Bonsai Bank Holiday

One of my jobs over the bank holiday weekend was to tend to the bonsai trees. I should qualify this by saying that none of them are real bonsai trees. Some might be classed as pre-bonsai, but most are just sticks in pots!!

The Larch (bottom middle) is sprouting nicely so I’ve repotted it and hope it will do OK. The maple (bottom right) is coming into leaf too, but is barely a tree. It’s not even a very nice shape as it has quite an ugly graft, but I never expected it to grow here really as it’s just too windy for maples. The larger one in the middle at the top is a hornbeam I think, and is doing OK – It’s needs lots of work to shape it into a decent tree though.

The others on the bonsai bench are struggling, so it remains to be seen if they start sprouting new leaves for the summer. All have been repotted and cleaned up a bit so they at least look a little loved.

I’ve got a few pre-bonsai elsewhere too. I’ve put some of the hawthorn saplings into large pots to see if I can grow them into bonsai. I’ve even wired two of them into nice sinuous shapes to add some movement to their trunks as they develop.

The Alders that I grew from a seed packet in a bonsai kit that Morgan bought me for Christmas are doing surprisingly well. I sowed them this time last year, they grew well last summer and seem to have survived the winter. They are actually looking really healthy. They can’t be called bonsai trees yet, but seeing as they are only a year old I think they look pretty good.

I’m not really sure what to do with them next to develop them into ‘proper’ bonsai, but it should be fun finding out and seeing how they develop.

Tags: Bonsai