�@Satsuki and Other Trees in Mack's Garden

A. When the good materials are found

When I dug up Osakazuki 41 years ago, which had peeped a lot of their thin trunks and branches from the bank of lane toward a tea field of my aunt-in-law (wife of my grandfather's son), I couldn't distinguish that it was a long range of roots. Therefore I separated it into large three parts and some little trunks with a large pickaxe. Perhaps it was more than 30 years old at that time.

This Osakazuki was one of some little trunks. But other little trunks and two clumps died. It is a miracle that this tree continues to live though it has a few rotten parts in the trunks and roots. In the past I was afraid three times that it would die. The variety of Osakazuki has the inclination that some new shoots are apt to die in summer and autumn every year. And sometimes it meant that the branch began to die.

This Eikan is perhaps more than 33 years old. As it was very cheap, I bought it at our flower show about 27 yeas ago, which was a poor young tree, and cut the trunk. The variety is very strong and has beautiful flowers. When this tree has the flowers, it looks beautiful. But the trunk and the roots are so thick and strong that this bonsai pot is small though it is suitable to the shape of the tree now. I cannot put the needful Kanuma soil in the space between roots and the back side of this bonsai pot. When I repot it next time, I may have to change the pot.

Eikan. The photo was taken on June 2nd.

Eikan which was repotted after the roots were washed on June 29th. Height = 20 cm. Circumference = 19 cm. The photo was taken on July 24th.

Nikko, Shuho-no-hikari, Sachi-no-hana, Nyohozan have been grown from the saplings which I separated from the branches of the trees in the nursery. When a lot of long new shoots in the nursery touch the soil, they begin to grow roots easily. Though I had got a lot of good materials to make single trunked or multi-trunked bonsai, since I spread the black sheets on the Kanuma soil, which hinder the weeds from growing, I haven't had a lot of them. And recently I always prune the trees drastically except some grafts.

Nikko. Height = 22 cm. Circumference = 11 cm. The photo was taken on June 4th.

Shuho-no-hikari. Height = 24 cm. Circumference = 9 cm. The photo was taken on June 7th.

Sachi-no-hana. Height = 24 cm. Circumference = 8 cm. The photo was taken on June 7th.

Nyohozan. Height = 19 cm. Circumference = 8 cm. The photo was taken on June 4th.

At first these trees were grown to sell at the flower show. Therefore they are 15 or 17 years old. I had to grow a lot of saplings to sell because I was President of Ise Satsuki Enthusiast Meeting and other members didn't grow a lot t of them. And I restyled some of them into small bonsai. To tell the truth, the roots of these trees are not good. But generally speaking, we don't have to care much about roots of small satsuki bonsai. When one of small satsuki bonsai has very good roots (nebari), it is said that it doesn't suit to the whole shape.

Hakurin. Height = 29 cm. Circumference = 8 cm. The photo was taken on June 3rd.

Kegon. Height = 36 cm. Circumference = 8 cm. The photo was taken on June 3rd.

Hakurin and Kegon were grown to sell at the show, too. The things which I did were to wire Kegon when it was young, and to cut the trunks of Hakurin short. They are 11 or 13 years old. As the height of Kegon is 36 cm, I would like to cut the trunk short when I can find a good new shoot coming from the trunk.

Hoshi-no-kagayaki is 10 years old. It was so popular that we could sell a lot of saplings and young trees at the show, which had been grown from cuttings. And I gave some young trees to my relatives and friends with other varieties. As two trees of Hoshi-no-kagayaki haven't had long new shoots since I planted them in my nursery, I had to prepare for a lot of cuttings to get a lot of saplings.

Hoshi-no-kagayaki. Height = 24 cm. Circumference = 6 cm. The photo was taken on June 4th.

Section 2. How to make small satsuki bonsai

When you get a short sapling, you can wire the trunk. You mustn't pot it in a larger pot. After you remove the wire in a half-year, you mustn't prune it for two years. But you have to change the top every year lest it should grow tall. If the pot is small, it will have a lot of new shoots from the trunk. When you repot it, you can remove some shoots and cut some shoots short. But you had better remove all shoots which have come from the soil. The next time when you repot it, you can keep some of the branches and wire them. If these branches have new shoots, prune them, leaving two leaves. And you can enjoy the flowers in two years.

As this Nikko is 5 years old and was repotted last year, I could wire the trunk to make a basic style of the tree last June. Every year I have to change the top after flowering. It is because I have to check the colours of flowers. Generally speaking we have to remove the top which have only white flowers.

Nikko. Height = 19 cm

When you bought a tall sapling or young tree at a bonsai shop, you must have had an idea to make it into a tree of good style. If you failed in doing so at home, you had better change your idea, and try to make it into a tree of different style or make a small tree. If you broke the trunk when you wired it, you had better think that it is a good chance to make a small bonsai. But you mustn't cut a large trunk to make a small tree because it takes more than ten years to cure the scar. Besides it may die in some years.

I cut the trunk of this Shuho-no-hikari 5 years ago. And I cut it again last June. Continuing to do so, I don't have to wire it to make a small tree. And I will cut it in 3 years. When I can finish making a basic style of the tree, I will wire the branches.

Shuho-no-hikari. Height = 12 cm.

I will introduce "My Small Satsuki Bonsai (malti-trunk)" in the following homepage. Please look forward to reading and seeing it.