Bonsai Car Boot Sale

Just finished loading the goodies into the van for tomorrow's Bonsai Car Boot Sale at the botanical Gardens in Birmingham.

I am aiming to be there just before 7:00am, so if you are an early riser, come and say hello.

Chinese Elm Mame Progression

This little elm started life as one of thousands imported to the UK from China.  Most of these little trees will end up on the shelves of Garden Centres or Supermarkets, and subsequently dying on some mantelshelf or windowsill.

This one caught my eye, so I bought it.  That was last year in March or April.  It was trimmed radically and the remaining branches wired.  Just one year later it has turned out a nice little tree.

As bought -Spring 2011 pruned and wired

Late Summer 2011 - re-potted into a small Mame Pot

March 2012

Larch Group re-pot

My Larch group planting has put on a lot of growth last year, so much so that it was slowly lifting itself out of the pot.  As Larches don't like to be root bound, it was time for a re-pot.

The Buds are just turning from brown to green, so just about perfect timing.

Out of the pot and on to the turntable.  If you look closely, you can see the mass of circling roots. 

The roots were teased out gently with a root hook

All the circling roots cut off with a sharp pair of shears

The top layer of moss and the old sail has now been removed to make sure that the new top dressing will still  show the surface roots.

Time to get the tweezers out to remove as much of the dreaded Ragwort as possible

I still haven't found a suitable pot for this group, so it's going back in to the mica pot.  Four tie in wires are more than sufficient for the job, as the root system of the trees in this group has tightly knitted together.

Potting mix is 1 part Akadama, 1 Part Moler Clay, 1 part sharp grit.

The group is now placed in the pot and secured with the tie in wire.  Where the wire crosses major roots, it is covered with plastic tubing to prevent damage to the roots.

More of the potting mix has been added and carefully worked in to the roots to make sure no air pockets remain.  The whole planting is then top dressed with a mix of 2 parts Akadama and 1 part grit.

All done, good for a couple of years.  I hope to find a suitable pot by the time it needs repotting again.