pruning small tridents

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The leaves have fallen so it is time to trim and prune the maples. There are quite a lot of small tridents being grown on at Shibui Bonsai. Over summer they are allowed to grow with only occasional rough trims to limit the height of the new shoots. Now it is time to look more closely and prune for direction and taper.

There is not just one way to create bonsai. Much will depend on what style you want to grow, how big the bonsai will be and how well it has grown. With most developing trees there are a number of legitimate alternatives when pruning for shape.

This series shows one of the small tridents I pruned today.

The original tree has a right angle bend at the top which will not give an attractive trunk line so I cut back to a lower shoot with better line. Now the trunk has a slight change of direction and better taper above that cut. That cut would be quite suitable to grow on as a larger sized bonsai. Further down the trunk is another suitable side shoot with good angle. The lower cut provides even better trunk bends and taper starting lower. It can now be grown on as a larger tree or as a possible shohin sized bonsai.

Another young trident pruned for taper and changes of direction in the developing trunk.

Those tridents will be allowed to grow again next summer. If all goes well some of the new shoots will be selected to develop beginning branches.

Another year on and branches have started. Some shoots are again allowed to grow to add more thickness to both trunk and some of the branches. Selected shoots are trimmed occasionally through summer to produce ramification.

This time I am selecting carefully for shorter internodes. As this is intended to become a shohin sized maple bonsai pruning is rigorous. Any straight sections are removed. All long internodes are removed, even if they are growing in desirable locations and angles. Remember that buds can only grow from nodes so long internodes severely restrict ramification of branches. This is particularly important when aiming for smaller sized bonsai where everything must be reduced. The lowest branch on the right above curves up and out and still has a long internode. I have left it this year to strengthen and thicken the start of that branch. With luck some smaller side shoots will emerge from the nodes at the base. If they develop with shorter internodes I will cut back the stronger one next winter. If nothing emerges next summer the long internode will be chopped anyway and the branch developed the following year from new buds.

These photos show a small trident another year on from the previous example. You can see that branches have started to form. Again some shoots were allowed to grow long to thicken selected areas of branches or the trunk. Those thick shoots are now pruned right at the base. Again, long internodes are rigorously removed to give better structure to the developing branches. To save wiring, shoots growing in desirable directions are kept while those growing up or down are generally removed. I try to select thinner shoots further out on branches and near the apex to provide taper where possible. Development of this trident is advanced enough to think about finding a proper bonsai pot for the spring repot.

winter trimming – maples

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It has been so long since I posted here. Life just seems to get in the way.

late autumn now at Shibui Bonsai and the leaves have dropped off trident maples. That means it is time to start the winter trimming. Some growers wait until later in winter or spring but an early start is good for me as winter and spring get really busy when I dig the field grown trees and start repotting in spring. I’ve also found that maples don’t bleed quite as much when cut soon after leaf drop.

My winter trim is aimed at refining already well ramified trees. I take out any long shoots, thin out crowded shoots and remove thick shoots from the ends of branches and near the apex.

Trident maple before and after trimming shoots. This one is around 35 years old. It has really well ramified branches. By the end of summer the new shoots are quite crowded and need thinning to allow room for next year’s shoots to get adequate space and sunlight.

This one is much younger. I had a few upright tridents so decided to develop one with more trunk character. The upper trunk of this one has been grown from just the first branch of a younger tree.I think the bends give it a unique character and I’m happy with progress so far. The branches of this one are still developing ramification so less thinning to do here. Emphasis is on pruning for direction and removing overly long internodes so the future ramification will be better.

Maple groups

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Some people refer to these as forest style bonsai. Groups can look really great even when they are made up with quite young seedlings.

These groups were put together last winter from seedlings I dug from our garden beds. Already they have recovered and put on masses of new shoots and plenty of growth. Now they are ready for some detailed pruning to simplify the structure.

trident group 20-1 $200 (24 trunks)

Prices reflect a rate of around $10 per tree in the group.

trident group 20-4 $180

All these starter groups are in nursery seedling trays that measure 35cm x 29cm x 6cm and could be transferred to an appropriate sized ceramic tray next winter or allowed to develop a bit longer in the current tray.

This year I have also started a couple of Japanese maple groups. Only 2 available.

JM group 20-10 $100

Please see the groups catalogue on Shibui Bonsai catalogue page https://shibuibonsai.com.au/?page_id=215 or download the file below.

groups 2020 – 21Download

BSV February meeting

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Bonsai Society of Victoria has invited me as guest speaker for the February meeting on Monday Feb 22. The topic is to be developing native plants as bonsai.

BSV members who would like to purchase trees from Shibui Bonsai can order as usual and I will bring them down to this meeting without the usual postage costs. Check out the catalogues to see what advanced field grown trees are still available this season. Shibui Bonsai also has plenty of smaller starters. If you are not exactly sure what you may want get in touch and we can talk about something that will suit your experience, needs and budget.

For those who are not members of BSV they welcome visitors to club meetings so you too can pick up orders and hear some of my thoughts and experiences developing and growing Aussie natives as bonsai.

If you are not able to attend the Monday evening meeting I may be able to manage a quick drop off on the way into Melbourne on Monday afternoon or on the way home via Yarra Glen on Tuesday morning.

email me: neil@shibuibonsai.com.au to discuss your bonsai stock needs and delivery options.

Field Grown Shimpaku Junipers

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Slow to grow but first class as a bonsai specimen, advanced shimpaku are hard to find. These trees were grown in pots for 3-5 years to establish good roots and some low bends and twists in the trunks.Here are some photos of the process I use to get interesting trunks on shimpaku junipers.

Shimpaku cutting wired ready to bend
after bend and twist
potted up – note roots spread evenly to start good nebari
a tray of shimpaku whips. On the left wired and bent, on the right some ready for you to make your own.

The trees shown above will be ‘set’ in a couple of months and the wires removed before they scar the trunks. Next summer new long shoots will grow and they too will be wired and twisted to match the lower part. It can take 3-5 years to develop enough trunk with character. Some will be sold at that stage, others will then be transplanted into the grow beds where they will grow and thicken for another 5 years or more.

Junipers have a reputation for being difficult to transplant. In initial trials a number died but with experience and adapting techniques suggested by other growers survival rate of Shibui Bonsai shimpaku transplants are now much higher.

One of the frustrating attributes of junipers is that they take ages to show the signs of trauma. They can look fine for months after transplant then suddenly turn brown. Investigation shows the tree has no new roots and has been surviving, sometimes even growing, using resources stored in the trunk and branches. Here at Shibui Bonsai junipers are not offered for sale as freshly transplanted trees. I hold all transplanted junipers until after mid summer to make sure they have really survived the transplant process.

This year’s transplants have grown well through spring and are still looking healthy so I am confident they are well enough to offer them to you.

General bonsai wisdom says that junipers that have been recently transplanted should not then be subjected to more stress of pruning and styling so even though these trees have survived they should be allowed to continue to recover until at least next spring before any more major work.

Unlike deciduous trees where we can see the structure during winter junipers are densely branched evergreens so finding the bonsai among all that foliage can be challenging. These trees would make ideal candidates for workshop specimens.

The dense foliage also makes these difficult to photograph to show the internal structure. If there’s one you would like to see more of please feel free to ask for more photos and I will try to take some shots of particular features as far as it is possible.

All these junipers have long branches and trunks. They are still flexible enough to wind round to fit into a box for transport but most are still quite bulky so you should expect delivery costs to be up to $80 for some trees to some areas.

New Field grown stock

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Pines and junipers can be tricky to transplant. From experience they can look healthy for months after transplant then suddenly decline and die because no new roots have grown. For this reason I am reluctant to sell freshly transplanted pines and junipers. i hold on to them until mid summer and I have seen plenty of healthy new growth showing good roots have developed after the transplant.

It is now time to show you the trees I have transplanted from the grow beds.

Start with Japanese Black pine. I dug 4 of these last winter. One I have decided to hold for further development and growth as it has an interesting trunk.

2 have already been snapped up by eager clients before I had the chance to show them.

That leaves just one field grown Japanese Black pine available from Shibui Bonsai this year.

JBP 20-2

JBP 20-2 is in a 30 cm orchid pot. You can see that new growth has been profuse and the trunk is stable in the pot indicating good root growth since transplant.

JBP 20-2

Nebari and trunk base on this one is very good.

JBP 20-2

There are several leaders to choose the best trunk line, some giving nice bends to the future trunk.

Most of the branches are quite young with plenty of healthy needles close to the trunk so it will be easy to prune and get new shoots suitable to build ramification and foliage pads.

Pines of this caliber do not come up every day. They are slow to develop. This one has spent several years in pots prior to planting in the grow bed then at least 5 years growing. List price is $300 from Shibui Bonsai nursery. As it is a larger tree please allow for post costs if you need delivery.

For more info or further photos of JBP 20-2 please email neil@shibuibonsai.com.au

Next up, Field grown Shimapku junipers……

Repotting 2020

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Spring is well under way a bit earlier than usual at Shibui Bonsai. The Chinese elms are always the first to shoot and some have had green buds since July. Now many trident maples have joined in pushing out their tiny red buds.

All that movement means it is time to get on with repotting any trees that need it this season. I usually start with the smaller shohin sized bonsai. I have found from experience that these little trees do not do well over summer if they start with a pot full of roots. Repotting every spring has meant they stay healthy and alive.

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