Alpineart's Blog

This is the pine that was collected 14 months ago .

It had been growing in the usual upright fashion however it was located on a Deer or wallaby run and over time it washed  away and become a cascade .This also had been sprayed with weed killer 12 months prior to collecting .

I was in the process of collecting several in the area however the spray gangs  beat me to the punch .A year on it was still alive so i collected it 2 months later ,

after being trimmed and potted into a large training box it was due for a work over .

This is the first style apart from a trim just after collection . After careful consideration of all the features including the 200mm base with its aged bark and  the natural shari made by the wildlife in the area the apex for the jins was not in keeping with the trunk  movement so they too will get some serious movement or should i say a complete transition

turning them almost 90 to 180 degree’s over the next few days .It took around 8 hours to basically wire the main branches

I then spent another 2 days wiring and shaping , needle plucking and removing unwanted candles in and around the canopy in preparation for the jin and shari work . With the basic wiring done the tree begins its new life as a Bonsai trainer .Considering this tree was growing in a cascade fashion most of the new shoots and branchlets were now on the underside of the main branches .This was an issue as all the branches required rotating ,some up to 180 degree’s in order to have the new needles and candles in the correct position . I expect to spend another day on the tree in order to reset the branch stubs  and apex so it is in balance with the rest of the trunk line and canopy, with 20-30mm jins on the apex some serious wiring and clamping will be required .It won’t be pretty but no doubt it will do the job required .Fortunately the upper part of the trunk is not dead so it will be able to be manipulated easier than if it was dead wood

After another day its its still in the process of being transformed into a quality trainer .Personally i don’t particularly care what trainers look like in reguards to wire and tubing , blocks or any other items used to manipulate the branches or dead wood as the are simply trainers .Well after 4 days working with a Broken right leg and a broken toe on the other foot it been a challenge ,but a good all round result . This is the new front for the trainer, the natural shari at the base will get a tidy up over the next day or two and then a good clean to show off the reddish colour bark of the Monterey Pine . A little fine tuning of the branch plaement , then its off to the bench for the rest of the season , come Winter a new pot will be required as it will need to be re-potted .

Cheers and Happy Bonsai . Alpineart

This was collected from a local Winery that had major issues with Elm Beetle and Borer attack in their landscape tree’s . They were removed by a Bobcat loader  simply grabed ,  crunched ,  and ripped  out of the ground . I collected a tandem trailer load around 30 odd Elms ,  Maples and Cedars . Unfortunately the cedars didn’t make it however i still have the majority of the Elms and a couple of Maples  progressing well . This Maple was a grafted Atropurpurum , while it sprouted above the graft it died back and sprout from the original rootstock. This was ground grown and no looked after so it is quite open between the branch nodes . There was 8-9 shoot sprouting from the rear of the trunk , they were cut back with hedge trimmers last year and left .During Winter i removed it from the ground and put it into these doubled up seed trays for some ease of movement around the yard .They were simple screwed together making an enclosed trainer tray .I have in the past used custom made wooden boxes but find all the nasty pests love the decaying wood . Curl grubs are a major issue around here so plastic is the go from now on , cheap /free , light weight and reusable/recycleable /. Not getting any younger so weight issues with health issus make for some serious changes , all for the better .Anyway this multi trunk stump was restyled in 5 minutes into a trainer which will have numerous thread grafted seedling place around the open area’s in the new leaders . The trunk is 80-mm in diameter and the base at ground level is 180mm plus , this has major dead wood and a single live vein so carving the front will only enhance the base .The damaged done by the excavator is quite evident with the major trimming done If the carving is  done correctly it should look and become an old knarled trunk, something you would expect from a Yamadori Maple decimated by the forces of nature .I’m not looking to make this a nice formal tree but a radical rugged hard done by contorted bonsai . Hope it works out as planned .

.Cheers Alpineart

These 3 Japanese Maples were originally garden tree’s but a borer attack seen them removed and used for Bonsai trainers .These were placed back into the ground last year and had some whips thread grafted onto the bases . Not all were successful , they were re potted during winter and have since been defoliated . Now they are under going some more root work .I have used 2 methods here Thread grafting seedling and A tooth pick method for growing roots . Firstly both methods require a drill hole , however the thread graft cant always be placed where required due to the base being to big .This is where the tooth pick method has the advantage . Thread grafting is done by simply drilling a hole through the trunk or root , then a seedling that has been defoliated is inserted into the hole .The roots of the seedling is located in the required position and back filled with soil . .They are then allowed to grow on fusing to the original tree base , they are then severed from the top and the new root is created .The tooth pick method is used to stimulate and create a root where it is not possible to drill a hole trough the trunk base or in an awkward position ,Simply drill a hole where required to a depth of about 10-15mm . Then using a bamboo tooth pick snapped in half dip it into water , then into hormone powder and insert it into the drill hole . This is then covered with soil and treated as a normal bonsai regularly watered .Over the growing season a new root is produced in the required position .In some cases a combination of both methods has been used to do the job .These trainers go through a series of defoliation’s during the season .As many as 5-6 defoliation’s can safely be performed on healthy tree’s if the growing conditions are ideal .I have pushed Japanese Maples 7 times in a season however they have died due to the stress of the exercise , now i do 4-5 or 6  depending on the tree. These have had a full defol’ and a second minor defol’ and selective trim .In around another 3-4 weeks they will again be defoliated after the new leaves have hardened off . This will be repeated until late Summer early Autumn then allowed to change their colour and drop leaves as per normal winter seasonal change .

Cheers Alpineart