Himalayan Ceder progress

So this is my Himalayan Ceder, which i bought last summer 2012 from a local garden center. It was there for quite a while i say. It was a lot taller than what it is now and decided last year to cut it back, Since then i just shortened the branches. Next job is to decide what branches to select and allow it to grow freely untill next season as it could do with a repot then.

Here is the ceder when i acquired it last year before i shortened it.

This is it now, after being shortened and is growing quite well.

Still has a lot of filling out to do.Especially as one side is quite bare compared to the other

I was thinking as there is practically no movement in the trunk as going with formal style. There is quite a lot of work and time will be spent on this tree but i can see the end product in my head, nearly 😉

So in march 2014 i decided to bring the ceder along to our club meeting to give it some wiring.

 

As it turns out i only got half the tree wired that night, me taken my time as usual 🙂

So i have been looking at it since march and haven’t gone near it except to water it. So in June 2014 i decided to finish the wiring. This is the way it has been on the bench for nearly 3 months.

So get wiring

I could tell the top was sucking all the energy from the lower branches. So gave it a small haircut also. And finished off the wiring

 

So thats how the tree stands in June 2014, just want to get plenty of ramification on the branches now. Will keep an eye on it 🙂

 

 

Juniperus Procumbens Nana Part 1

This little juniper was in my local nursery, not far from my house. I have seen it for a while now and was considering picking it up. A few weeks ago I met the owner of the nursery and he gave me a discount of the already reduced price of 8 euro i think ( I strike a hard bargain 🙂 ). So i decided to pick it up as I read that they make nice bonsai. Anyway the past few weeks I have been looking at it during watering not knowing what to do with it.   The reason i liked it and had been watching it in the nursery for so long, was for the little twisting of the trunks. But each time i gazed at this tree from different angles, i was lost as what to do. So today I decided i was going to grab the bull by the horns and just get wiring. I am usually quite conservative when it comes to making decisions with my trees. But I feel just getting stuck in, while taking the health of the tree into consideration is the only way to go. Its the only way I will learn. So I decided to have a look and see where to go. Here is a look from one angle A look with out the pot And another   First bit of wire to go on the tree.     And a closer look And a second helping of wire to help with the bending.     Continuing with the natural bend of the trunk.   Another angle   While bending the tree I heard the dreaded ‘crack’. It turned out not to be too bad. On further investigation my dear Watson it looks as if my lack of wire on the first run may have been the reason for my crack. Maybe if I had continued with the wire it may have protected the branch where the crack happened. 

So out with my trusty wound sealer. Hopefully will do the trick.

 

A few different Views.

So this is the tree now, with the pot cut down to size and a lighter for height comparison. I think I will look at wiring the other trunk into semi cascade and some of the smaller branches over the next few days. I didn’t remove much foliage, but will be looking at that the next day as well.

Before

 

After

March Club Meeting

Yet another month has passed, and another bonsai club meeting. We met in the usual place as we always do and had small enough numbers with 5. But all in all it didnt matter there was plenty of chat and craic about everything Bonsai.

We then had a talk about everyones trees individually against are great backdrop. Will have to get a proper one for the next meeting and some decent lighting. I hear blue is the colour to go with 🙂

 

Juniper X Pfitzeriana Progression

So this is a little juniper i picked up about three years ago in 2011. It was one of the first trees i bought with the intention of turning it into a bonsai. Probably not the greatest of material to start with, but said i better use it and learn on it while it is still alive. Anyway it has stayed alive over the past two years and was growing quite strongly. Here is a photo of it last year.

I had a look at this tree the other day and decided i better do something with it as i was quite sick of looking at the horizontal broom it had become. So I took it inside last week and began wiring it. I must say it filled the house with an amazing aroma, although i don’t think the missus was to happy. Here’s a photo of it at the meeting the other night March 2013`.

Will keep a close eye on it now as to when the wire will cut in, and may decide to give it a repot at the next club meeting.

Pinus Mugo Progression

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

Hinoki Cypress Progression

This is my Chamaecyparis Obtusa Nana Gracilis. I acquired it just over a 2 years now in 2012 from a small garden center in the middle of no where, it was just sitting in the corner minding its own business until i came along. The garden center owner was more than happy to sell it cheap, I think I paid 6 or 8 euro in the end for it.

I have not attempted to style it in anyway, only keep it alive and healthy. When I first got it I reduced the size of the pot it came in by cutting the top down and removing a small amount of top soil. On doing so I revealed the second trunk and a nice enough small natural shari. I reduced it further this year to get to the base of the trunk.

I just pinched the new growth to allow sunlight to penetrate to the inner branches, as I have heard a Hinoki will never back bud on old wood. I was hoping to maybe begin to style it this summer and repot it next summer as I don’t know how long it has over stayed its visit in the pot it is in. Anyway here is some photos I have been meaning to up load a while since starting the Blog.

I really like this shot from underneath

Some growth I am trying to protect and encourage

From above

Just need to decide now where to start with styling. Plenty of thought and research before hand 

At the Munster Bonsai Club workshop, i had the oppurtunity for Ian and Phil from NIBS to have a look at this and see what they thought.

After some discussion it was decided to remove the lower branch and begin to wire it.

It was decided the whole tree needed to be wired in the end, with help from Ian it finally got done, Here me grooming my balded tree 🙂

The before image

The after image, Finally 🙂

So that’s where the tree stand at the moment, Just need to keep it going strong now.

Noelanders Trophy 2014

A Video Displaying some of the amazing trees from the Show this year,

Enjoy

Bonsai Journey Japan, Seeking Light Part 4

Well lads, the forth part of this series was uploaded today. Like the first 3 episodes this one is well worth a watch. Enjoy

Some Great Videos by Viet Luan Tran

A few weeks ago, i saw one of these videos posted on a friends Blog. I didn’t watch it straight away, but came across it again last night, I must say Its quite a clever idea the way the videos are done. Quite amazing to be honest.

In one of the videos they apply lime sulphur to the deadwood, and as the video progresses you see the deadwood whiten. I thought i was quite rare to see how much work and alterations were made to the smallest of branches over and over again to provide great results. Even though many people may have seen these videos, i thought it would be well worth the share for the people that haven’t seen them.