Category: bonsai

Quince

March 28, 2025

bonsai, home, plants

I have 3 Japanese quince in my yard. They surely do grow slowly.

This ‘Scarlet Storm’ was my first Japanese quince. My first mother-in-law had one in her yard and I always admired it. When I bought this house with a big, open, empty, sunny front yard, I felt like I had a good place for a similar plant. I think it doesn’t love NC clay as much as hers loved SC soil because it has not grown as flamboyantly. But, I haven’t pruned it as agressively as my FIL did either.

‘Scarlet Storm’

This one was in a pot I bought to bonsai. When I was getting the potting soil off, I found that it was 2 plants. I put one in the ground and one in the pot. The one in the ground has been happier.

‘Pink Storm’

This is the bonsai that bloomed when I got it and has never done so again. I haven’t messed with it since potting, waiting for it to get happier in its pot. That hasn’t happened so I expect to shape it up some when it gets more consistently warm here.

Bonsai

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Winter Bonsai

March 3, 2025

Beautiful, bonsai

On the first weekend in December, there is a Winter Bonsai Exhibition in Kannapolis, NC. Part of what makes winter displays interesting is that you can see the trees shapes more clearly without leaves covering the branches.

These are some pictures I have taken of trees at a couple of different shows.

I have been several times. But, I missed it last year because I was in Asheville to see the Chihuly exhibition at Biltmore House. I expect to plan better in the future.

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10 years!

March 3, 2025

a day in this life, bonsai

It occured to me this morning that I have been doing bonsai for nearly 10 years. I don’t have a tree that old.

My first juniper died. The wisteria yamadori I got from Caitlyn’s yard died. The cedar died. The red maple I picked out of a flowerbed and stuck in a pot died. The air layer I tried at Amy’s house didn’t work because I didn’t know what I was doing. The crepe myrtle died.

In spite of all that, I have bought more planting mix and another small tree to abuse.

It’s a cryptomeria. I chose this plant because I think the 2 sizes of needles is interesting. and I got this particular one because I think there is interesting trunks and branches in there. We’ll see soon-ish.

There’s budding on the Japanese maple twins and the quince. So, it looks like I haven’t killed those, too, in spite of my complacency from the last 2 mild winters.

I shouldn’t work them since they’ve already started coming out of dormancy. So, the new mix I bought will mostly wait for Fall.

I am going to get the cryptomeria potted up sometime in the next week though.

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Bald cypress bonsai

December 2, 2023

a day in this life, bonsai

Yes. That’s a hole.

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Bonsai adjacent

February 10, 2023

bonsai

I have a friend who is a potter and I have been the recipient of several gifts from her. She made 3 bonsai pots for me and had given me a small, rectangular decorative pot that used the same glaze even before that. I have been keeping moss in the little pot.

Shitakusa in a Patti pot

There is even a name for my pot of moss in the bonsai world. It is “shitakusa.” Shitakusa are little accent plants that are displayed along side bonsai.

Another side item is “suiseki.” These are stones that are particularly interesting. I’m pretty sure that’s where Terry Pratchett got the idea for the bonsai mountains tended to by Lu Tze, the History Monk. The National Arboretum in Washington, DC has a lovely display of suiseki in their bonsai exhibition. I do not have any suiseki.

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