More Olive

These are some of the other olive collected, potted into various containers and allowed to grow on .I slip potted them into bonsai pots trimmed the new growth and will allow the to settle before wiring and styling

SUMO AND SON OLIVE

This is one of the numerous olives collected in July 09 . Originally well over 1200mm high i planted it into a 350mm planter bag and allowed it to sucker up before removing the main leaders With the suckers and shoot powering ahead i slip potted the tree, trimmed the foliage and transformed it into a Sumo . The tuberous base measures 250 mm x220 mm, the tree is 550mm wide 350mm deep and stands 300mm high, it is too big in the base to actually rotate another 30 degrees to position correctly , the pot is for training purposes and measures 380 mm x 280 mm x 120 mm

More Pheonix Grafts

These are some of the numerous Pheonix grafts that i have been working on creating older looking stock from very young plants . Basically i select a nice piece of driftwood or a knarly hardwood trunk and carve grooves into it for the trainer plant to sit into, then strap with cable ties or secure with stainless steel or solid brass screws through the trunk and into the host wood .In time the plant will heal the scars and adhere itself to the hardwood .

Cotoneaster Horizontals

This is one of the many plants dug from my garden several years ago and placed into large pots for development . Originally an ugly twin trunk plant i removed the ugly side and allowed the growth to run riot over the last 3 years .The results are excellent , i wired the branches prior to placing it into a bonsai pot . This will now be trimmed and nurtured to improved the overall appearance .The height is around 400mm with a base of 80mm x 110mm , i will carve a little off the bottom to lower the trunk below soil level with the intention of placing it into a shallow bonsai pot.

Cedar with a twist

This is my latest project, an unknown species of Cedar that i collected from a disused farm house .It is actually a self- layered branch of an old tree planted in the 1950's .I managed to get 2 good layers from the 1 branch and both have survived . This particular one was rather void of foliage on the lower part of the trunk so i decided to split the trunk , twist and contort it into a more compact shrub and allow it to grow on . Using the foliage growth and dead-wood to its best advantage i will free-style it at a later date .

First of all i drilled a series of pilot holes up the trunk along the natural jin , then with a jig-saw simply sliced through the trunk all the way to the apex . Excess wood was removed using branch cutters then trimming with a dremel to a smoother finish. I then wired the 2 trunks and basically twisted and shaped into a contorted shrub .This will now grow on until i find the time to style this trainer into something different