Bonsai and a crisis of conscience - Tree #2 Zelkova serrata

Where do you Start, Pre-Bonsai, Developed Bonsai or Somewhere in between?

The greatest sum paid for a Bonsai was an ancient pine at 1.3 million dollars. Some trees are priceless heirlooms which have been tended by the same family for centuries. Obviously, these trees are WAY out of my reach financially, and I'm aware that I don't stand any chance of creating such an artwork in my lifetime. Slightly more attainable refined trees can sell for £1000 to £2000 and some Bonsai professionals advocate buying refined trees, so that you can get experience of handling a well grown, ramified tree with significant age, good nebari (the area where roots flare away from the trunk), beautiful bark, and maybe some jin or shari (dead wood) too...

But I'm a beginner, what if I invest in a tree nearing refinement and I wreck it, or worse kill it!? Not only will I have lost the tree and the money I spent on it, but also the work and dedication of the generations that developed and tended it. I feel the weight of that responsibility and I find it crippling.

I'm torn between two thought processes on how my Bonsai collection should take shape.

1) Developed Bonsai
My cynical side tells me that Bonsai professionals have nurseries full of trees that they want to sell, so of course they are going to tell you you need refined trees. And while it's true that a Bonsai is never finished, it does feel that a ramified tree would offer little creativity beyond changes to apex or tweaks here and there, because the main structure is set and has been for 30/40/50 years.

2) Young trees, seeds or seedlings
You can buy tree seeds, though for me that's never held much appeal - too much waiting! Or you can buy (or dig up (with permission)) young 'starter' trees, usually around 3-4 years old, they will be slender saplings, with few branches. They are a blank canvas, but they require patience (yes I know that's what Bonsai is all about), and they don't offer much opportunity to practice your skills in the early stages.

Or you can buy something in between...

Enter Tree #2 Zelkova serrata (Japanese Elm)

Zelkova serrata (Japanese Elm) approx 8 years old

Amazon Listing details:

• measurements inclusive of pot 46cm(h)x 26cm(w) x 21cm(d) and trunk diameter of 11mm at compost level
• the pot is a traditional 16cm plastic bonsai pot
• supplied with full instructions and to your door within 7 working days
• outdoor bonsai tree - tree pictured is the tree you will receive

Searching for supplies on Amazon recently, I spotted this tree and I liked what I saw. It was only £30 plus delivery. There was something about the shape that really interested me, and I've seen slightly bigger Zelkova, with less development sell for twice this price. It had been pot grown from seed for 8 years, giving it quite a natural deciduous shape, good internode lengths, and good division (bifurcation) of branches from 1 to 2, 2 to 4 etc.

It had a degree of ramification that I felt I could learn from, but it also had some areas that could be worked on straight away, such as a couple of multiple branches coming from one location, which I thinned to 2. I also cleaned the moss off the trunk as this can cause inverse taper if left on for a long time. Plus there was an old partial break up in the apex, so I pruned that out as well.

I think for me, at the level I'm at now (enthusiastic beginner), this little tree is a good compromise between price and development. It's further advanced than my other trees, but I don't feel 'over-horsed' by it, I'm not afraid to touch it or prune it or style it.

Keep your fingers crossed for us both, and I'll be sure to share updates with you soon.

Do you have any thoughts on this dilemma? Let me know in the comments :)
Love
PB xx

Bonsai - Let's begin with my trees - #1 Picea albies

"If you want to practice Bonsai, you need a lot of trees"

I can't remember which of my Bonsai guru's imparted that gem of knowledge, but it's certainly true. Once you've done a piece of work on a tree, you must let it recover, if you have only one tree, then that's a long wait until the next job can be done. You can't build skills and confidence like that.

In the few short months since I decided to reconnect with Bonsai I've amassed a small collection of trees and shrubs, spanning deciduous, evergreen, flowering, fruiting, hardy, tender, tropical. Hopefully that will give me a range of jobs I can do throughout the year. Here's what I have (so far!) ...

I had a Japanese Maple too...but I killed it #sadface

So you can see (maybe, if you zoom in!) that I have 18 trees right now, and knowing how 'invested' I get in hobbies, I expect that number to grow.

"You have to kill a lot of trees to make a few decent ones"

I can't remember who said this either, but I know I've killed quite a few trees in my time, mainly through a lack of learning during my teens.

Let me start to introduce you formally to my trees...

Picea abies (Norway Spruce)

I bought this for about £5.00 in early January, it was left over after Christmas.

A leftover Christmas Tree - Picea abies (Norway Spruce)

My first important job was to get this little tree out of it's bucket. It was planted straight in it, and there were no drainage holes. I was certain that the roots would be poorly formed, as a) the mass production of these trees means that time is money, and b) the non draining pot could have caused the roots to avoid filling any the sodden areas.

Left - Before root pruning      and Right - After!

I was right! The roots were a disaster. The tree had clearly been pushed down into the compost, causing the roots to be forced upwards, and to wrap around the neck of the trunk. Roots had then formed at the top of the trunk, immediately below the branches (left hand photo). 

I decided there were no kind ways of working on this root system, so clipped off the high up roots, all the upwards growing roots, the tightly wrapped ones and the overly thick ones (right hand photo). That operation also removed most of the fine roots too.

There were a large number of branches growing from the same points on the trunk, so I thinned them out, but left the remaining branches unpruned, so the tree had some foliage to aid recovery and healing.

Post-pruning and repotted.

Now this isn't a styling - this is damage limitation. Too many branches coming from one trunk location, moving resources to and from the foliage can cause the collars (where the branches meet the trunk) to swell together, and overly thicken the junction. When this area gets to the point where it is wider than the rest of the trunk (nb it can happen on branches too), it is referred to as inverse taper and becomes a fault that is hard/impossible to recover from.

After this initial work, I'll leave this tree well alone and see how it responds. You can see in the final photo (above), repotted it in approx. 75% Akadama (granular clay-like material used widely for bonsai), I've indicated a potential front for the tree (white pointy piece of plastic), and I've had to stabilise the tree with crocks on the soil surface, otherwise it was just falling over - not surprising really, now it has so few roots.

I've got the tree in an unheated greenhouse to protect it from cold, frost, snow and wind, and when I start to see signs of growth, I'll begin feeding this little Spruce with omakase japanese bonsai feed pellets.

Right! 1 down, 17 more trees to go!
See you soon
PB xx