WNC Bonsai
Omono
With spring rapidly approachnig I headed out this morning for another little collecting trip in my neighbor’s back 40. With a small stream running through it I knew there was a good chance for hornbeams and my search was rewarded with a small stand ready for the picking. The reciprocating saw made quick work of the roots but getting the top cut was a bit more difficult—now I remember why we called it ironwood when I was a kid. I came out with 2 nice specimens, both about 24”, nice taper, movement, and some nice muscle development.
The bigger one is 6” across at the soil level and 3” half way up. What really attracted me though was the deadwood at the base on what will be the front. I am not all that happy with the large branch on it but I was reluctant to lop it off . Should I go ahead and do that now or wait for it to establish and cut it next year? I had to put it in a 12” plastic training pot since my colander was too small for the roots and I didn’t have time or materials handy to make a box. Actually this plastic pot holds about the same amount of soil as the colander, due to its sloped bottom. Should I leave it in the pot or move it to a box?
The midsized one is 2 1/2” across at the soil level and 1 1/2” at top. That’s only about 1” taper over the 24” trunk, but the muscle evelopment is beautiful. I also potted up a couple small root sprouts that broke off the larger tree as I was digging it up. We’ll see if they survive. I dusted the roots with hormone and potted them up in a mix of 1/3 pumice, 1/3 permatil, and 1/3 pine bark. Only time will tell if they survive. My thanks to Zach Smith for the inspiration amd instructions.
The bigger one is 6” across at the soil level and 3” half way up. What really attracted me though was the deadwood at the base on what will be the front. I am not all that happy with the large branch on it but I was reluctant to lop it off . Should I go ahead and do that now or wait for it to establish and cut it next year? I had to put it in a 12” plastic training pot since my colander was too small for the roots and I didn’t have time or materials handy to make a box. Actually this plastic pot holds about the same amount of soil as the colander, due to its sloped bottom. Should I leave it in the pot or move it to a box?
The midsized one is 2 1/2” across at the soil level and 1 1/2” at top. That’s only about 1” taper over the 24” trunk, but the muscle evelopment is beautiful. I also potted up a couple small root sprouts that broke off the larger tree as I was digging it up. We’ll see if they survive. I dusted the roots with hormone and potted them up in a mix of 1/3 pumice, 1/3 permatil, and 1/3 pine bark. Only time will tell if they survive. My thanks to Zach Smith for the inspiration amd instructions.