Satsuki and Other Trees in Mack's Garden 24Renewal August 23rd, 2014 |
Araki ― Part 4
I would like to introduce two middle class (chuhin) trees of Nikko which were dug out from the nursery on March 15th and planted in the bonsai pots on 22nd and 23rd after I had washed the roots of them. It is because one of them was very cheap and other was grown from the cutting when they were planted in the nursery 11 years ago. I would like to show you that you will be able to get the large-trunked trees by planting trees in the nurseries, large terracotta or wooden pots by yourselves. If you are old and would like to get them, you have to buy some of them because it takes you a lot of years to grow them large.
Here I would like to ask you to allow me to use unusual words because my single and double quotation marks are changed into other letters or marks on the display in not only England but also the Netherlands, that is, I cannot use compact words and a direct narration in my homepage.
Section 1. Nikko - A
I paid 3,000 yen for this Nikko, Kozan and Kobai no kagayaki at Takagiengei in Kanuma city in November 1993, to plant them in the nursery. And I introduced this Kozan in the previous homepage. They were very cheap because they were placed in the corner of garden. And they were so poor that they had only a few branches. But I hoped that I would be able to grow them strongly if I planted them in the nursery.A. After pruning in the nursery
I pruned this Nikko in the nursery on March 8th so drastically that you can see the basic figure on the photo well. The first branch is very low and the second one is very thick. And the bottom of trunk is not very large. Therefore it may look clumsy. Though I think I should have removed all thick branches when I planted it in the nursery, I could not do so because I could not imagine that it would grow so large in 10 years, that is, I did not have any experiences of growing such a tree as it in the nursery for a long years. Therefore I had to remove some thick branches from their trunks several years ago.
B. The nebari (rootage) after washing the roots with jet water
Judging from the nebari after washing the roots with jet water, it does not seem to have a good nebari because the root ball is very thick. Therefore I cut it into halves to save the time.
C. The bottom of rootage
At first I removed a lot of thick vertical roots under the bottom of trunk and arranged the roots to make it have a good nebari. And as the result of it I could see the better nebari than I expected. It is sure that it will not die.
D. After washing roots.
Judging from the figure of this tree after washing the roots, I will never like the bottom of trunk because I cannot correct the defect with my bonsai skill. Even if I made some roots by engrafting saplings, I will not succeed in correcting the nebari because the right first branch is very low and the left first one is very thick.
E. This is the whole figure of Nikko which is seen from the front side.
When I planted this tree in this round bonsai pot, it looks a little bit clumsy because the left first branch is extremely large and the right second and third ones are very thick. But I think that this round pot is suitable for it. Fortunately I bought it about 30 years ago though bonsai pots were very expensive at that time.
Section 2. Nikko – B
I cannot remember when I got the cutting which was the origin of this tree. Since I have such 9 trees as this tree though two of them are planted in the terracotta pots after having been dug out from the nursery, and 18 small trees in the nursery, I think I have grown them because I could not sell them at our flower shows. Perhaps they are about 25 years old, or less than the age. Therefore they are not very good materials for bonsai. But some of them have thick trunks. It is a great problem how I will be able to make them into ordinary bonsai which I will keep for a long time.A. After pruning in the nursery
The figure and taper of this Nikko are considerably good, but the right first branch is very low. When it has a lot of flowers the figure will be clumsy because the space between the right first branch and the soil may not be seen. Therefore I have to plant it as high as possible.
B. The rootage after washing the roots with a jet water
The root ball is very thick. It is because this tree had been planted in the terracotta pot before it was planted in the nursery about 11 years ago. Judging from the present roots I think it is natural that it should have a considerably good nebari. If it had not had a good nebari when I planted it in the nursery, I would have disposed of it.
C. The bottom of rootage
Though the root ball was very thick, this tree does not have any thick vertical roots. It is because it had been planted in the terracotta pot for a long time when it was young, and because they were cut whenever I repotted it. Therefore you can see a good nebari.
D. After washing the roots of Nikko
The nebari of this tree is not perfect because the left root is not very thick. But since I cut the front thick roots short, it will grow thicker soon.
E. This is the whole figure of Nikko which is seen from the front.
Being compared to the whole figure of this Nikko, this bonsai pot is a little bit large and deep now. But if it will have a lot of shoots and leaves, it may be OK. Since the colour of the pot is dark brown, it may be considerably suitable for the tree when it has a lot of flowers. I chose it for it among bonsai pots which I had bought long ago.