Maple progression

This is where my $15.95 Japanese maple is beginning to pay dividends , i set the layers just after the first flush of new growth hardened off . Instead of trying to wrap plastic sheeting around the branches i used 1.25 litre soft drink bottles for the tubes . Simply remove the tapered top and neck , slice down the side and cut a circle out of the bottom to suit the branch thickness. Its much easier to fill a solid tube than attempt to wrap in plastic sheeting .

With the layers set i simply wrap with duct tape then trimmed the foliage into a desired shape or style , to water i use a large plastic syringe all up there is around 11 layers , twin trunk , slanting , formal and informal upright . On average the trunk thickness of the layers is around 50mm , once removed i will set another dozen or so next season with trunks up to 80mm . A simple hook and hold wiring method has been used to roughly shape the branchlets

Japanese Black Pine Project

These were a cheap purchase from Jackie who saves unwanted trees from destruction .They cost me 10 bucks a throw and a have some plans for these .I have inarching {side grafted} the lower branches back down onto the lower part of the trunks and plan to do the rest of the whorls the same way.This will produce about 12 new trunks to play with . The apexes were clasped together with twist ties then support wires were added using he ties . I then wrapped the apexes together with nylon sash cord to firmly hold the trunks and to aid in the aged look to the trunks .Prior to addingthe webbing i removed the cable ties and strapped together to form a larger than usual tree for a quickfire aged trunk I will set some aerial layers at each whorl to create new trunks for removal later after the tops have fused .Nothing ventured nothing gained so to speak.Cheers

Collected Montereys

These once again were from a good deed for a friend Chop top MONTY'S .John attempted to eradicate his pine wildling problem and missed by That Much . He chopped off the top and left a shoot or branch on the trunk .The end result was the continued growth and a nice little collection of pines for me . We spent 4 hours eradicating trees however there were around50 that i purposefully cut to regrow and told John i would dig them out for him NEXT YEAR

Yamadori Shore Pines

These area few of the collected Shore pines i inherited after offering my services to a local shire to assist in the removal of noxious weeds . Beautiful weeds

More Collecting

These 2 Yamadori were collected recently on an outing with the family .The big Hawthorn is a monster and a half , the original tree had rotted off and the 2 lower branches have become the twin trunks that will be used for a convincing 2 tree style Bonsai . There is ample material to carve including the original over large side root .

The Pinus Monterey was an original chop top that has grown a new leader from 1 of the remaining branches missed during an attempt to eradicate these noxious weeds . It will make a very nice informal at the least . The trunk itself is 100mm at the base and about 1200mm overall height.It gives good scope for shaping and carving

Prunus versus Stihl part 3

Hi back to the final carving of this huge trunk . I spent another full morning on the saw and dremel to complete this project .Now all that remains is a simple sand of the hardwood after a little drying time and a few shoot grafts to set it on it way .There is a couple of shoots present so grafting will speed up the recovery process

Prunus versus Stihl part 2

This is the end result of the first part of the carving .I will attempt to finish the trunk over the next few days then sit back and relax The apex of the tree will sit directly above the base to maintain the informal upright stance . The final smoothing of the carved wood is complete for now .

Prunus versus Stihl

This is a quick re style for my huge Plum .With a paint brush in hand i marked out the design for cutting and carving so i didn't go overboard and ruin the trunk . The design concept is for an informal upright although the trunk is potted it will of course be altered when placed into a bonsai pot .This will take place when a new root mass or Narebri is obtained . Armed with the chainsaw i used the tip to carve the curved cuts required to removed the unwanted branch stubs . With that complete the carving was quite simple , again the tip of the saw was used to scallop out the heartwood to a happy medium were a dremel could be used to smooth out the wood .

It took 2 tanks of fuel and 2 hours on the saw to remove the unwanted material and a further1 hour armed with the dremel to smooth things out . This excercise removed around 25 kg of wood and whilst it looks the part this is only the first stage of the major carving .I estimate another 20 kg of wood will come out to improve the taper shari and hollow the trunk to the desired finish

Instant bonsai Hawthorn

This is my latest find on my ramblings through the bush .I noticed the outlook of a group of Hawthorns and thought this would make a nice group . On closer inspection i revealed the group was actually a raft and a very impressive one at that .I whipped out the pick and excavated around the roots , severed and into the car in 10 minutes flat . This tree was potted and washed with a high pressure hose to remove the mud and decay to reveal the very impressive naturally sculptured trunk .I will have to build another custom made training box long enough to enable me to stimulate a raft root network

Urban yamadori Prunus Cerasifera "Atropurpurea"

This was a blessing from the Big fella upstairs . After a storm in town several trees were damaged and the cleanup resulted in yours truly with a massive purple plum .The lovely bride spotted the devastation on her way home from work and commented on the big flowering plum that had been blown down , so i whipped out for a bit of a looky- see and sure enough the tree was down but the trunk was gone .I shot off to chat with the caretakers hoping to gain the info on the trunk .

They were very helpful , using the crane truck they slipped it into my trailer and i was off like a "brides nightie" to pot the tree . With a quick trim of the roots i slipped the trunk off the trailer and into a custom made training box and filled with 150lts of potting mix .This monster will carveup a treat with the trust Stihl mini boss . The overall measurements are 370mm x 470mm at the base 260mm trunk and stands around 1100mm high

Urban Yamadori Maple Part 2

With the tree safely home i set about making a large wooden box to cater for the root-ball .Using untreated pine i knocked up a box 750 x750 x300mm with large drain holes .I attached wheels to the back of the box for ease of moving when required .With the assistance of a couple of people we slid the tree out of the ute down a wet plank and into the box and potted up as per normal bonsai .The tree was then trimmed of all the access foliage and the terminals styled into future trainers where they will be layered off into starters with a view to the future.All up 16 layeres will be removed ranging from upright , windswept , slanting , twin trunk and raft .This is by far the best collected tree and the most rewarding one i have done .Cheers and Happy Bonsai