Mid spring trimming tutorial

Since it’s raining and I can’t go carve my neea from the previous post I’ll write up a quick article on these two ilex.
I haven’t shown any work on them yet but the principles here are for the creation of age in the small branches


They’re nice little trees.
Ilex vomitoria “schillings” are perfect for this style; which I shall call “Tree Style”.
They are not stylized Asian trees but have a more natural feel to them.
If they were growing in the wild these trees would be in the open (straight trunk, big rounded canopy), and fairly old (thick trunk and spreading nebari).
The goal with the wiring and pruning it to give the branching twists and turns which are indicative of old trees.
I recently read that Dan Robinson calls this process of giving the young branches as many gnarled and tortured movements as “giving them baby bends”.
He didn’t use this terminology when he was through Florida a while back but he did show us and explain why it happens in nature.
The older the tree the more it has to use gravity to get water high into the canopy.
A branch grows up and then down an up again (it is air pressure and surface tension that brings water up; the branch growing down is using gravity to move the water more efficiently) and then it’s shaded by an upper branch so it has to go right or left etc.
The older the tree, the more twists and dog legs and back tracks.
And that’s what I’m trying here, since the trees aren’t that impressive.
First tree before trimming

And after trimming

I could defoliate the tree if I wanted but I’m not too concerned with leaf size yet.
It’s time to remove some wire

That cutting in is not the end of the world. It will add to the gnarly-ish-ness.
On a tree this small I find it exceedingly difficult to (as is my want) unwrap the wire.
If you are watching me you will probably see me doing this:

using my scissors as a prying tool.
You should use needle-nose pliers or Jin pliers

like thus.
I just tend to use the tool in hand. Classic “Do as I say and not as I do”. I know.

This is an example of a more than right angled branch.

And the tree all wired up

It has a nice, airy feeling now. You can almost see the birds and butterflies flying through the branches……
Next is this artistically and dramatically potted ilex

I really like the base on this one and the structure is unique. Very unconventional.
It’s grown a lot since the first pruning

I styled these in January and I’ve let them both grow out.
I have lots to work with. I’ve removed the inside leaves to show you the new branches

Which are here, here, here, here, here

To achieve my twisty, turny branching I will use wiring

And clip and grow


Which will give me a branch like this

And the combination of the two will give me some nice branching.
And the finished result:

A few more years and they will be even sweeter.

Neea buxifolia update

When last we saw this tree (in this post) it looked like this:

That was last year.
It’s had quite a bit of growth. But on the only below freezing morning we had this winter, it was the only tree (including the buttonwoods and bucidas or any other neea) that was damaged. So it’s a bit ugly at the moment.
Here we are today

It’s finally just beginning to grow , I hit it with fertilizer just a week ago.
Which is a good policy, fertilize and then, a week or so later, do some pruning.

First, imagunna remove the wire. On a densely foliaged tree like this you might think its better to trim first and then remove the wire. But the act of taking that wire off will knock off new shoots and leaves anyway so, if you wait to trim, all those crucial branches you left won’t get knocked off from your clumsy big thumbs.

Basically, the nia grows fast but develops slowly. You will have shoots that grow 6 inches in a week but be in the wrong spot. Many people just hedge trim the tree and it’s convincing from a distance.
One of the best wiring jobs I’ve seen on a nia was the one on display at Epcot this year

It was styled by Jason Schley (www.schleysbonsai.com) and is one of the most natural looking trees I’ve ever seen. Good stuff.
So what I’m doing with the trimming is the same I do on all profusely budding trees, remove the growth in the crotches, all those shoots growing up and down, etc.

And as you see with the nia, that’s a job and a half.

I feel like a gorilla grooming a fellow ape.
Here is a branch

And the branch cleaned up

The tree buds all over; this is the backside

Which will all go bye bye.
Now some of these shoots I will keep

This one above might be in the right place.
Here we are all trimmed and unwired

I can hear it now. Whats up with this branch?

It’s too skinny for a first branch. Cut it off, nag nag nag.
I like it. It balances the tree. Often, an old tree will put out a branch low on the tree. That’s why I’m keeping it. My friend Allen Carver calls it an incidental branch.
I believe it NEEDS to be there.
And this branch in the back is needed too

It is crucial in the composition. It literally draws your eye back up the tree after leaving that first branch.
I wish more bonsai artists explained the concept of composition. Instead they fall back on the tired teaching tool of “first branch, second branch, back branch” and don’t tell the student that this is a short cut to composition.
Composition is the placement of elements so that the eye travels around the tree in the direction the artist intends.
It usually begins with some focal point; in bonsai it might be a flower or a big trunk or a deadwood feature.
A truly magnificent tree will have you discovering these features for long minutes.
A little wire now and:
The left side

The right side

A look at the spots that need carving

Which I promise I’ll do soon. Maybe this afternoon
Back, trunk and base details

And yes, it’s a chipped pot

I plan on repotting it in a month or so (mid June). Maybe I’ll find a pot at the convention.
And the progression
Before

After trimming

And after wire

I’ll carve it soon, promise, and you’ll be the first to see it.

Picking up our trees from Epcot

It’s been a long 10 1/2 weeks but its finally over for the 2013 Epcot Flower and Garden Show.
It began on a cold Wednesday morning on March 6th and ended on a hot and humid Monday, May 20th. It had rained last night and that made it steamy.

We all drove in to the Japanese Pavilion again.

Which is always a very disconcerting thing to see; cars actually parked inside Epcot where people are usually walking.
Disney provides all the labor

and we stand around and chat

which is a good deal, I think.
The 2013 Bonsai Societies of Florida Annual convention is in a few days, there’ll be no standing around then (well, for some there will be. But not me)
Disney again broke out some heavy equipment

Look at the wheel covers on that bad boy.
They have the install and the strike routine down pat

We were all out of there in under an hour.

I had had trimming duty about three weeks ago and I cut the tree back hard then, and the thing grew back quick

For being such a slow grower it’s been really shaggy for the show.
I’m baby sitting Dave’s willow leaf ficus grove for a few days (he went into the park to walk around with his wifey and have some fun)

It will sit here for a bit.
And mine

Back home to rest.
We get to keep our signs

Which is pretty cool I think. They may have spelled Buddhist wrong though.
At least my name is spelled right.
And no, in not the singer for Maroon 5 or related to Avril Lavigne (I probably am but I don’t know her)
Thanks again to Paul (OrlandoBonsaiTV) for letting me participate again this year and thanks to all the exhibitors and all those on the trim team for all of their hard work.
And thanks to Epcot for a great show.

Ficus triangularis, awwww, it’s a sweetheart bonsai tree

As I promised in the last post, here is the styling of that ficus triangularis

I found it at Jim Smith’s nursery in Vero Beach. I’d actually seen it many times and finally it said to me “Adam, take me home. I’ll be a good tree for you”
And so I did.
The ficus triangularis or, triangle fig, is native to Malaysia and more specifically, just off the mainland on the Triangle Islands, hence the name. It is a ficus that doesn’t need much water and,if watered too much, will become chlorotic and yellow. It naturally grows on the lee side of the mountains on the Triangle Islands and therefore gets very little water. Which makes it a good subject for bonsai when using good, inorganic bonsai soil. It can grow about 20 feet tall but mostly it is used as a houseplant (Egads Jeremy!)
Ficus triangularis is often mistaken for mistletoe fig (ficus deltoidea).
The flower and fruit are different and the leaf is different too.
This is a sketch of the mistletoe figs leaf

Notice the veining.
Now a pic of the triangle fig’s leaf

F. Triangularis will have pretty big leaves (it grows in partial shade, like a coffee plant) but, if grown in full sun and leaf reduction techniques are used, the leaf size can be brought down to less than an inch.
They flower often (which, with a fig, looks like the fruit) and all of them I’ve seen have the fruit/flower present.
The bark color and texture remind me of the f. Burt davyii, smooth and creamy. Which is not a surprise as the f. Burt davyii grows on Burt Davis Island in similar conditions.
Ok….I’m lying about the Triangle Islands (and Burt Davis Island).
Everything else I’ve said is true. Mostly.
Sorry.

Let’s style the tree.
First, defoliate

The soil that this has been growing in is totally broken down and as fine as silt (its been waiting a long time for me to pick up). Subsequently, there is very little fine root growth. And it’s suffered a bit, it has had much twig dieback. Which, according to my f. Triangularis expert on call, is not usual.
This knob

And this lower branch

Show the scars of the dieback.
The lower branch must go in this design (bunjin) so I can clean the lower bulge up a bit (that sounds dirty)

That’s better.
Now some wire

The tough thing is matching the branch placement with the unique trunk character. It’s very angular but a rounded angularity.
The pot I’m putting it in is one I got years ago from Dale Cochoy (Wild Things Bonsai Studio) and I’ve finally found the tree for it.
Here’s a look at it

Some branch details

And now, the front!!!

A photo of a bunjin tree is always the hardest photo to take. One can never get the subtle movement and depth that a bunjin is known for.

They are meant to be walked around and looked up at.
Again I will reiterate this assertion: seeing a photo of a bonsai will never show you what it looks like. Go to shows, nurseries, exhibits and see them in person.
This

only shows line. Not depth.
Anyway, my plans for this tree.
A sketch:

That left branch needs to be longer and the angle lowered. Which will happen in time. And it just needs some more ramification and twigging.
And leaves.
Hope it was worth the wait.
Oh, another common name is the sweetheart tree. The leaf is heart shaped. Awwww…..

Labor of love

This is my work

I picked up some stock plants recently to sell at the upcoming 2013 Bonsai Societies of Florida State convention.
My aim is to style, root prune and make pretty these trees. Some I got for growing out and one or two for my collection.
Here they are individually
They’re all ficus. This one is f. Retusa

F. Salicaria

F. Salicaria

F. Microcarpa

F. Retusa

F. Green island

F. triangularis

Beginning at the beginning, we have a clump of roots

With a chopstick stuck in them.
A lot of the time I will just saw off half of them. But I know these were cuttings and they were planted deep.

That much trunk was under the soil line. I may not keep it but its good to know its there.
These are ficus.
What I can do to these roots I cannot do with other trees.
It’s also May in Florida.
These will have new leaves in 1-2 weeks.
Do not think you can do this in Indiana or Edmonton like I can here in Florida.
I must underline this, the time to repot or initial pot is when nighttime temps are about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Not in the winter or when the tree is dormant.
This root

which is tough to see; how’s this?

It must go, plus a lot of the trunk that was buried has to be removed too

That’s better. It looks like this tree wants to be banyan style so I’ll need a wider pot

Some wire

Which should look like this (somewhat) by the end of summer

Now, I won’t go into great detail with every tree. I think that might just bore you, so I’ll hit the highlights and such.
Next tree is a retusa

I’ve trimmed the roots and now for some chopping

I cut here to begin ( Law of Bonsai: you can’t glue a branch back on) but I think it needs to be shorter

Too much reverse taper that won’t get better with time

Better.
In a pot and turned around

Good.
Next is a f. salicaria

My hand is covering up the trunk that was under the soil.

My thumb is an inch wide at the knuckle. So figure about two inches buried underneath the dirt.
Always dig down.

This tree has a lot of branches (good) but it also suffers from a lack of taper.
Thwunk!

Whoops! Can’t glue that back on either.
But I think it’s for the best

I might have to keep this one myself.
Next!
We have here a typical example of the
F. Microcarpa.

I got this one as a stock plant to chop back and grow out. And take cuttings off of, so…
Whack!

Chop!

Plant!

So why did I cut the roots so far back? I only want the surface roots to develop, and if I left the big chunky roots it would give the tree no reason to grow the side ones. Kinda like when you are decandling a pine tree you want to even out the growth.
Next!

A nice f. Salicaria with an amazing nebari.
Unfortunately that’s all it has.
A little sawing

Some serious chopping

A pot and some wire

It should work.
Don’t see it?
Well, ok, here you go then…

Don’t think so? Give me five years.
Next is another f. Microcarpa I purchased to grow it bigger

Ouroboros-esque, no?
I’ll need to fix those roots.
Why?
Well, they are not very tree-ish.
But aren’t you trying to grow this bigger?
Yes. It’s better to address this now before I have an awesome plant to kill rather than this stock plant. Also, the roots I want to grow won’t grow because all the energy is sucked away into that big honking knob

This root needs to catch up

And be on the other side.
Get the saw

This will not kill the tree.

And that’s it. Put it in a 3 gallon pot. Let it grow.
Next we have this sweet f. Green Island

Nice root spread. It could be a cascade

with that long, low branch but I have a better idea.

It will be a root instead.

No, really. It’s low enough to pull it off and it works.
See?

That’s a trick you can use if you’re in a growing area that doesn’t promote aerial roots.
Next

Another tiger bark (retusa).
Where my fingers are holding it is where the soil line was. This is a recurring theme with this post.
Always dig down.
A quick trim

And a pot

No wire on this one… I can’t do all the work.
The next tree is one that truly called to me when I saw it.

Pretty respectable, right?
Wait until you see under the soil

It’s been in this pot a long time.
You know the drill by now, cut, saw, cajole.
And the roots now

And what was a nice little pig is now a big pig

What do you think of that?
All wired and potted

It’s gonna be sweet.
Almost done…..
Next

So this one really illustrates the theme here. I thought this would be a cute little tree. Until I dug down that is

This is the same tree. I wouldn’t try to trick you.
Wire and pot

It’s still a little tree but not a mame like I was hoping for.
These next two I styled and potted at a demonstration so I don’t have any before pics for you

They turned out well I think.

And the last tree is that f. triangularis.

This one is special though. It will get its own post. Sorry.
Here are the trees (minus the stock ones I’m growing) and a teaser on the triangularis (if you zoom in).

I could have done individual posts on these trees and maybe even made the posts interesting. But the techniques were all the same.
And the lesson: with a ficus that was grown from a cutting, always dig down to find the true base. Don’t trust what you see at the soil line.

Slightly unorthodox display table

When it comes to displaying my trees in my garden I prefer something, shall we say, different, than what most people use.
The general rule is that the display table shouldn’t be so extravagant that it draws attention from the tree.
As wacky as my tables might be, people always look at the tree first.
Starting with this found piece-

which is one side of a kid’s bunk bed, I’m going to make a bench.
Tools:

Angle grinder, welder, gloves, welding helmet.

I going to remove this mechanism,

which is not very pretty, but the bolts holding it

are rusted solid.
Grind the head off

And get the BFH out (big effing hammer)

Now the shelf supports

Gotta get rid of that square tab

And grind off the paint. You need clean metal or its tough for the arc to complete the circuit.

I like to use metal because you don’t need the bracing wood requires to give the piece rigidity. The shelf supports are 1-1/4 inch angle iron and the thickness of the steel is 1/8 inch. The bed frame is not as thick walled steel as the angle but, being tubular,has stiffness. The trick will be not burning through it. Welding thick to thin is a bit tough.
Using my trusty magnetic right angle

A couple of tack welds to hold it

Make sure it’s straight and square

And weld it up

Brush off the slag with a wire brush (Wire brush? Because it works)

Ain’t that a purty weld?

Other side

The angle iron is galvanized (Don’t weld on galvanized steel unless you are wearing breathing protection) and it’s tough to see but the welding/ heating process on the galvanization makes a snowy, cottony white substance. Don’t breath it. Not good.

Now some legs

And it’s off to paint

What next?
I like to juxtapose different materials and styles.
Granite with iron rebar.
Plastic with marble.
Chrome with rust.
Contemporary with rustic.
This will be a contemporary steel shape with rustic, rough cut wood.
It might work.

I’m back at the house and my son Andrew is helping.

Measure

Cut

Measure, cut

The frame is back from paint (I just spray painted it actually. I can’t afford sending something out. It sounds cool though. They say it all the time on American Chopper.)

Line the boards up. No measuring, we do the spacing by eye.

Attach the shelf to the frame

The material cost on this only consisted of the flat boards (3 at $1 apiece) the spray paint (99 cents) the consumables from the welding and the screws.
Really inexpensive. I love being able to repurpose things and make something from nothing.

Here’s a stand I made last year




The base is a rotor off of a car, the twisted wire was found scrap, the base is a chunk of red cedar I had from a wood carving.
A bit unusual (I don’t think the tree matches the stand. Maybe a left handed cascade might work better) but (most importantly) I like it.
Here’s new the stand in place


An armadillo sneaks into the story

Looks good with a tree on it.
I just need to put mulch or rock on the ground and it will look even cooler. Or not.

Recent Bonsai Travails

These last few weeks I haven’t been working on my own bonsai much. But I’ve been doing bonsai stuff.
I had my demo for the Brevard club and then the NoNaMe study group meeting.
Last weekend I visited Durostone Nursery in Vero Beach, Jim Smiths nursery.
There are still many trees for sale but, unfortunately he’s not propagating anymore.
This ficus

gives you an idea how long he’s been growing trees. There is a pot under there.
Jim is still holding his 4th Sunday workshops so take the time to see this Old Master at work.
This was a tree someone had brought for him to work on. I saw a face…

much to the owners chagrin.
Do you?
Does this help?

While in Vero I also visited Old Florida Bonsai to pick up some stock and check on the big podocarpus I carved in February

Richard repotted it and its growing well.
The carving is ageing well too

3-4 years and it’ll be a show stopper. It’s in good hands with Richard Turner. He has the artistic vision to realize the tree to its full potential.
Speaking of art, let me fulfill the “art” portion of this blog. It is, after all, in my contract.
First, some woodcarvings

The faces are carved from red cedar (juniperus virginiana). A really beautiful carving wood.
Here are some sketches, an interior

And a self portrait

What is art?
Are those sketches art?
The carvings? The bonsai?
Maybe. That’s another blogpost.
I’ve been expanding at the nursery with Dave and Guaracha’s help

We took out an old above ground pool and I’m now using the space it took up.
I plan on reusing the steel side as roofing material on a classroom that’s in planning. Soon, Adam’s Art and Bonsai Studio Nursery will be high class and full service.

But, as I keep telling Dave and Guaracha, one thing at a time.

In the bonsai world there is some sad news

I saw this on Facebook and then read this post from Crataegus Bonsai.
The American bonsai scene really could have used a West Coast equivalent of William Valavanis’s National Show.
Like it says, it will give us all 2 more years to get our trees ready.
Don’t tell anyone but whenever I heard “Artisans Cup of Portland” I saw a cement planter

Portland cement, artisanal urn…. Sorry.

On a different note, I had my last trimming duty at Epcot with the trees in the Japanese Pavilion.
I took some pics but I won’t do a full blown report.

That’s a Nea Buxifolia.
I had an epiphany while trimming this nea.
When this species first begins to grow, it’s always the interior shoots that grow best and quickest. Where there isn’t any light.
It seems counterintuitive.
I’ve been talking with Guaracha, who is one of the best collectors of yamadori in Puerto Rico. He says that nea grow in the shade.
Two and two and the conclusion is- nea respond to shade with better growth.
Their leaves are even greener and glossier.

Here is what a cone on a bald cypress looks like

Not to be confused with a cypress twig gall

Caused by a midge. Cut those off and burn the growths.

Please indulge me with some artsy shots
Ooh

My tree; I trimmed it well,

Now is the time to go to see the show, only 2 1/2 weeks left and all the trees are looking good (I did just trim them after all)
And my final pic

See y’all on the flip side