A Little European Hornbeam

This little Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) was grown from a self set seedling I found in my garden a few years ago.  The leaves are still a bit large, but as ramification builds, that should sort itself out.

It's not all glamour

Bonsai is not all about working with nice trees.  Today was much more mundane.  Scrubbing and cleaning pots, potting up and labeling the next generation of bonsai are somewhat less glamorous, but nonetheless essential tasks.

Pots scrubbed and cleaned

Japanese Larch potted on into larger pots

Japanese Hawthorn seedlings pricked out and potted up

Elm and Trident Root cuttings

Salix yesoalpina

Not strictly a bonsai in the classical sense, but nevertheless a tree in a pot.  This little plant came to me from the Chairman of our bonsai club, who could not remember the actual species.  A quick question on the Wee Trees Bonsai Forum and Paul from the Swindon & District Bonsai Society came up with the answer.

It's an alpine willow, Salix yesoalpina. The natural growth habit of this tree is to grow ground hugging, naturally cascading over rocky terrain.  You see it here in spring, with the catkins just emerging.  In the summer it is quite uninteresting, and the leaves are quite large.

Cork Bark Maple on the way back

This is one of my favourite trees, which sadly sustained some major damage during last years hailstorm .
It lost two major branches and part of the apex was so badly damaged that it had to be removed.
It has just joined the rest of my maples in putting out leaves and will now get a full season of unrestricted growth, ready for restyling next spring.

Walter Pall Bonsai Adventures: Congratulations to the master thief

Please read this article on Walter's website and share.  Those scumbags should never be able to show, brag about or sell this tree.

Walter Pall Bonsai Adventures: Congratulations to the master thief

European Hornbeam - capinus betulus

I thought I get a picture of this tree just before the buds break.  The tree was collected as a bare stump back in 2001, with the centre part already quite rotten.  I simply removed the rotten wood with a wire brush, no additional carving was done.  All the branches were grown from scratch.

The first photo shows the tree 2 years after collection, just before I cut back most the growth to start training it as a bonsai.

Ten years on 

Two weeks on

That's what I like about Maples, two weeks after first leafing out it  already needs a good trim.