This is a satsuki variety called 'Blue Moon', it was just a nursery plant with such a silly bend in the trunk that no one wanted it. But it was perfect for a bonsai beginner, just chop the top away and there was already something of a tree there. So i made up some home made mix and put it into a great big bonsai pot because i was too scared to cut its roots. That is the first pic from May 2008
After that i joined some clubs and got the advice to tip it over a little more and get it cascading. I bought some kanuma and a nicer pot and it became the first tree i ever exhibited in my first club show. Pic 2 in May of 2009.
The next two are flowering shots from late November of 2009.
And then the now shots
I took him along to a club meet and the president pointed out to me that it started off with such a strong movement to the left but then went right back over to the right again and it just didn't look right, believable. If it were to be a genuine cascading tree then it needed to have a definite direction and flow. He suggested that the lower section looked good and the awkward looking section above that should simply be chopped off! I was a little stunned. Others snuck over throughout the meet and whispered 'don't chop it! its a nice tree'. Anyhow after a month of looking it over i chopped her down! and am very happy with it. So the plan now is to build a head with the top most foliage, just where it is now, and to just continue the cascade out and down on the same angle adding more pads as it gets longer. It will probably get a deeper pot next spring. Not sure whether to go with a full cascade pot or semi.So what do you think, good chop? bad chop? full cascade pot? semi cascade pot?
Thanks for indulging me everyone,
Cheers all
Neal.
Much better
