Privet Bonsai loses a trunk, seems happier

Finally back with a few things to share, I'll start with this Privet Bonsai that I've featured a few times over recent years as it's been a 'test' tree for many learning bonsai activities for me (learning how to transfer into a bonsai pot, pot fertilizing, carving and natural aging, wiring )  Now into the final stages of refining branches, and a final pot selection on the horizon (something a little more shallow to show off the nice trunk the tree has).

As you'll see if you just go back a few posts in my blog, this used to be a dual trunk tree.  I literally came home one day to find the entire 2nd trunk with all withered leave in a days time.  No suffering from lack of water or from too much - it just decided to go on it's way..  Well I cleaned it out and trimmed out the roots that had fed it.  I could find nothing outstandingly wrong (no bugs, no dry roots and no old clays as I'd bare-rooted this tree long ago..).   Sometimes..  Nature happens and that is ok and part of what we celebrate with Bonsai.  :)

So here are a few pictures of it now.  The trunk hollow is a bit bright as I did just apply lime to help protect the wood some and help give it that aged look.  2-3 weeks in the elements and it will look much more naturally blended.

Bit more trimming of the upper branches, and will pull things down a bit more next season.  A few guy wires are already in place.

The back where the other trunk was - carved away and left for now.  I plan to drill into it and connect this end with the main trunk opening to allow for a view through, and to help with water drainage out of the hollow.

View up the hollow.

Trimming aggressive growth to fill out the back side, and laying the foundation for future ramification.

This neat brick pot was made one evening a few years ago (08 or 09) during a pot creation evening with my best friend Aaron.  It's thick, and was made to resemble a aged brick wall where many bricks had fallen out of the cement holding them in.  I call it my 'aggressive starter pot'.  It will receive a new renter soon as this tree moves into something a little more shallow next springtime.

Shohin Privet #1 - Patience is a Virtue?

Virtues of Patience - and Styling

Before Wiring

We will see if loss of patience wins out over early styling - or if it even matters towards the final stages of this trees creation. I had such a great vision for this tree that I went ahead and put some wiring on it - .5 and 1.5mm's were used.

Early Wiring Complete

This wiring will not stay on more than a few months; likely around late October as things cool here I will remove the wire. Privet thickens quickly; wire left on a tree too long will leave scars that may take years to heal properly.. There are still many things left for this tree to get it in shape to be Bonsai; a better revealing Nebari, future work on the deadwood at the base of the trunk. continual thickening of the main branches, shortened internode length in future growth - and time and patience. Less or more of which? :)

Shohin Privet #1

Shohin Privet Bonsai #1

The Dig

So, I got an itch this AM while my 2 girls were spending time at their cousin's, to go yamadori collecting (that is, to collect a tree or plant from nature). Not as difficult for me as for some, and I'm not 'too' hard to please at the moment - the free time being the decision maker! So - I took a wander down my backyard hillside into the wilderness. Lots of 'edge' plant material, and one that is hardy that I'm having fun working on that I have alot of - Privet! Here I find a specimen I'd already chopped earlier in the year as part of my 'clear the lot' project at the bottom of the hill. Time to collect my prepped Yamadori!

Yamadori Found!

Here you can see the previous 'low' cut I made earlier in the year, and also that I have completely cleared the root ball of soil. Privet are extremely hardy, not many species would I treat in such a manner, but that is the nature of Privet. Notice the thick growth this plant exhibits after being chopped, due to growing in the ground vs chopping and moving directly to a pot.

Reduction

Much reduction of the root system and deciding how to layout it's future Nebari development at this point. Also reduction in foilage, to cause the re-growth to focus in places of Taper development. All 'downward' roots have been cut, thick roots reduced. The lead branches are not cut yet - I want them to thicken a bit more close to the trunk before I begin creation of it's crown.

Front View

The last pot I have from The Monk Monestary in Conyers, GA. from a run there months ago. Perfect fit for this future Shohin Bonsai. Shohin or 'Mame' Bonsai are the ultimate miniature powerhouses - ultimately they are the best examples of bonsai size reduction in all species in the Bonsai art. I am using a 70/30 Inorganic/organic mix of Sphagnum Moss, Turface, and Lava Rock.

Rear View

The cuts have been covered in cut sealant, the tree watered, it's held in with wire through the base to allow stability as I wire it's branches in a few weeks. Again, I take my time; I allow the plant to re-establish, allow new branches to develop, see which ones die from the root reduction and cut-back; then I begin light branch shaping. (Mainly with cuts to form taper)