Satsuki and Other Trees in Mack's Garden 26

Renewal December 7th, 2014


Cascade


When I had a demonstration to wind the long satsuki saplings with wires in the Netherlands in May 2014, about four fifths of the members of Koya Bonsai Association wanted to make them into a style of cascade. Besides almost all of them have not wound them with wires since they began to enjoy bonsai. It shows that they are much interested in the style, but I think that it is abnormal because they need the very high techniques to make the long satsuki saplings into a style of cascade by winding them with wires and to grow them.

Fundamentally speaking, if beginners of satsuki bonsai would like to make the long satsuki saplings into a style of cascade, I think that at first they have to make them into an informal upright style (moyogi) by winding them with wires after they try to train them to bend five or seven times: they need some practises.

But the members of Koya Bonsai Association had their great zeal for satsuki bonsai as an art so much that it defeated them. Though I have to admit that it is a splendid opinion, at the same time I cannot agree that a lot of European bonsai enthusiasts view bonsai as an art. In fact a considerable number of Japanese call the high-skilled bonsai traders (including growers) bonsai artists, but it is a fact that a lot of Japanese bonsai enthusiasts call them masters or experts in satsuki bonsai (kyosho). It is because any best bonsai made by them cannot keep the original shape and the atmosphere for a long time even if they kept it or sold it to their customers, that is, any bonsai is not a work of art because it is living in the pots as any tree in the nature is living. Any bonsai continues to change the shapes and atmospheres every day, that is, they are making their shapes and atmospheres by themselves, and bonsai enthusiasts and masters do help them to do so. Therefore I think that bonsai enthusiasts have to study the nature of the trees which they would like to grow in the pots before studying the methods of styling.

In short, it takes us a very long time to make good bonsai by ourselves. When a person bought a very expensive satsuki bonsai, if he repots it without washing the roots three times, perhaps it will be weak and die in about 15 years. But if you can get a lot of knowledge about satsuki bonsai from some long-experienced satsuki masters, books and magazines, you can grow and style them easier: you have to become more zealous in the knowledge about satsuki as well as in the growing of satsuki trees. This is the best way to see beautiful satsuki flowers every year and keep good satsuki bonsai.

Section 1. Hikorin


I have grown a lot of satsuki saplings since inserting the cuttings into Kanuma soil to give them to our relatives and friends as presents 5 or 6 years ago. And since I didn’t want to grow them large, I hadn’t given them a lot of fertilisers till I repotted them in the spring of 2011. But since then I have given them a lot of fertilisers, so that several saplings had long shoots.

Therefore last spring I decided to style two thirds of them into bonsai: cascades, multi-trunked trees, small or middle trees. It is because I would like to enjoy styling them and give good-styled satsuki trees, too, to our relatives and friends except ones which I would like to keep. And when I numbered small shallow terracotta pots (from no. 5 to no.7), I was much surprised to know that the number of them was 122 though I will plant about 20 trees into bonsai pots the following year, for I think I will have to dispose of them except very good material which I would like to keep. For example, though I have 19 saplings of Benigasa, good materials are only 4 trees of them which I will be able to enjoy styling.

A. The material of Hikorin

I would like to introduce how I made the six years old sapling of Hikorin into a cascade last spring, which had been repotted two years ago. At first seeing this material, I was in doubt what shape I could style because it had a lot of small branches and a long one. If I made it into a cascade, the present core of tree is very low. But since it is young and if it will be pruned and wired, it may have a good shoot which will be a core of the tree. And I decided to make it into a cascade because I would like to make several cascades to introduce how to make them on my homepage.

The photo was taken on June 19th, 2014.

B. After wiring

I wired this material after pruning it on June 13th. Judging from the present figure, the core of tree is so low that it looks a kind of two-trunked tree. Therefore when repotting it, I have to plant it above the level of pot. And I have to bend the hanging branch at the sharper angle after repotting it.

The photo was taken on June 19th, 2014.

C. After repotting

Now the whole figure of this material is much better because I changed the angle of planting and planted it higher than before on June 19th. Since we can see the roots, the position of the core of tree is better than before. But it still is lower than the position which is suitable to this cascade. If the material has a good shoot on the good part of the hanging branch, I may change the core of tree into a new one. Or when the core of tree and the hanging branch will be thick, if I will change the angle of the material when repotting it, the problem may disappear.

The curve of hanging branch is much better than before. And though its upper part doesn’t a lot of branches, since its end has some shoots, I hope that some necessary shoots will come.

The photo was taken on June 22nd, 2014.

Section 2. Togenkyo


I would like to introduce how I made the six years old sapling of Togenkyo into a cascade last spring. This kind of variety is so strong that it will grow very large if a lot of fertilisers are given. Therefore when repotting it two years ago, I planted it in a No. 7 shallow terracotta pot.

Though this material had a lot of small branches and shoots, since it had a long hanging branch, I decided to make it into a cascade. And fortunately I could find a good core of tree.

A. The figure of material

Though this material had a lot of small branches and shoots, since it had a long hanging branch, I decided to make it into a cascade. And fortunately I could find a good core of tree.

The photo was taken on June 19th, 2014.

B. After styling the core of tree

At first I removed some unnecessary branches. And the next after styling the core of tree, I removed the hanging shoots which had come from the underside of the trunk of hanging branch so that I could wire it easily. Judging from the whole figure of this material after wiring it, I had to decide the length of the cascade because the lower part of hanging branch did not have any shoots.

The first plan was to cut it short because I could hope that I would complete the cascade as soon as possible. But I kept it as it was because I could hope that some necessary shoots would come if I removed a lot of shoots from the upper part of it and wired it.

The photo was taken on June 19th, 2014.

C. Changing the angle of planting

According to my experience, I thought that the lower part of the hanging branch might have more shoots if I made the curve of it more obtuse than before by changing the angle of planting.

The photo was taken on June 19th, 2014.

D. After repotting

I decided to change the angle of planting. But judging from the whole figure of the material which was planted in the high bonsai pot on June 19th, I could not make the curve of the hanging branch considerably obtuse. The material leaned down because the hanging branch which had been wound with the thick wire was heavy when I planted it and fastened the roots with wires by myself. It was my error. I could not suppose that it would lean down when fastening the roots with wires if a lot of Kanuma soil was powered into the high pot and the hanging branch was long and heavy.

Therefore I bent some curves of upper part of hanging branch at the acute angles and made the angle of its lower part more obtuse than before again to make the part have new shoots. But I am not sure that some new shoots will come there. But the angle of the core of tree is much better.

The photo was taken on June 22nd, 2014.

Section 3. Other materials

A. Hikorin after repotting

This material may be completed into a better style than the above Hikorin in 5 years because the core of tree has a good position on the trunk. But if the trunk will grow very thick, the angle of curve of hanging branch will be so acute that I will have to make it obtuse. And if I will lean the material down much more to make the positon of the core of tree better, I will have to make it much more obtuse than before.

The photo was taken on June 22nd, 2014.

B. Togenkyo after repotting

Since the long branch of this material was shorter than above materials, I planted it in the No. 7 deep terracotta pot. Though the position of the core of tree is very good, it is thick. And the present angle of the bending branch is so obtuse that I have to bend some parts at the acute angle. I will do so in winter by the time when the new buds will come.

The photo was taken on June 22nd, 2014.

C. Shinnyo no tsuki after repotting

This Shinnyo no tsuki is the largest cascade in my satsuki bonsai now and was repotted on April 4th. But whenever it was blown down from the bonsai shelf by the strong winds, the length of the hanging branch became shorter, or some parts of branches were broken by it. And perhaps its age is more than 40. Therefore it is a little bit weak now and may die in ten years.

The photo was taken on April 5th, 2014.