Alpineart's Blog

These are a follow up to the previous post . Keen to get things done around here i decided to ask for some help  which is a rare occurrence  at my place .These are a unknown species of  Golden Elm , i hope to be able to correctly identify them through the  Forum Members of Ausbonsai.com I have  removed them from the training boxes/bags and re-potted them into training pots .A little root pruning won’t hurt these trunks the root mass was well established . Finding pots big enough was a bigger challenge , however i managed to rob Peter to pot Paul . With the re-potting done i defoliated each trunk so i could see where to go with the first initial styling . I trimmed each individual trunk and the next day applied the wire and shape the trainers into differing styles .To give you an idea as to the size of these trunks the cream drum pot is 210mm x 70mm The dead wood is much larger than expected so some major carving will be done during the next defoliation or at Winter time .Up to 80 % of some of the trunks will be carved out and sculptured . These trunks weren’t treated with any wood preservers or hardeners and no rot is present .Some Elms have a high rate of decay after the are carved .I still don’t have a positive identification on the species here .I did attempt to split some of the dead wood with a tomahawk , alas it was a tad bit too hard and would have only damaged the root bases . As far as trainers go these are progressing well and nothing is set in concrete when it comes to the final style .

Cheers Alpineart

These elms were collected in 2009 from a nursery .I planted them into the ground for a season , then removed half of them for carving work and potted up half a dozen for root improvement and ramification , The rest of the stumps remained in the ground although i did remove them to trim the larger roots back . These few have been regularly trimmed and maintained , a couple  died . I believe i may have been too aggressive with the chainsaw or the lacked after care . Either way i still have around 18 trunks alive and growing well including a single tree at 3m high .I plan to air layer the twin apex off during the next few weeks .Time poor at the moment as i am still recovering from the motorbike accident and walking hasn’t happened at the rate expected .Doing this type of work on crutches is extremely challenging . Simple carrying a bonsai is bloody hard work .I will be slip potting these 4 trunks into bonsai pots this afternoon and allowing them to settle  , then trim them back and begin the process of styling them into some sort of Bonsai Trainers . With a good established root mass they will no doubt handle the transition from bag/box to pot . Being out of action for 3 months has seen a lot of stock tree die due to my inability to water and care for them . The price you pay for riding Motorbikes . It hasn’t deterred me from climbing back on nor diminished my enthusiasm for growing and collecting Trees , or shaping and styling Bonsai .These trainers will get a serious work over during the coming days ..

Cheers Alpineart

This was purchased from Mike  , an avid collector of conifers and rare plants in Beechworth . It is slightly different to the  Number #1 tree having a blue hue to the foliage .This twin trunk will require some harsh cutting back as most branches are out of proportion to each other . I have decided to remove all the larger branches and retain most of the 1-2 year old shoots and basically start again . Removing the large branches i worked 1 trunk at a time , the  shorter trunk was well established with finer branching . The taller trunk had very few to work with however it will only have the upper 1/3 of the trunk with foliage on it .While both trunks will need several years to heal the scars i have retained all the younger growth to aid the healing process .I could have cut back to stubs and jinned them however i want a clean knarly trunk .All the cuts have been sealed with red clay to prevent the trunk bleeding .This dries to a hard crust and aids healing .  I have retained a small branch  at the base , this will be used as a sacrifice branch for fattening the base . A little  more removal  until i had a happy medium  retaining  the best possible amount of desirable branches . With the pruning done its on with the Aluminium wire for the trunk before wiring the branches with electrical coated copper wire . The tree is then shaped and a quick re-pot into a 400mm plastic pot , at a slightly different angle to the original position This will remain in the pot for a few years to allow for some serious root run . The finished height of the trunks are 500mm and 750mm , the base is 50mm . These Mugho’s have a growth rate of about 200mm per year so it will fill out in a few years .I will continually pinch out the growth over the growing period next year to induce back budding . For now its onto the bench and into the next project .

Cheers Alpineart