Chojubai clump

[TimS]

As part of my movement towards flowering bonsai, i have a 'hit list' of species i would like to add to my collection, most of them uncommon which makes ever fulfilling the list a challenge. I recently had the good fortune to be able to take over custody of this young Chojubai clump which was very high up on the list. It is a species and cultivar that i have long desired to grow, but had pretty much written off finding it until i spoke with Shibui, though he was just out of his own stock and had some still to root. I settled in for the wait for Shibui's to root, but in the mean time this one became available elsewhere and i jumped at the opportunity.

I could see through the drain holes that the roots had significantly filled the pot, and i didn't fancy heading into summer with it heading towards being pot bound, so i mixed sand through my usual deciduous potting mix (as they prefer a less open mix) and slip potted it out of the smaller pot and into the larger one. I did not reduce the root mass at all as i had come across stories of people root pruning theirs in Spring to detrimental effect.

From all accounts a deep pot is preferable, so the depth is about the same as it was, perhaps fractionally deeper, but the pot is significantly roomier for the roots to spread out. The foliage looks quite small because i have already pruned it back once to take some cuttings from it. Not sure how successful that will be as the cuttings i took are currently dropping all their leaves, but it's worth trying anyway.

So this falls into the basked of 'very long term project', but one that i already love and am looking forward to the future of. If at all possible i will try to layer some of these longer branches to extend the clump further, and hopefully a couple of suckers will pop up as well, though too many would weaken the plant.

As i took over it

start.jpg

Popped out of the pot and the exceptionally healthy roots, a great credit to he who started this clump though i would expect nothing less than excellence given his depth of knowledge and skill.

roots 9.19.jpg

Slipped into the pot and a comparison for size (and my foot)

slip pot 9.19.jpg

Lower view

slip pot 9.19b.jpg

[MJL]

This is a truly wonderful species and I can only look on with envy as to what this will become. A quick google search is enough to make your mouth water and seeing them up close if even better. Yes, maybe long term but the consistent flowering will give you constant pleasure - no doubt. It's in good hands and I look forward to watching it progress.

[shibui]

Cuttings do occasionally strike. Sometimes I get good rates, other times very few.
Suckers are much easier. the plant sends out stolons under the ground which then pop up and grow leaves. Take them off at repotting and pot up. Even without roots they will usually strike well.
Root cuttings also strike quite well.
Main roots are quite thick and will fuse to develop a thicker trunk base in time.
I have seen reference from US growers planting several plants close together to develop a clump quicker.

definitely a long term project because of slow growth but the results appear to be worth the wait.

[Keels]

I love Chojubai and I'm lucky as i have the largest clump you've ever seen in my front yard. It's got suckers everywhere. It's about 3 meters wide and 2 meters high. The winter last year was rough on it and killed some of it back.

I'm moving house soon so if anyone wants to dig some up in Canberra in the next few weeks your more then welcome. Just shoot me a message.

I have seen reference from US growers planting several plants close together to develop a clump quicker.

I have placed several plants together to develop the clump quicker. It's definitely faster as they do develop slowly

[shibui]

Your garden plant is probably not chojubai.
Chojubai is a dwarf Japanese flowering quince. Leaves, flowers and plant are all smaller than the usual types. Chojubai also tend to flower on and off all year round while standard types bloom early spring. There are many other normal varieties of Japanese flowering quince that are grown as garden plants.
Standard types can also be grown as bonsai and tend to grow quite a bit faster though growth is much more coarse.

[MJL]

I love Chojubai and I'm lucky as i have the largest clump you've ever seen in my front yard. It's got suckers everywhere. It's about 3 meters wide and 2 meters high. The winter last year was rough on it and killed some of it back.

I'm moving house soon so if anyone wants to dig some up in Canberra in the next few weeks your more then welcome. Just shoot me a message.

I have seen reference from US growers planting several plants close together to develop a clump quicker.

I have placed several plants together to develop the clump quicker. It's definitely faster as they do develop slowly

Geez I wish I lived in Canberra ... lovely offer.

[Keels]

Your garden plant is probably not chojubai.
Chojubai is a dwarf Japanese flowering quince. Leaves, flowers and plant are all smaller than the usual types. Chojubai also tend to flower on and off all year round while standard types bloom early spring. There are many other normal varieties of Japanese flowering quince that are grown as garden plants.
Standard types can also be grown as bonsai and tend to grow quite a bit faster though growth is much more coarse.

I thought Chojubai just meant Japanese flowering Quince. would make sense it only flowers early spring and growth is very coarse.

Learn something new every day... Thanks shibui.

Sorry if I got anyone's hopes of free Chojubai .

[TimS]

I'm slowly working through and updating my various threads for some of my trees (there seem to be more than i remember starting!). Photos are rubbish this time for some reason, partly due to this being a clump of foliage right now, partly due to me being a hamfisted oaf with a camera.

November update for the Chojubai clump. Looking very healthy generally; some leaf discoloration, though from what i read they do drop leaves in summer, and the new shoots are looking wonderful so i'm not over concerned. Fertilising has been on point, I have done a trace elements treatment as well around the time i up-potted it, and it is putting out some really solid growth as it spreads its roots out into the bigger pot.

I'm just letting it run for now, but keeping an eye on suckers. Given it's quite young and nowhere with coo-ee of where i envisage it to go, i'll let it get a good head of steam up before i cut it back particularly. Having not really seen any chojubai in person to reference back to, i'm just operating from what i have read (always dangerous but vetting that by using more trustworthy sources). Ideally i'd like to visit somewhere with more advanced Chojubai, and hopefully gain a little knowledge and understanding about how to progress this slightly odd species.

I am absolutely head over heels in love with Chojobai though. A time will probably come down the track where i tire of the heartache summer brings to me and my maples; when I've nursed them through a long hot summer, and one hot windy day scorches every leaf and i miss out on the best of Autumn colour yet again just as those glorious Autumnal days are around the corner. A time where i might find myself largely getting out of Japanese maples, but i feel like I've found a new, exciting direction here.

The quirks of this plant are keeping me intrigued and excited to understand it better. I hope to be in a position to grow more/ buy a more advanced one/ however i may come into more of this delightful species.

nov19a.jpg

nov19b.jpg

nov19c.jpg

gratuitous flower photo

chaejaponcho.jpg

[Boics]

Looks like it's loving life!
My Chojubai is slower than a wet week!
Your's has put on more growth in a few months than mine for a few years!
Admittedly mine is much smaller.

[TimS]

Looks like it's loving life!
My Chojubai is slower than a wet week!
Your's has put on more growth in a few months than mine for a few years!
Admittedly mine is much smaller.

Looking back at the first photos compared to the ones I just posted, I’m thrilled with the growth that has been put on. The extra pot space seems to be just what it needed.

If you want to post a photo of yours feel free, I’m always happy to see more Chojubai

[roseupshur]

Art is what defines a person and his thoughts and inspiration is the most important component of human's soul. Recently, I was inspired by drawing on canvas. The other day I ordered a multi panel wall art on Texelprintstore.com for little inspiration... My evenings have become more comfortable and prolific. I hope everyone here will find inspiration for themselves.

[TimS]

Kind of forgot i had started this thread, not a huge amount to report other than i repotted this clump a while back and it is happily breaking dormancy now.

On another note, i was generously gifted a young chojubai with the comment 'this is either another red one or it might be a white one.' White it is.

chojuwhi.jpeg

[MJL]

Excellent. Very fortunate! I am going to enjoy watching your chojubai develop.


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[yumcha1]

I managed to dig up this japanese quince from construction site about 4 years back, I'm sure this flowering quince is just a normal 'garden' variety and the blooms are snowy white. It is a slower grower and I'm hoping the exposed roots will fuse a lot more over time and the branches to ramify more to get a more clump style look. The flowers this year are particularly dense.

[terryb]

Kind of forgot i had started this thread, not a huge amount to report other than i repotted this clump a while back and it is happily breaking dormancy now.

Hi Tim,

When did you repot it?