I am thinking of changing the pot on this cascade Prunus Spinosa, Pot A by from René Lecocq from Belgium Pot B is by Sara Rayner from the USA.
Please choose your preferred pot, you are welcome to comment
Category Prunus spinosa
How to secure a Tall literati tree in a shallow pot.
This is an article I first posted on IBC in 2010, worth a look. The tree is no longer in my personal collection.
This is a Prunus Spinosa that I collected on my 50th Birthday… it’s called ‘Fifty’ and it has been in this pot for 2 years. This Beautiful Duffett pot was fine to ‘bring on’ the tree but not a good choice as it is way to ‘chunky’.
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- The original Duffett pot
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- The original Duffett pot
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- Here are the pots I have for this tree… on the left is Milan Klika and the right is Brian Albright, both would fit the tree well.
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- I chose the Albright because of the ‘free form’ of the pot suited the movement of the tree.
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- In preparing to pot this tree it would need to be stable, the root pad is not dense enough to simply wire into place and hold the tree in the pot so a little assistance in the form of a steel rod is inserted into the base of the trunk (under the soil line)
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- getting ready to take the tree out of the pot
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- There is an abundance of new root, none will be cut back as there is enough room in the new pot.
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- A hole is drilled to accommodate the rod
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- Here the rod is inserted and placed in the pot to ensure that the position is correct, the arrows show where the rod enters and exits
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- 3mm Copper wire is used to secure the tree to the pot.
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- The soil mix of Acadama, Alpine grit and Orchid bark is added
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- Tying in the tree using the rod and the copper wire. the fix is very solid
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- And here is how the tree fits into this fantastic Brian Albright pot.
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- The soil level is good
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- All told it took about an hour to do this tree, It would have been 10 times harder had my buddy not been there
How the tree looks today
Cascade Prunus Spinosa in full flower
Prunus cascade repotting and change of angle
Occasionally the banner at the top of this blog shows this cascade Prunus Spinosa in full leaf on a Barbed Wire stand. When it was exhibited at The Noelanders show on 2012 it cause a wee bit of a stir. That photo is as the tree looked two years ago. A year later I transferred the tree into a larger pot to let the roots run free and build more vigour yet the opposite happened, I slowly lost vigour in the bottom branch. Another year in the pot to see if it would pull back, it did not, the top went from strength to strength… So here is the tree repotted, at a slightly different angle and without the bottom branch.
The branches that remain will not be cut back until the tree flowers in the next couple of month; they are a bit random as I left the tree to recover vigour.
I will need a rather special table now as the trunk slightly undercuts the pot!
After two seasons Yamadori thrive due to patience
I sell a lot of native European Yamadori all of the trees are very old and of the best quality, trees that I would have in my own collection. I select trees on the hill that I believe will make great bonsai and leave those that have no or little potential. With every tree except pine I bare root, removing all the mountain soil and replace with my own mix suitable for growing new roots and establishing the tree in a pot. I also endeavour to plant the tree in the smallest container whilst still maintaining the future health of the tree. This makes transplanting to a bonsai pot a lot easier without the usual dangerous root ball reduction that sometimes takes place after establishing.
Usually the planting position in the ‘training’ pot is not the ‘finished’ angle or position that the tree will be styled, when purchasing I advise one ‘what’s happening below the soil level’ so that future ideas and possibilities can be explored with confidence.
When purchasing yamadori it is crucial to let the tree acclimatise to your local conditions, garden, weather, elevation etc. and not start work on the tree the moment you get it home.
These photos are from a Prunus Spinosa (Blackthorn) after two years in the pot. My student had this tree for 12 months prior to bringing the tree to be potted in the bonsai pot. It was full of new fine roots, the student had fed the tree well and did not cut back or ‘style’ the tree in any way. The tree responded well and when potted on into a Bonsai Pot retained a lot of new root. NO wiring of the branches too place only cutting back to two buds. The tree will deliver flowers and an abundance of new growth this season. Patience always pays off when working with yamadori.
Bonsai & Yamadori from Tony Tickle 