Alpineart's Blog

These are some of the numerous Pheonix grafts that i have been working on creating older looking stock from very young plants . Basically i select a nice piece of driftwood or a knarly hardwood trunk and carve grooves into it for the trainer plant to sit into, then strap with cable ties or secure with stainless steel or solid brass screws through the trunk and into the host wood .In time the plant will heal the scars and adhere itself to the hardwood .

This is one of the many plants dug from my garden several years ago and placed into large pots for development . Originally an ugly twin trunk plant i removed the ugly side and allowed the growth to run riot over the last 3 years .The results are excellent , i wired the branches prior to placing it into a bonsai pot . This will now be trimmed and nurtured to improved the overall appearance .The height is around 400mm with a base of 80mm x 110mm , i will carve a little off the bottom to lower the trunk below soil level with the intention of placing it into a shallow bonsai pot.