#BonsaiNews: Some of the latest projects I'm working on (It has been a while)
TIME has gone by so fast over these last few months since I've last posted anything resembling an article at all and it feels great to be doing just that again after some two months of obvious silence on my part.
To the 458 followers I've managed to gain, and especially to the followers who enjoy my bonsai related content, I'm sorry for neglecting you all these last few months.
Long story as short as possible - because it is about to get lengthy - I've been working on quite a few bonsai these last few months and tragically, some of my older trees have died (including Hangman's Delight which will probably become a home for a graft tree later).
READ THE FULL STORY HERE: #BonsaiNews: An update on some of my plants and trees
Now, for some of the things I'm currently keeping myself occupied with when not at work.
After a troublesome winter and searching for little over a year, I've finally managed to get my hands on some Jacaranda tree seed and have planted them this morning around 5.30am just as the sun was coming up.
If you want to know how to grow them from seed, have a look at the following article I wrote not that 'long' ago:
#BonsaiNews: If you like flowers on trees, the Jacaranda tree is perfect for you!
I've also opted to plant some Coral Tree seed as these make for some splendid bonsai - the best part is that the tree flowers first before its leaves arrive. Quite a marvelous sight to behold. (And it beats paying R4800 for a tree that's already established - roughly 23 years old)
I have to warn some people who would like to go buy expensive bonsai. Just because the tag is pricey and you think you are buying an old, beautiful bonsai, doesn't mean you are. I've had a run in with a bonsai nursery based in Durban and it turns out their 'old trees' are nothing but cuttings with roots not even having formed yet. ALWAYS CHECK FOR THICK ROOTS IN OLDER LARGER BONSAI!
Now, if you live in South Africa, you'll probably know that most people's budgets are very tight at the moment with skyrocketing fuel costs.
Below is a bit of advice on how to make the most of your money and still have a work of art which you can display with a smile on your face.
I paid a total of R395 for a pot, tree and a piece of decoration and although a bonsai master would probably shoot me for doing this, I quite like the irony behind the design of the below project.
I visited the Legacy Bonsai Center in Hillcrest, South Africa (450 Kassier Road, Hillcrest) this weekend and found a lot of inspiration after looking at how they design their bonsai.
Initially, I wanted to cascade this Juniper and aslo make use of a different pot but, when I saw the pot I had used above, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
I've had the below mud rock for a few years now and had finally got the chance to use it in this design.
After digging the Juniper out of its packet and spreading out the roots, I was a bit stuck, I'll admit because I initially wanted to trim back the roots but instead opted to spread them out into the length of the pot.
After removing some of the non-essential foliage, I got to work on working the tree into the pot.
A little bit of advice I'd like to give anyone working with species of Juniper, especially when you are a slow worker, is to ensure that the roots remain moist during a replant. Mist them as you work in order to keep them happy.
When I was finally done with the layout and everything, I was more than happy with the overall look and design, and even included a bit of irony in the design.
Now, technically, you're supposed to have the tree facing the opposite direction because of 'windswept'. In traditional design, the length of the tree should be facing toward the rock because of the wind that would be coming from the 'ocean' inland. Instead, the tree faces out toward the 'ocean' - note the feature that resembles beach sand with the walkway.
"What's that stick holding up the branch," you ask. I sometimes opt to use sticks to help guide trees in the direction I'd like to have them grow as opposed to using wire. Another stick will be added later to help lower the branch as it grows.
Another project I managed to complete this weekend was my baby Paper Bark tree. I worked with some really muddy soil so there are a little less photos than I would have liked but you should get the idea.
I'm not sure you can really see the amazing roots this tree formed but if you zoom in you should be able to. These made for a really lovely feature in the end.
That's a wrap with what I got up with my own plants but, before you go, have a look at some of the trees I saw this weekend while at Legacy Bonsai Center. They really put a lot of effort into their trees.
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Lots of fun photos from the tour at the end. I like seeing what people can make out of temporary rock pieces. It can be as fun and artistic as building with lego blocks.
That mud rock piece looks really cool. It almost looks volcanic or like coral ocean rock with all the pieces sticking out and the crevice holes.
Gotta keep the Hangman's Delight around for Halloween. No such thing as a spooky graveyard without some dead trees in it.
Yeah it was an amazing trip. Drove like 200kms just to get there but really worth it. Got so many new ideas and inspiration from the trip. I had no idea that coral tree leafs form thorns on some of the leafs so that is something I'd like to see in one of my bonsai someday. I have no idea just what exactly is mixed into that mud rock altogether but it definitely looks amazing - I tried washing off a bit of the muck from it to get through to the more 'visual' part but didn't want to get rid of too much of it. Hangman's Delight isn't going anywhere at all. Gonna keep him and maybe graft one of the Jacaranda trees onto him. PS. what I failed to include in the post is that (after nine months) my Juniper communis seeds have sprouted. Feels like a lifetime ago that I started germinating them. The Chinese Dogwood have rotted unfortunately so that is a bot of a loss but nothing is stopping me from trying again. I thought of getting a maple in but they don't do well in my part of the world - a real pity since they looks so great. Thanks for stopping by.
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I like your juniper in that long pot, it looks good. I really like the 'scenes' you create with your bonsai and am happy to see a new post from you :)
I'll do my best to keep up with fresh content. It has been really tough work wise to keep posting and running between multiple newspapers has been killing me slowly. Thanks for the feedback, appreciated.