Czech Yamadori

 Just looking at this mahaleb last autumn I realised  that all my previous attempts to change the angle of the trunk in its last third were just a mere tickling.   I was thinking to fix it  immediately but giving it a second thought I decided to postpone the activity till the time the tree enters the post pormancy period = the level of hormones inhibiting the activity of the tree is low but the tree is not starting its activity ( I mean visible activity  such as the growht of the buds ) because it is kept low till the time of longer days and warmer temps.   Autumn and winter are in my experience the most suitable periods for heavy bends  but the most problematic one at the same time.  Heavy bends mean a tissue damage that could suffer even more because of the winter frost.  So you should keep such trees in the non frost area. Not below freezing point and not above 5-6°C as this is about the right range to keep the trees in dormancy.  Clear - you do not kill your tree if for any reason

    I live in a place where you can find many abandoned orchards.  Sad.  The local producer was not able or willing to compete with the imported product and sold it to developers.  After all these locations are close to Prague so you can understand.  It was at the end of the 90 ties.  Since then - some of the land of orchards  was covered with blocks of flats ( crazy - this is supposed to be country land ) and many others are still there with overgrown trees.   Bad for the country, but something good for me.  I do there to get some nice tasting apples ( nothing to compare with the product engineered for the maximum profit ) and sometimes also to have some wood.   A few years ago I was able to collect there an interesting  V shaped trunk.    I have started to work on it at the end of the last year and the carving work has been  done in the early days of Jan.  Since then I am working on the finish. Some additional wood has been added to get the third leg.   The other two have been conver

A few year ago I managed to collect this interesting stump.  Did my best to dry it out slowly to avoid cracks.  And luckily this was the case.   Well, it is so easy to say but apart from some experience you still need a sizeable piece of luck to achieve that.   And I should  also mention something else:  PATIENCE.  Quite a challenge for me.  At the time of the collection I have realised that this piece of wood has a great potential.  And as my heart beats for root stands my mind has immediately started to work on the image.  So you are ready to transfer your vision into the reality but hey! You still need to wait 2-3 years at least  to  have the wood ready for the transformation.  Pain. Finally,  at the end of the last December the all of us were ready to go.   I mean the stump, me and the straight grinder&burrs.    Taking the stump in my hands and looking at it ( my mind was still firmly on the root stand )  the better of me has realised that the piece of wood has a lot of charact

If the dogs look like their owners does this also apply to our trees?    The logic is pretty much the same, isn't it.    We tend to select things that are somehow "compatible" with   perception of ourselves.  Prunus mahaleb_Double          If the above statement holds then I am affraid my problem is much bigger than originally thought...    

Another year spent on building the surface roots.  So far all the efforts were solely based on the usage of a sphagnum moss.  For the next years to come I will cover the soil with "standard"  moss while adding more acadama to the roots encircling the rock.  I feel that the first root from the top looks a bit strange.  Time to cut it off?  Happy for your thoughts. Happy with this deadwood.  Nice focal point. The roots shouts: " GO! Catch more sunrays, we hold you fast".   So it means a cascading trunk despite the horizontal line of it.  See the second and third pics.  I feel the third one is about right.   And if so I have another problem to find a suitable pot.  I do not like the crescent bonsai pot that one should "normally" use.   I guess I would need to combine something different to please my eyes. Despite the fact I do like semi or full cascades similar to this one I have to admit they a bit of a nuisance once it comes to basic horticulture.  The inc

 Most of my mahalebs are the last to drop their leaves.  Right now ie on the 30th of November there are still four of them with no signs of  changing color or being  damaged by frost ( the lowest temps so far was only -3°C,  27°F ).   While the other species in the garden have started  the colour festivity around early Nov the majority of mahalebs were in the status - what is the fuss about?   With the arrival of first frosty nights some of them have started to change their colour from green to something yellowish but definitely nothing spectacular.   Some others have simply drop their green leaves.  And the last group is still in full swing.  I can hear their whisper : carbs, carbs, carbs.   Height: 19 cm   The target height should be in the range of 23-26 cm.