Czech Yamadori

   Busy spring day.   Late afternoon.   Buuzzzzz.  Head up and looking around. What was that?  Nothing can be seen.  Strange.  Sounds like a large bumblebee.   And again Buzzzzz.    Now I had a chance to spot a dark colored Something that zoomed around my head.   Sized like a large bumblebee, sounded like a bumblebee BUT what about the color?   A bumblebee from Chernobyl?  Or a creature from an eastern laboratory?   Gosh, need to find out.  Right,  let's  try to get a picture of  it first.    Easy to say.    A number of photos that could be labeled  like: - the exact place where the creature was a blick ago or - the place where the creature will be seen in a split of a second   Later on I have managed  to get some reasonably good pictures with nicely sharp backgrounds but blurry image of the creature.  And finally - patience brings roses - few shots with the creature.  Gotcha!   With the pictures and help of the aunt Wiki it was quite easy to find out what it is:  WIKIPEDIA: Xyloco

  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

It would make more sense to solely focus on the ramification as the Chinese flowering quince  Ch. speciosa is known for its reluctance to ramify.   But I cannot resist to keep the blossoms buds on the tree.   At least for this year.    To deal with this clash_ramification x blossom_ I have three blossoming quinces in pots  so maybe I will keep only one to bloom next year.      

 

 ... repotted this spring into new pot from Martin Ašenbrenner.   A bit burned but that is something that may happen in wood fired kiln.    And yes, the pot is a bit oversized in length and height but it was still the best fit from those readily available.  I have something like another 2-3 years to get some more pots to find the right one.   As " my portfolio " of shohin is growing  nicely I need to shop for more pots anyway.     

 The spring is about the joy of new life.  Blossoms on our trees are  cherries on a cake of  the new season.    Blossoms on larches are something special you do not take for granted.   They may come every single year on some trees while on some others it is a kind of special treat if they appear.    Female blossoms & a cone from the last year.  No male blossoms there yet.