie than a smaller  sized  semi/cascade.  Let's see where we can get in 5 years time.  Stupid me.    I am all the time complaining about the fact there are far too many trees for me to manage properly.  Still,  I cannot leave out any opportunity to take home any tree that has a reasonable poten...

 It is quite common to ask this question.   Supported by many professionals who sell trees and instead of providing details of origin, variety  and substrate used they try to impress the potential buyer with AGE of the tree.   Just comparing the size of the tree and its presented age, I do have a strong feeling that there is obvious clash.   If these guys are just like me each of them would add some years once the tree moves from their hand.  So at the end the tree that  in my oppinion is about 3-4 years old is claimed to be 8-10 years in propagation.    Unfortunately,  this AGEING is typical not only for the bonsai retailers.   A great bonsai amateur Mr. Pall is a good example of  that.  Well,  I believe  that he IS in fact a well established bonsai retailer with great marketing skills, but because he always disclaimed that  he must be an amateur then. What really strikes me was the...

 European wild pear is one of my favorite tree.   Aged bark, wild appearance, blossoms, tiny fruit and beautiful autumn colours make of it a great candidate for  Four Season Bonsai.   Collected in cental Bohemia in 2017, air layered in 2019.  Current height:  22 cm - the top shoot included, target  18-19 cm Width:  24 cm  Front Left side   Alligator skin nicely developed.  Nebari - nothing to see there (YET ), but it is on the way - just look closer. Another five years and it might be there...:)  After the late summer inspection. Wiring, adding new load of Biogold and then back under the plastic cover to keep moss in place.  The moss will be removed in late autumn just before the winter rest to have better control of soil moisture.

 In the last two - three years I have started a good number of new projects with some plants I have never dreamed having them in my collection.  Frankly, I am quite sure that a good number of them will turn into something that could be described in Czech language like a osina v prdeli.   The English equivalent " pain in the ass" seems to be quite close to the Czech expression but it is much less colourful.  The translation of OSINA = AWN. An awn in the ass??? Anyway. Just check with me some of the projects: Prunus mume grafted on a Prunus cerasifera understock.  Well, if you are the real bonsai aficionados YOU simply MUST have this plant.  Really?   One month of eager expectations watching every single morning the development of flower buds, 2-3 weeks of ACHHH to admire the beauty of blossoms and... THAT  is for the rest of the year - apart from the quite tricky horticulture and desired expectation of next blossoming period.  Not to me...

I guess that with this yamadori the mother Nature has been inspired by some of the trees made in mass production nurseries.   Well, to be fair, one can still  differentiate the part made by the mother Nature and  me.    Clearly, I have not spent too much time to elaborate what to do with it.   We will see how much time it would take to heal the wound on the trunk and to produce matured bark in the "new" top section.   Just that and I will be more than happy with it.  The lower part has very nicely formed alligator skin partially covered by silver lichen.  The tree as it is: It has survived my problematic horticulture last year ( the problem with overdone MTB cycling ).  This spring I have added few layers of sphagnum moss on the front section of the pot - crossing my fingers in a hope  I can get some new roots there.   Opened the crown to the light to promote backbudding.  Fingers crossed here too...

Three years ago I ordered from Martin Asenbrenner a vessel for this cascade.  The year after the container was ready.  I did like the shape and colour but I thought that it is slightly oversized.   Martin was kind enough to take it back and above all he promised to deliver another one next year.  This time the size of the container was OK but I had a feeling that it doesn't express the emotion I have in my mind.  So here we are in 2020 still using the old plastic vessel. The tree has been thinned few days before  the day the pics were taken.   The crown looks a bit empty as some of the strong shoots were cut off to get more light to the inner weaker shoots that are better positioned - I think.   All that makes the ten-jin too dominant ( I wonder it the description ten-jin is correct while it is in fact in the lowest position of the cascading trunk ?  ).   The idea is to cover the straight part as much as possible while l...

Strange... Each year I am buying some new pots.  But when it comes to repoting all too often I cannot find any good one for the tree I am working on... Height:   35 cm Width: 33 cm Collected:   Spring 2012