This is how my bonsai interest came to life.
Two years ago i finally reached adulthood when i rounded 30 years. As a birthday present from my good friend Trygve I got a, guess what, you guessed it. It was a no good nursery stock SAGERETIA THEEZANS /CHINESE BIRD PLUM mallsai wich came in a small blue polished pot. During springtime last year I did all the wrong things right and by the start of June i could throw the dry stick in the garbage.
But the Bonsaiist inside me had awoken...
So we started collecting. Everything wich could be called a hedge, tree or scrub we dug up and brought it home for a new pot; yamadori, Still I did all the wrong things right, but by the start of november i had 18 pots with sticks in it, wich I considered then a good job done. Then after reading dozens of articles about the harsh winters in Norway regarding Bonsais, I did a last, but interesting mistake. I kept them inside and ended up with 18 frustrated and confused trees with not too much life in them.
Well now, however things were, this year has started different. I joined Stavanger Bonsaiforening and I check in at our beloved forum almost everyday to get the hang of things.
Out of the now 21 pots I have outside my backdoor in Stavanger I see a small potential in at least 7 of them, so i have decided to post some pictures of them, not so much for a growing audience, but as a kind of diary of my own hobby. Here is the list of trees I am currently interested in:
2 * Acer Palmatum
This image was taken outside Horpestad Plantesalg in Bryne. I later brought them to the workshop with David Prescott earlier this month, and both of them are now cut down to the bone.
1 * Acer Palmatum Atroporporeum
intro/image to come
1 * Acer Ginalla
intro/image to come
1 * European Larch (Larix decidua)
Now this one is my first real Yamadori, i almost drowned trying to get it in the fall of -07. I can see from this old picture that I would have saved more of the branches and the trunk if i was to cut it today. It will have to grow a few years still to become a real Bonsai, but i love this one anyway.
2 * Beech (Fagus Sylvatica)
Intro/image to come
1 * Birch (Betula "something")
One of many sticks brought down from the mountain last fall on one of my hunting sessions. This is the first tree I planted in a soil entirely made of Cat Litter and it has survived through the winter, with new green shoots now. This image was taken november -07.
So, as my story continue I will post some pictures to follow up these trees during this interesting time of year for Bonsai. See you later.
Back to the tree, David saw some direct potential in it so we focused on the form of the branches and the tapering. The forms potential lies in the shapes and position of the branches. When the new shoots arrive they will sooner or later make the base for a natural Apex around the tree.
The tree was potted in 100% Acadama and enjoys about 1,5 hours of direct sun each day this time of year. Yesterday i saw the new shoots. I counted around 15 of them. To me this is an all time bonsaihigh, and I am looking forward to see the growth continued.
