[xtolord] Singapore Holly

[xtolord]

Entry for AusBonsai Shohin Progression Competition 2013-2014

Species name : Malpighia coccigera
Common name : Miniature holly or Singapore holly
Original height of stock (from top of pot to tip of tree) : about 270mm
Where you obtained it from : Vaneron Garden [nursery]
Cost of stock : about $ 32 [ after conversion from Rs to $ ]

Steven I'm awaiting your "Go" before starting any work. [ So should I wait till the end of month ? Or can I start straight away after you validation?]

Photos:

[xtolord]

Repotted the tree on the 7th April.

Removing from the nursery bag and checking the root system.






Found a very nice compact root ball, lots of fine feeder roots. Found some tap roots but nothing a good pair of scissors could not solve.


There seems to be two trees, but the roots are so much intertwined that its not worth untangling them
I would have to break those exposed roots to get those two trunks loose.


Identifying and removing the tap roots and excessive lateral roots.








Preparing the pot and substrate.
Preparing the pot






Mixing the substrate:
An old bonsai soil mix [ sand, pebbles, perlite, pine bark ] that I kept in a dry place.


Added more perlite to the mix.


Sift the mix to remove dust particles.


End result.


Added the bonsai substrate and some anchoring wires.


There was a small mount that was made with the substrate prior to placing the tree and anchoring it.


Added more substrate all around, then worked the substrate through the roots.


Had this rebellious root that keep poking upwards.
Ended up adding a rock on the root.






Place the pot to stand in water for 10 mins or so.


Added some moss on the edges to prevent the substrate from getting washed away when watering.




Done for now.








Because I exposed quite an amount of roots, the current height is exceeding the 250mm.


Will allow it to recuperate before wiring or pruning further.

[Neli]

Go boy go! Wish you all the best!
I would not have done this now...develop it to the max with all the roots and strength and repot thowards the end...Maybe you want to fine tune the roots?

[xtolord]

Thnks Neli
I want the exposed roots to age.

[xtolord]

Sketch of what's in my mind for this Malpighia coccigera :



The exposed roots have started to age a bit.
By Dec I'm hoping for a more mature appearance.






Wiring is scheduled for end of July / start of September, when I should be leaving winter and starting to enter summer.

[xtolord]

Not much happened since last time:


Front


Side


Root close-up

Wiring is scheduled for end of July / start of September.

[Shane]

This tree has a lot of potential xtolord. Looking forward to how you progress the design. Cheers Shane

[xtolord]

I thought that I could not possibly mess this one up, but somehow I managed to mess up
I should have wired the material straight off when I acquired it, it was flexible enough back then.
But now when I started wiring, several of the flexible main branches that I had identified were too hard to bend safely.
I even managed to crack two branches with one notable tear.
To make matters even worst, I was not paying much attention by the time I reached the thinning out process, my mind was still screaming "Baka!" for that tear I managed to do, so I ended up with removing some stuffs I needed and keeping other stuffs I should have remove, but now I need to keep to encourage new growth in those areas...

I hope it will recover and pull lots of new growth.

So without any further ado, here is the mess I made:


Before wiring


After wiring


The tear that teared my concentration.


And the subsequent mess I made on the thinning out process.

I'll have to play with the side angles to get its best profile, if I manage to find one.
This is what I was aiming for :


I might also need to do a repotting soon.

[Neli]

Ay aya ay! Darling? How did you manage that...he he he. I know you will manage to sort it out. Don't give up!

[xtolord]

Well I'm gonna try my best to salvage it dear.
Fortunately i've still got at least one growth season left.
I'll see how I can nurse it back to health in the meantime.

[Boics]

Great detailed post btw X.
Good stuff and I hope you achieve your plan.

P.S. apparently a bit of super glue and some graft tape might fix?

Cheers,

[xtolord]

Thanks Boics,

For the teared part, it shook my concentration and I did what I consider to be a messed up job on the pruning.
But its not worth the trouble to glue it back now. I'm bound to make another wiring attempt if it gets more growth, and I'd like to know where to be more careful with the pressures. The branch is still attached to the tree, it looks spectacular [ photos seems to make it look dull ] but the branch seems to be alive and kicking so far.
I'll give another review on how its doing in a few months.

I'll keep the super glue handy thought for next time though

[Tambrand]

Xavier,

you need to look for the other type of Malpighia c., it is one with leaves a bit larger and it grows well. The one you are showing is probably the smallest leaf type and it rarely ever does anything, save flower.
There are a few types of this coccigera.

I might have an old image of the other type, if I can find it I will post it to you.
Later.
Tambrand

[xtolord]

Xavier,

you need to look for the other type of Malpighia c., it is one with leaves a bit larger and it grows well. The one you are showing is probably the smallest leaf type and it rarely ever does anything, save flower.
There are a few types of this coccigera.

I might have an old image of the other type, if I can find it I will post it to you.
Later.
Tambrand

I've been looking around in the local nurseries for any other Malpighia varieties, but so far nothing.
The only ones I keep finding is this one.
Thnks

[xtolord]

Nothing much happening here:
The plant has pulled some new growth, but nothing major.
I'm starting to consider some alternate view angles too at this stage.
Also reduced apex to keep within Shohin limits