Category Hawthorn

Feb 12 2012

How to re-pot a Raft Hawthorn Bonsai

This Hawthorn raft is probably the tree that most people in the bonsai world know me by, I collected the tree way back in 1991 and after establishing in a box for 4 years the tree has only been re-potted 3 times.

In this repot, the angle of the tree was changed by 5 degrees. Rotating to the right the tree presented itself better to the viewer. The left side being closer… however the right side moved away from the viewer, that had to be corrected (that is explained here) The late great potter Derek Aspinall made the pot, its very narrow and perfectly flat, sitting without rocking when displayed on a table/

This re-pot was done exactly 12 months ago, the tree recovered well and is in preparation for a show in Wales later this year.

Feb 11 2012

How to re-pot a Tall Mature Hawthorn Bonsai

I have had this tree for over 20 years, its planted in a lovely Derek Aspinall pot, it was desperate to be repotted, here is a photo story.

Feb 11 2012

Whole Bonsai covered by a layer of Ice

The whole of Europe is in the grip of a mini ice age, yet here in the UK we seem to have missed the worst of the weather. The coldest my garden has got is -3c during the day and a night -7c. yesterday we had the strange phenomena of ‘freezing rain’.

The trees that I have left out are totally covered in a thin layer of ice. The Pines, Yews, Larches and Hawthorns that I collect have endured far worse conditions when they were exposed to severe desiccating winds during very cold winters in the mountains so I am not concerned as to their wellbeing in my sheltered garden.

Feb 7 2012

Yamadori for sale

Yamadori for sale, you see it all over the web… Yamadori for sale… especially on EBAY, but should you buy Yamadori from a photo? and what guarantees do you have that the tree has not been collected two days prior purchase? Listen to what Enrico Savini says about Yamadori for sale. This is good advice… All Yamadori for sale on this site has been established AT LEAST two growing seasons, has been planted in an open soil mix to encourage good root growth AND I have been selling Yamadori for over 15 years. Many of Europe’s top bonsai artists buy from me because they know that quality is paramount. Rant over!

 

Feb 5 2012

A Winters walk in the Bonsai Garden with LOTS of Snow

We have managed to get off lightly with the harsh freeze for now. Here is a video I made this morning of the snow in my garden. I leave the hawthorns out all year, this encourages the aged bark that is so desirable, and they are really tough trees. Yews I always have at least one freeze because Yews are a winter tree, the needles simply glow after a cold snap! I also leave out my Scots pine.

The worst weather we have ever experienced was last year when we had one night at  -17c and 9 days of -10c. for now its 5c… quite warm compared to the rest of Europe… Pavel Slovak tells me it is -26c in Czech!