Image following 3 months pruning of the crown to develop a more compact form
Experimenting with creating bonsai is a great way to learn, and I happened across a reasonably priced plaited trunked Ficus in a garden store last year and wanted to find out a bit more about how they actually create the plaited trunks so I bought one to find out.
Below is the stages following purchase through to repotting to understand how they make them.
Rene Lecocq is from Belgium and is well known for his stunning bonsai pots, which apparently he began to create when he started the hobby for bonsai and his love of bonsai and inspiration come through in his pots. Here are a few images of his pots on sale at the Lodder Bonsai Open Weekend.
Hollow centre of trunk where cambium fuses on stems but inside hollow
Have you ever tried to fuse the trunks of trees, and if not why not? It is great fun to try out different species and so far I have had good success with Ficus as they seem very adapt at fusing trunks particularly Ficus benjamina.
Sunday 3rd May 2015 – Annual Show
Arrangements are now being made for attendance of bonsai traders and displays by guest bonsai societies. For the more serious this will be our 26th open competition with judging by Ken Norman. Door open 10:30 with the potential of over 100 trees on show from many local bonsai enthusiasts and from other bonsai societies.
Sutton Bonsai Club are holding their two day bonsai show at Wisley Gardens RHS, Wisley Lane,Wisley, Surrey.GU23 6QB on Saturday 11 & Sunday 12 April 2015. This will be a friendly club show with guest exhibitors and traders plus they are also offering a repotting service.
[tb_google_map address=”RHS Garden Wisley, Wisley Lane, Wisley, Woking”]
Why?
Bonsai are completely reliant on us for their nutrients to help them photosynthesise, most good free draining potting mixtures are inert and do not provide nutrients for the tree mediums such as Akadama are not able to retain nutrients for long and so frequent feeding is required.
If you want your bonsai to grow well they need to be fed regularly, some people think that to get small growth you starve a tree – you will get small growth for a while, followed by
If you haven’t bought a bonsai tree already this year then do not fear as Lee Verhorevoort has his new stock arriving soon. If you are interested then check out his website for more details of the types of species, forms and styles he will have in stock very soon.
For an update on when the stock are in send him an e-mail at info@lvbonsai.co.uk or get in contact Tel: 01322 528458, Mobile: 07976 709613.
Best Mame, Kit Bowns with a Larch
The premier UK shohin and mame bonsai tree exhibition took place on 15 March at Failands Village Hall. This much anticipated exhibition, Shohin UK II, was eagerly awaited by many in the small tree community. This is the second to be held by British Shohin Association and it was a complete success with many commenting on how improved the trees and displays looked. This does not take anything away from the trees in previous events but is more a reflection of how far the understanding of shohin and mame trees has come on in recent years and also how the aesthetics of showing are becoming more understood in this niche of bonsai displaying.
Spring has now sprung and hopefully all your bonsai trees have come through the winter. Here is a quick generic guide to bonsai in April but for individual species check out some of the other species-specific posts.
