Derek started the hobby of bonsai in 2006 so has 11 years of practical experience with trees and plants as bonsai. He also does cacti and succulents as a hobby too and he finds that the two hobbies compliment one another. He is also the Chairman of the Wiltshire Branch of the British Cactus and Succulent Society.
Branch removal on a Ficus by Derek
His favourite tree species is Ficus and he enjoys working on them and also styling and developing them and has a large collection of a wide variety of ficus species. He has tried a range of styles from informal upright to groups and clump styles plus growing the ficus over root for exposed root style.
Derek at a Swindon workshop club night
The main bonsai tree size he has is shohin and chuhin and they are mainly bought trees but he has developed a large collection of cuttings and air layers from them now.
Ficus, height 20cm created and owned by Derek
He enjoys the hobby as bonsai and likes meeting like minded people to share ideas with. He likes to research trees in their natural environments through searching the internet for examples of how figs grow in the wild like the ones growing over the temples and rock figs in Baja in California.
Ficus benjamina owned by Derek
He still feels there is so much to learn wants to over come frustrations when the trees don’t do what you want. He also wants to learn more techniques of ramifications on Ficus species.
His least favourite tree is the pine tree and his first ever bonsai was a Ficus and it was a friend who originally got him into bonsai.
Derek at Heathrow Show October 2017 with Keith from Solent Bonsai
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