Open umbrella - Eugenia (Brush Cherry) progression.

I love to work with this species - they grow so fast!

I planted a few seedlings into growth bags to be trained into Lollypop trees. When I started in bonsai I did not have access to a lot of bonsai material so I used this one to practice proportions, ratios, branch placement etc. Looking back today I can not figure out what I have done to the poor stick in a pot! This is the tree somewhere in 2010:

I know I could not use the tree as is and decided to let the two lower buds on the base grow out to try and thicken it up:

I decided to remove the old trunk as well as the thickest sacrifice branch so I could get some taper and movement. At that stage I was thinking of growing it into the traditional informal upright:

Picked up the new trunkline:

I decided to let go of the idea of an informal upright and rather go for an African style. The tree 2012:

June 2013 - decided to cut the lowest left hand branch:

The tree October 2013:

The right hand side's crown will be grown out a bit. There is a good chance the tree will end up as a Pierneef form tree.

Air layer-instant Brush Cherry (Eugenia).

I got this tree in the beginning of this year(about February 2012) as a Lollypop tree. I did not care much for the trunk and crown because the trunk was too straight. I liked it because the tree had a very nice base. When I inspected the crown I did found a trunkline and decided to go for a literati but I realized the tree was going to look a lot like my one of my Privets. I decided to air layer the tree not to waste the crown. I used the pot method with normal soil. I also removed branches to form the trunkline.

The air layer done in Autumn(March/April, I think.):

 A close up with a lighter as size comparison:

To force the layer to form roots quickly pieces of bark were removed on a regular basis. By October I removed the last piece of bark and the tree did not wilt. I removed the layer by using a saw. The tree did not wilt after removing it. Here you can see the screws I screwed into the trunk just below the lower cut to keep the pot upright. There was a hole cut into the bottom of the pot and the one side slit so the pot can be wrapped around the trunk. It was fastened with cable ties to keep everything together.

This is the biggest advantage of using the pot method. After removal the air layered part can be kept in the pot without any disturbance. Normal soil can be used so you dont get that entangled roots as with sphagnum.

 The tree removed from the pot- nice roots has formed:

Potted up into a plastic training pot:

Cleaned up and wired:

The whole process took me only seven months - can't wait to start working on the bottom trunk!

 I almost lost the tree after an overfeeding and poisoning the tree. I struggled for weeks to keep the tree green because I knew I had lost most of the root system. As a last resort I enclosed the pot with aluminum foil to prevent any water loss and to keep out water also from the soil. The foil was also to keep the tree in the pot because I turned the tree upside down and submersed the area of the tree above the soil level for 30 minutes every second day. Don't know if it helped but the tree seemed to respond well to this treatment. The tree beginning January after the treatment:

 From there the tree has recovered well and it seems I have pulled it through. The tree today(March 2013):

 I am going to let it grow wild so that it can grow a strong root system.

Very glad it did survive!

February 2014:

The tree has recovered well and I have planted it in a little bigger pot:

 After removing some unwanted growth and wires:

Slightly from above:

I have not yet decided on the final placement of the branches. I will let it grow freely for another two weeks before I cut back the twigs.

Will update then.

Eugenia (Brush Cherry)- Lollypop to broom.

This is a Eugenia I got from a friend -it was grown as a lollipop tree:

 April 2009

 I selected a trunk line and cut of all the other branches except the the one going to the left where the trunk bend for the first time. This left me with nice taper but not so nice C-shape trunk in the crown of the tree. The tree responded well to the cut back and it left me with a lot of branches/twigs to play with.

10 months later and I've decided(sort off) on a front.

November 2009:

These trees are incredible growers and very hardy. They can almost not be killed.

I have replanted it into a shallower "growth box". I have wired the branches and I worked on the ramification and leaf reduction. I've found that by pinching and partial defoliatiion the leaves reduce nicely. That's why the branches are quite bare now. I want to grow two new lower branches- that's what you see lower down. The yellow arrow indicate the only branch that i have not cut off.
I'm also leaving a very low growth to help building the taper of the nebari- luckily there is some flare there.

From the top:

The nebari:

I have added some soil around the base to help build the nebari - I really needed some roots there!

June 2010

 I have defoliated the tree to concentrate the growth into the new lower branches and also to get some backbuds growing in the center  of some of the branches. The defoliating will also add to leaf reduction.

 October 2010. I have replanted the tree into a bonsai pot and it has taken it quite well. The new lower branches is thickening quickly. There is a bud that has started to grow lower down and I am going to let it grow to help build the base.

I have defoliated the tree again in February.

Before:

After:

 From the time I have partially defoliated the tree in February I tried my best to get the leaves as small as possible and I think I am winning:

After the defoliation I pinched after the next two "true" leaves and cut the leaves back close to the stalk. After this I am starting to get the very small leaves which normally shows as bumps/eyes/buds before the "true" leaves. I pinch again just after the small leafs. When I get too big leaves I cut them back to the stalks. I believe by keeping this up I will get the needed leaf reduction to make the tree look believable.

This has become one of my favorite trees. Due to regular pinching and defoliation I got too much ramification and the branch structure was hidden by all the foliage. It started to look like a real lollipop tree. I did some heavy thinning of the branches as well as wiring some of the branches. I am also trying to pull the second branch from the bottom on the right hand side a little bit lower.

I was very pleased with the end result - sadly enough a photo can not show the branch structure and depth of the tree.

There is also some buds visible lower down that I am going to use to build the nebari further. The compost you see covering the nebari is horse stable manure - next season I am not going to use it on the tree because it leads to too much growth.

Slightly from above:

If everything goes well I am going to show the tree in a regional contest in September.

I have shown the tree at the TOP TEN competition.....but it did not achieve the honor of being chosen as one of the top ten trees in it's class:

 Viewed slightly from above:

The tree looks much more natural looking at it this way. Maybe bending down the outer twigs will be an good idea.

I still need to develop the nebari and I think the second and third branch on the left will have to be lowered a bit.

Because we only had one growing month to get the tree ready for the show the leaf reduction process did not take place. Oh well, there will be another chance!

November 2012.

I have defoliated the tree again to see what is going on with the branch/twig structure:

 It took me more than three hours to defoliate the tree. After defoliation I was pondering on the idea of making the pads less "flat" like Walter Pall style his maples.

 My biggest concern with this is that it may let my tree look like a Lollypop tree. These trees are evergreen - if I want to show the branch and twiggy structure I will have to defoliate the tree for viewing or for a show.

There is an open space between the lowest left hand branch and after all the years I got a bud going!

The twig will become a new branch that will fill in that open space. I have cleaned up the growth and bended some secondary branches up and some down. The leaf reduction process will begin now as the tree buds out again.

February 2014:

After defoliation:

The pads are very flat and I decided to put in some up and down movement into the secondary branches:

A close up of one of the branches:

Still not very happy!

I am thinking of regrowing the branches in the crown?

Will see next growing season.