Alpineart's Blog

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

This  Juniper Procumbens has progressed very well , i have removed the aluminium wire and trimmed the foliage back ready for another re-wire and style .Using coated electrical cable i have wired them maintaining the spiral bends  , there will be quite a few that need to thicken hence the coated wire has been applied loosely so that it doesn’t cut into the bark and restrict the growth . With the jin branches set in position , i wired the rest of the branches which will be the foliage pads, i have also altered the apex and increased the height of the canopy slightly .This will soon be slip potted into a large tray to allow root run for maximum growth over this coming season .With a good season the longer branches should almost be ready for  creating the jins as per the original plan for this trainer .The current height of the tree is 500mm ,width is 600mm and depth is 400mm , when finished it will be 500mm high 450mm wide and 350mm in depth Hope you enjoy .Seven of the longest branches will be jinned back to the approximate width of the rock base .

Cheers Alpineart