Sometimes I work on nursery trees, sometimes I work on client’s trees……and sometimes if I’ve been a really good boy I get to work on my own trees. Hopefully these regular visits will give you an insight into what goes on behind closed doors……….
Studio Stories – Academy Seven April 2016
Our Academy Seven group met recently and here’s what happened.
Firstly we checked over the tanuki bonsai which we started on a previous session to make sure everything was alright and that the cable ties binding the young tree to the stump did not need adjusting.
Air layers started on a previous class were removed and potted up. The parent tree was also repotted into a bonsai pot. All the trees were then pruned back accordingly.
The next task was to repot an old Maple forest from Japan. The last time it was repotted was in 2012. You can see how big this forest is by the fact that at one stage five students were working around this tree on the rootball at the same time.
The age of this forest was immediately obvious and it was good for the students to see and work on a really mature root system developed over many years of training. The branches on the tree were also pruned back as necessary.
Finally the group was introduced to some Hemlock raw material which had grown somewhat leggy. The trees were discussed and initial styling possibilities considered. The trees were repotted into suitable training pots. Some pruning was carried out and also work on the deadwood.
One of the trees was far too tall with foliage too high up. With some longitudinal wires and raffia, and some very careful hear wrenching bending the tree’s canopy was lowered with a serious bend that we can incorporate and disguise in the restyling.
They say variety is the spice of life and certainly the day we had here was both varied and inspiring. Look forward to continuing with the Hemlock in the next session.
