Brat Top Ten Bonsai event 29 October 2011

 

Acacia in open umbrella style

 

Cypress

 

Elm group

 

Juniper tanuki

 

Koos Robberts with his Ficus ROR.

 

Olive cascade 

 

Baobab with nice twiggy growth.

Celtis in a Baobab style.

This Celtis Africana grew as a self sown seedling in this bag that had another plant in it(died) for about three years. October 2008, when I started in bonsai, I did a "trunk chop" my way and it survived.

JULY 2009

It had a few big roots growing out of the holes in the bag which I cut off.

It has grown well through all the torture- all the growth you see was grown in 7 months.

The trunk of the tree stands about 17cm high.

I cut of only one third of the roots the following spring because I did not know if there were enough fine roots and Iplanted the tree in a bigger but shallower container- I wanted to grow out that ugly scar.
I also cut back the existing branches to get better ramification and  lowered the lowest branches.

At that stage the only way I see for this tree was a broomstyle.

This is the tree October 2009:

The nebari:

The apex was too high and I was starting to think of the tree in a Baobab style. Here is the tree August 2010 after the apex was chopped:

Here are the possible fronts to the tree in February 2011:

Here is the tree(September 2011) after I had cut back the twigs to the first or the second leaf. There were a few thin twigs that have died back but no major problem:

The nebari is covered up by horse manure to give the tree the chance to recover from winter and to encourage more fine surface roots.

When new buds emerge I am going to remove all the remaining leaves to help reduce the leaf size. I still need some of the branches to fill out but I believe this will be a "finished" tree by December.

Here is the tree in it's winter silhouette:

  The tree is coming along very nicely as a Baoabab style bonsai tree.

January 2013:

I have defoliated the tree today and have chopped the apex to keep a more rounded look. Will wire the tree again and work on the leaf reduction.

(I really think I must try and get a bend into the lowest right hand branch!)

Oktober 2013.

The tree was left to grow out freely after the winter rest:

 Without looking at the branch structure I determined a few fronts that I like and marked them. To examine the branch structure again and to start this seasons refinement I defoliated the tree:

From the top:

I removed all the downward growing branches and twigs, all the upward growing ones as well as those growing in the inside of bends and the ones to close to the trunk:

The branch with the leaves on is going to be developed into a new branch to fill up the open area. Here is the tree from the top after cleaning it up:

The tree will be left to bud out now but will be pinched after every second leaf to promote twiggy growth and small leaves.

Some pics July 2014:
 (Sorry, quality of pics not so good.)

An update: July 2015. The new branch have thickened up nicely. Another season of free growth will make a big differance.

Buddleja saligna

The famous Buddleja by Louis Nel of South-Africa.

Art of Bonsai BCI Award -2009

Another typical Buddleja grown from yamadori:

Description:
Buddleja saligna is an evergreen, small slender tree or shrub, 4-6 m in height in cultivation and up to 10 m high in habitat. It has got a much-branched crown with new growth almost vertically upwards. Older branches tend to droop.
The grey-brown bark on the older branches is longitudinally furrowed and young branchlets are 4 angled. The simple leaves are arranged opposite with a linear/oblong shape, olive-green above and whitish below. From a distance the tree appears grey.
Tiny white flowers occurs in dense clusters up to 5cm in diameter and the tree flowers profusely in spring, covering the tree in these bunches of flowers. The seeds are minuscule 2mm long capsules.
The heartwood is cream to dark brown, fine grained, heavy and very durable.
A typical example of a tree grown into its natural form:

REPOTTING:
Repotting is done when the tree is actively growing (In South-Africa Spring - Autumn), the best time being the warmer

time of the year. Heavy root pruning may be done as long as the top is reduced too. 

Big yamadori, even big trees take also well. Keep the transplanted trees in shade until the tree starts to grow. Collected material can be left in light shade for a full growing season.
Do let the yamadori grow freely for a while (2 years) before cutting back again. The roots do take a while to become established again.
POTTING MEDIUM:
It can grow in a variety of mixtures as long as it is free draining.

STYLES:
As the leaves reduce very well, the tree can be grown in any style. The tree (which is apical dominant) can even be grown in a cascade as long as the higher growth is pinched regularly. Yamadori suits themselves well for formal upright, flattop, Acacia or driftwood styles (A good idea because big wounds don't heal easily).

A few examples of the tree as bonsai:

The next pictures were taken at the Brat meeting at Kierieklapper Bonsai Kai(2014):

 This tree also belonged to Louis Nel:

STYLING:
It's important to note that this tree has vertical sap flow: remowing a branch close to the trunk directly under another may lead to the above branch dying. Rather remove the branch in stages. Roots feed specific branches so care must be taken when removing either.

The tree back bud easily especially after heavy pruning. Styling is mainly done by wiring and clip and grow methods. The branches and twigs are quite brittle so be careful when bending. For small wounds I only use flowers of sulfur but big wounds must be sealed to prevent the tree from drying out. The first buds on a healthy tree can be pinched after every second leave to reduce the size of the leaves. Defoliating is not necessary to reduce the leaves, but can be done to help with the ramification of the branches. Growing the tree in shade will lead to longer internodes and bigger leaves.

WATERING AND FEEDING:When actively growing the tree is quite thirsty. In spring, summer and autumn keep the tree uniformly moist. In winter the tree still needs water but just enough not to dry out. The tree responds well to organic or inorganic fertilizers.
Propagation:
Cultivation is by either cuttings or from seed. The seeds are very fine and should be mixed with river sand before sowing. Spread the seed/river sand mix over a 50/50 mix of river sand and compost in a container (about 10cm high). Water the seeds with a very fine mist sprayer or preferably from the bottom, by placing the seedling train in a shallow container filled with water. Due to the small size of the seeds it is difficult to estimate an accurate germination rate but 50% is feasible. Most seeds should germination within 3 to 6 weeks. The seedlings transplant well and should be planted in a 50/50 mix of river sand and compost for best results. Treat cuttings with a rooting hormone and plant into a well draining mix (river sand/compost, peat/river sand, etc). Keep moist but not soggy wet.
A growth rate of at least 70 cm per year can be expected, except maybe in severe conditions. Normal growth rate after the second year in the garden can be up to 1m per year.
Trees should be grown in full sun. They do not tolerate indoors for more than a few days(Leaves drop).
Alternative Names:
Witolien (Afrikaans)
Valsolien (Afrikaans)
Icqeba-elimhlope (Zulu)
Mothlware (Tswana)

Root over rock Ficus.

The root over rock tree above is a world renowned Ficus Sycamores by Charles Ceronio.

Root over rock Ficus is a very natural style here in South Africa. Birds eat the seeds and the seed loaded droppings find their way to little hollows and crevices in rocks. Here they germinate in ideal conditions; food, warmth and enough moisture. But soon the trees get to big and the tree sends out roots to find more of the mentioned. In nature these trees send out roots over the rocks - it is rarely a case of soil being washed away and the roots are then exposed.
Here is one of mine progressing nicely:

Notice that the tree is not planted on top of the rock- that would be unnatural.
Another one I am working on:

The soil was washed away so I could inspect the roots. After rearranging some roots it was covered up again.

Root over rock by Pieter du Plessis.
Here follows the root over rock series done by Pieter. He plants the trees/cuttings/seeds he wants to use in 60-90cm plastic drain pipes to develop as long roots as possible. When he removes them he wash of all the soil (one third gravel, one third garden loam and one third compost) and wrap the tree in wet newspapers to keep the roots moist. He emphasize to place the rocks as found in nature and to find a natural hollow where a seed would have germinated as in nature.

The one root into a groove.

He doesn't use the plastic wrap or foil method- the roots are pushed into the grooves by elastic bands and cable ties.

Polystyrene, rubber bands and cable ties to push the roots as close as possible to the rocks.

Cable ties are used to pull the polystyrene as tight as possible.

Some more cable ties.

Putting the rock in a plastic container and filling it up with the above mentioned soil mix.

....and lastly he uses a plastic piece of lining to fill it up further. After six weeks he will remove the plastic to expose the roots gradually. After a year the roots will be fully exposed.

Normally it is not difficult to keep a rock upright in a grow out container - but trying to keep a rock upright in a bonsai pot, is not so easy! The easiest way to solve this problem is to use something like Rockcrete - it is as hard as .....rock!

Holes can be left in the Rockcrete to fasten the base to your pot. With this one I am not going to use a pot - the base will be covered by a little soil - just enough for the roots to survive.

Some more examples: