Future projects

Like most bonsai enthusiast, I accumulate all sorts of raw material.  These trees and shrubs usually get put into any old bucket or bowl for further development some time later.
I had a bit of time this week to sort through my potential stock, and to pick out some that can be worked on in the near future.

First one to come out of the pile was this collected Hawthorn.  It had been sitting around for a few ears now and had an airlayer (applied earlier this year) removed in late July.
This is the trunk left after removal of the air layer. The top branch will be left to grow out and thicken to produce a bit more taper, while the bottom branches will be wired and styles over the next two years.

The layer that was removed is destined to become a shohin size tree.  It will be given space in the frost free greenhouse over the winter and I will start work on this in the spring.

The second tree to be taken out is this stocky European Hornbeam.  This had a bit of a hard time last winter and was slow to leaf out in spring.  It was planted into a pond basket to help with root development, and that seems to have done the trick.  It will stay in the basket for another couple of years, but training on the branches can begin next year,

The third one was this little English Oak.  This was a self set seedling the had grown in the flower border and was potted up a about two years ago.  It had grown quite well and put on a lot of growth.  The roots present nicely and I think that it would make a nice small bonsai.  The top will be layered next year so that I can work on the bottom part.

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