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.