I was contacted a short while back by a woman who I had met a year or so ago.  Her brother was ill and she couldn’t keep up with his bonsai collection and asked if I would accept it as a donation with the agreement that I cared for the trees.  I could hear the sadness in her voice, and how deeply these trees meant to her and her brother.  I agreed without seeing them, but knew there would have been some neglect because of not being under the care of a bonsai hobbiest.

Ficus Nerafolia in need of pruning

Surface roots in too shallow of a pot

This is one of the trees that I was given to look after.  It is leggy, and the roots were in poor condition.  I know these trees are very forgiving though and knew after being repotted that it would be fine.

Of course this got me to thinking about my own collection, and what my trees mean to me.  Not to mention what will happen to them after my time on Earth comes to pass.  I often think that if I am able I will simply take the trees out into a nicely wooded area where I could plant them and allow them to grow into their full sized relatives.  I guess only time will tell

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I have been working on this tree for over 7 years now, and frankly have become rather bored with it.  I seemed top heavy most of the deadwood was covered.  So this weekend I had the opportunity to partcipate in a Mary Madison workshop  Since she is the person I bought the tree from in the first place I couldn’t think of a better source for changing the tree style.

Mary Madison

I didn’t think the tree could be changed all that much because it had been pretty developed in the shape that is was for years.  However I would have let Mary do whatever she wanted to my tree, she’s not called the Buttonwood Queen for nothing.

Mary Madison styling

After a quick history of my tree Mary was actually able to recall collecting the tree years ago.  She didn’t waste anytime making suggestions and pointing out positive aspects of the tree.

Buttonwood after styling

At times the slightest of changes can make a big difference.  removing the first left branch did everything that I wanted the tree to be.  It now does not look top heavy, more deadwood shows and the entire look of the tree looks better.

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A few months back I spent a day wiring out this Blue Alps Juniper which was both tedious and painful. Even worse was that today I spent the morning removing the wire which was even more tedious and just as painful. Although the results were worth it. The branches showed very little scaring and held their position without the wire. In a word it was a success.

Blue Alps Juniper Bonsai

I have big plans for this tree even though it is not one of my larger bonsai.  This looks to be the tree that is pretty much ready for show, so it will be this year’s entry for the 2010 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival.  In fact, this will probably be the photo I submit.  Over the next few months I’ll work to clean up the branches even more and fill in a few bare spots.  That upper right branch could still use a bit of thinning.

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I have had this tree for about 3 or 4 years now, and I had never styled it.  I’ve just been letting it grow out so that I had some branches to work with.  Well today I decided to take a look at it and get some branch structure devloped.

Neea Buxifolia pre bonsai

This is more than a bush than a tree when I first took a look at it.  It does have a nice trunk, good movement and nice nebari.

Neea Buxifolia Bonsai initial styling

As I started removing branches I found a lot of them were not useable, and much of the foliage had blocked new branches from growing on the upper trunk.    However I was able to define the trunk line, and open the tree up.  The first few branches are now defined so it is a matter of developing th etop of the tree.  Speaking about the top of the tree, it is a bit long.  As new branches start I can see what other options I have for creating a new top.

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