Pinus Mugo Progression

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Lyons Bonsai

So Yesterday i bought this Dwarf Pinus Mugo from a local nursery. I had my eye on this nursery for a while as they usually have good stock. There was a lovely Scots Pine there but a bit on the expensive side, so decided to pick up this mountain pine as it was nice and cheap.

I know Pinus Mugo have a bit of a bad reputation as bonsai but I have read they are quite easy to train and style. That said i also have heard that certain cultivars are touchy and can react badly to training. So all that in mind i still think its worth a go. Here are a few pics i took today in the Irish sunshine, something which is quite rare.

Used this bottle as an indicator to the true size of this Pine.

A few different angles

Another angle

And another

One in the sun

Trunk with moss

A few different views for possible styling

Decisions decisions

So at the Munster Bonsai Club workshop January 2014 I got a chance to get started with styling with this tree, just ran out of time to finish the wiring but thanks to Ian I got a good head start.

Heres a before shot

And heres the after shot

New Growth

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Lyons Bonsai

So over the past two or three weeks i have noticed my little trees push out a lot of new foliage. I dont know is this due to the crazy weather we are having along with all the watering but has really increased compared to a few weeks ago.

This Cypress has pushed out very dense foliage pads over the past two weeks alone. And I though this cypress was dying only a few months ago. This has really surprised me and come on leaps and bounds. What do do with it now is the next question, i was thinking of literati as the foliage is all based at the top of the tree.

Here is what it looked like last year.

And here is what it looks like at the moment.

A bit naked down low but all the other branches where long and had no inner buds. And with these trees gaining a miracle from the Vatican if they bud back i decided to remove them.

A look at the foliage up close.

With a bit of wire and bending the trunk a bit may make this bushy cypress not a bad literati.

Also pushing lovely new growth…..

My little Himalayan Ceder with little back buds.

And my Sageretia Theezan which was resued from Aldi. Pushing nice healthy growth.

And the Juniper which was heavily pruned this summer. What to do with this is another question as i am decideding to let it grow this season and recover from the heavy trimming.

And to finish off, my little Hinoki. This was also pinched at the start of the summer to allow light to penetrate the inner branches to maintain vigor. After a bit of advice i think i will also leave this one grow for the rest of the season untouched.