As promised I wanted to provide an update on my Bonsai endeavors. All of my trees at the moment are dormant for winter, which is a good thing. However, as they are all in shallow pots, I purchased a plastic greenhouse that will serve as a base to keep the trees in over the winter months; providing adequate cover from the frost.
My Bonsai
Over the last two years, I have amassed a small collection of trees. So far I have five, the majority being made up of Maples.
From left to right, my current collection consists of a single Acer Palmatum (Dissectum), two Acer Palmatum (Bloodgood), a single Acer Palmatum (Deshojo), and a single wisteria (not in the photo above). The children in the photo are mine also, Isaac (5 years old) and Aiden (2 years old).
You'll also notice my collection is heavily focused on Japanese maples. I have a weird fascination with Japanese maples which dates back to my teenage years. In fact, my parents have two of my earlier trees situated in their back garden.
Both of these maples are in large 70-litre cylindrical pots. I fully intended on taking these with me when I moved out over a decade ago, however they are extremely heavy due to the amount of soil that each pot takes. Naturally, they have been left at my parent's house in the care of my Mother who no longer wants to part with them. Both trees are around 15 years old now.
Art & Balance
Although bonsai is an art form, the art is creating a miniature tree that mimics the aesthetics of a larger form; and because of this balance is essential. The balance of proportion, light, air, moisture, nutrients, etc - all have to be considered when creating a miniature tree.
I watch a lot of youtube videos on bonsai, learning from names such as Peter Chan (Herons Bonsai, UK), Corin Tomlinson (Greenwood Bonsai, UK), Ryan Neil (Bonsai Mirai, USA) and Bjorn Bjorholm (Eisei-en Bonsai, USA). I watch so much content about bonsai that my wife has created a TikTok regarding the pronunciation of the word "bonsai". It's bonn-sai not bone-zai just for reference, yes Ryan, she's talking about you...
My main goal is to learn what makes a good bonsai, whether one's opinion regarding the tree is subjective based on the material at hand - or whether one can play with the boundaries of the art form to impart some sense of self into the tree. A few videos I have watched mention the style of the bonsai master that created the tree.
Another thing I want to know, and primarily learn, is if these trees have some connection with the artist at a fundamental level and or whether they have connections with each other which drew the artist to pick them in the first place.
I want to explore the art, I'm a musician and have been playing the Guitar for around 20 years now. I don't write to please others, I write to please myself primarily. The problem for me and music is that once a piece is recorded - it's fixed to a point in time and has to be re-recorded to improve on it and is locked in time again once complete; whereas a bonsai is constantly growing and in turn, is constantly evolving - albeit over the course of numerous years and or decades.
Bonsai for me is a steep learning curve, I strive too much for perfection, perfection in technique, and in the art form. Bonsai will never be perfect, and I want to teach myself how to appreciate that but also learn patience in the process.
Styling
Typically in bonsai, maples styled in the correct way are elegant trees with grace. The canopy should be tapered in either a conical shape or loosely taking on as close to a triangular shape as possible. The Deshojo I purchased back in 2020 was already styled in such a way. However, my Bloodgood maples are raw nursery stock so have no styling whatsoever.
I've never shaped nursery stock before so I've been trying a few things.
The larger of the two Bloodgood maples had a trunk veering off toward the left-hand side. This made the tree quite large and appear juvenile, so it was the first to go. Removing this branch brought the tree back to a manageable size.
To give the tree a more natural look, most of the branches would have to be thinned out as well as shaped. We can achieve the desired shape using wire.
Natural-looking branches, or branches that give the appearance of age, have a downward angle towards the end of the branch. Usually, in nature, this is due to the weight of the branch itself and gravity pulling it down.
As you can see in the image above, the lower left branch has been pulled down. This will eventually form the first of the pad structure that is iconic in bonsai.
Because these branches are quite old now, they are extremely difficult to bend without snapping. In bonsai, there are many ways to protect a branch from the stresses of a harsh bend such as this, one of them is using a raffia wrap. This raffia wrap is soaked in water and then applied wet to the entire length of the branch: from the shoulder all the way to the end of the bend. The pressure of the raffia wrap, once dry, will keep the heartwood from snapping outright. However, it is best to slowly bend branches into shape so that they adapt and set over time.
You may also note that the lower right branch has raffia applied but has no bend, this was because it snapped during a wired attempt at bending. In order to not lose the branch, raffia was applied to help keep the branch together. This will heal over time but also means the tree will take much longer to be styled. Bonsai is a game of patience (not one of my virtues).
Eventually, the idea will be to pull more branches down to provide more pads but also set the structure of the tree.
Currently, two out of three branches have been moved into their intended positions and so far I'm happy with the result.
These trees are going to take a few years to get into shape but I'm excited that I get the chance to do this.
