Satsuki and Other Trees in Mack's Garden 43

Renewal February 05th, 2018

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I would like to introduce some beautiful photos of satsuki flowers which were chosen from the collection of their photos whenever I renew my homepage.




The ways to completion of satsuki bonsai --- Part 1


Though I have a lot of satsuki trees, the half of them are young trees and incomplete bonsai. It is because a lot of complete ones which I had grown in the pots from the cuttings for more than 40 years died. Now the rest of them are only 15 trees all of which are weak except one, and one of them has the trunk which was broken by a strong typhoon several years ago. And they may die within 10 years. All trees which I had grown in the pots from the cuttings continued to have flowers every year for a long time because I repotted them after blooming. But recently I repot them in March after pruning them drastically. And I lent several trees which had good shapes and flowers to some friends every year when they had flowers. Almost all of them died in one or two or three years because they were not given a lot of water.

When we moved from Kobe city to Ise city 40 years ago, I asked one of my friends to put more than 400 saplings into a lot of large stainless-steel-net boxes on the truck, one thirds of which were about 100 cm tall. And since these saplings already had thick trunks, I broke a lot of them when I wired them. Therefore I succeeded in wiring about 300 saplings. And I kept good-shaped young trees and sold the rest at our flower show.

And I began to buy a lot of large araki in 1987 and bought a lot of young trees in 1990 to plant them in the nursery. And several very expensive trees died because they had had the rotten parts in or on the trunks. I think they were caused from the large scars which had been made by cutting the thick trunks short or removing thick branches. At that time the satsuki growers did not have any good methods to cure the large scars and araki was very expensive when they began to sell them. Therefore I wasted several million yen. Now araki are a half price or less. This is the stream of time.

Section 1. Complete bonsai which have been grown from araki

Now I would like to introduce how to complete satsuki trees which I have grown from the araki which I had bought and dug from the nursery. I left the chairman of Ise Satsuki Society to publish the book so that I might get the title of literature doctor and withdrew from it about 14 years ago, and it disappeared in two years. And now since I am not a member of any satsuki or bonsai societies, I cannot exhibit my satsuki bonsai at any satsuki flower shows or bonsai shows. Therefore I do not have to put the living moss on the soil, wash the trunks and branches and clean the pots to prepare for flower shows when I trim them.

If the coloured leaves of satsuki trees fell down from the branches in winter, we can see through the whole figures clearly. Therefore we have good chances to restyle, prune and trim them. If we would like to exhibit some of them at the flower shows or see the beautiful figures when they have flowers, we had better trim them in winter. And we can remove the flower buds or flowers which are disturbing the good shapes of trees when they begin to have flowers.

A. Nyohozan

I bought this Nyohozan for 90,000 yen in February 1997 and planted it in an extremely large wooden pot to make it grow large as soon as possible. The height was 47 cm and the trunk girth was 27 cm. It was very cheap at that time. I thought it was because it was the very popular variety of Nyohozan. I decided the main branches of this tree on January 3rd, 1999 because it had had a lot of good branches. When I repotted it into a large terracotta pot in April 2007, the height was 50 cm and the trunk girth was 39cm. And I repotted it into a bonsai pot to complete it into a bonsai in March 2012. When it was repotted in April 2017, the height was 57 cm and trunk girth was 42 cm. It is said in Japan that the satsuki bonsai whose trunk girth is more than 40 cm has the thick trunk. Therefore it took me 21 years to have grown it into the complete satsuki bonsai whose trunk girth is very tick.

The left photo which was taken on June 4th, 2011 is the flowers of this tree which was planted in a very large terracotta pot. And the right photo which was taken on June 2nd 2012 is the flowers of it which was repotted on March 25th, that is, I did not pruned it drastically to make it have a small number of flowers. Here I am sorry to tell you that a considerable number of photos are unclear. Since I could not upload them on the display of the computer though I could transport their files to it, I took photos of them from their photos on the display of the computer again.



The left photo is this tree after trimming on March 13th, 2015. Judging from the whole figure, since it looked like having a little space between the fourth left branch and the top, I removed the former. When I took the middle photo of the flowers on May 26th 2016, it had a considerably good shape. And when I took the right photo on December 11th, 2016, it had a good shape though there is not any enough space between the left first and second branches, and the right first and second ones.



When I took the left photo on May 12th 2017, though it still had a little bit large scar, the whole figure was much better than that after trimming on March 13th, 2015. The middle photo is the front side of this tree, and the right photo is the back side, which were taken on January 13th, 2018. The only one thing that I have to do is to decide the length of each branch.



B. Kinsai A

I bought this Kinsai for 350,000 yen in February 1997 and planted it in a very large terracotta pot to complete it into a good bonsai as soon as possible. The height was 57 cm and the trunk girth was 26 cm. Since the variety of this tree was Kinsai, it was very expensive at that time. Though it had a good style, I restyled the top in November 1997. I repotted it in the same pot on May 3rd, 2002.

Since the top of this tree had a good shape, I repotted it into a bonsai pot on April 27th, 2007. The height was 54 cm and the trunk girth was 31 cm. And I repotted it in 2010 and 2013. When it had a long shoot in 2016, I grafted it on the right third branch. Though I repotted it on April 9th 2017, the grafting was not perfect. The height was 58 cm, and the trunk girth was 34 cm. Judging from this trunk girth, the process of growth was worse than other araki.

I took the left photo of this tree on October 29th, 2010. It was so strong and healthy that it had a lot of long new shoots. When I took the right photo on June 4th, 2011, though it did not have a lot of flowers, it had a considerably good shape.



When I pruned this tree on June 28th, 2011, I took these photos. It is very important to understand how to prune the top. If you do not remove a lot of shoots from the top when pruning your complete satsuki bonsai, since a lot of branches and shoots will crowd together, the top will have a lot of smaller flowers and give the impression of unbalance.



The left photo is this tree after trimming on November 1st, 2011. Though it is strong and healthy, you can see that the right third branch does not have a lot of small branches. Therefore I would make a branch by grafting if it had a long new shoot. When I took the middle photo on January 3rd, 2012, the whole figure of this tree which had the coloured leaves was the semi-finished satsuki bonsai. Therefore when it had the flowers of the right photo in 2012, it could give the strong impression of beautiful satsuki bonsai. But the whole figure was not perfect.



I took the left photo on May 4th, 2013 after repotting this tree on March 24th. These fresh new shoots are beautiful. When I took the middle photo on March 13th, 2015, compared with the previous photo, this photo has the different impression. The contrast of colours of leaves is very good and the red flower buds of this variety are beautiful. Though you can see four formal flowers on the top of this tree on the right photo which was taken on June 1st, 2016, and the lower branches do not have a lot of flowers, it has a good shape.



I took the left photo on May 12th, 2017 after repotting this tree on April 9th. Thouguh you can see the graft on the right third branch because I have not separated it yet, it will have a good shape when it will have a lot flowers in 2018. The middle photo is the front side of this tree, and the right photo is the back side, which were taken on January 13th, 2018. The only one thing that I have to do is to consider the length of each branch.



C. Korin A

I bought this Korin A for 250,000 yen in February 1997 and planted it in a very large terracotta pot to complete it into a good bonsai as soon as possible. The height was 35 cm and the trunk girth was 28 cm. Since the height of this tree was lower, it was very expensive. And it needed the left first branch.

But fortunately since it had had a necessary new shoot in 2000, I wired it in the following year. To make it grow thick as soon as possible, I repotted the tree 2002 and 2007 in the same terracotta pot. And since the first left branch grew thick, I repotted it in the bonsai pot on March 25th, 2012. The height was 41 cm and the trunk girth was 42. And I repotted it in the same pot on April 3rd, 2016. But since the trunk girth was 43 cm, I think it may have had some damages for 4 years.

When I took the left photo of the flowers of Korin A on May 26th, 2011, it still had been planted in a very large terracotta pot to make it grow as soon as possible. Repotting it into a bonsai pot on March 25th, 2012, I made it have a small number of flower buds to enjoy the flowers. And I took the middle photo of its fresh and good figure on April 4th. Of course it does not have a lot of flowers on the right photo which was taken on May 28th but the whole shape is good.



You can see the coloured leaves of this tree on the left photo which was taken on December 17th, 2013. When I took the middle photo on March 13th, 2015, since it was a semi-finished bonsai after trimming, this pot matches this tree well. And repotting it after pruning drastically and washing the roots on April 3rd, 2016, I took the right photo on 5th.



You can see the beautiful flowers of this tree on the left photo which was taken on May 29th, 2017. It is one of my completed satsuki bonsai. And the middle photo is it before trimming on January 4th, 2018, and the right photo is it after trimming. I am sure that I will enjoy the flowers this year.



D. Korin B

I bought this tree when I went to Kanuma to see the satsuki bonsai show in November 1994. The price was 160,000 yen. And I planted it in a large shallow terracotta pot. The height was 29 cm and the trunk girth was 23 cm. And I planted it in the same pot after removing the soil and washing the roots on March 19th, 2001. The height was 28cm and the trunk girth was 32 cm. And I repotted it in the bonsai pot on April 30th, 2007. The height was 32 cm and the trunk girth was 39cm. And when I repotted it on April 2nd, 2011, the height was 35 cm and the trunk girth was 40 cm. And I repotted it on March 17th, 2015, the height was 37 cm and the trunk girth was 41 cm. Judging from the trunk girth of this tree in 2007 and that in 2015, I think it may have had some damages for 8 years.

The left photo which was taken on May 27th, 2010 is the flowers of this tree. Since I planted it in a bonsai pot in April 2007, it does not have a lot of flowers. Repotted in the same pot on April 2nd, 2011, it has a nice shape on the middle photo which was taken after repotting. It was so strong and healthy that you can see a nice shape after trimming on the right photo which was taken on November 20th, 2011.



You can see the very beautiful flowers of this tree on the left photo which was taken on June 2nd, 2012. The shape which has a lot of flowers is much better than that in 2010. The middle photo is the whole figure immediately after repotting on March 19th, 2015. And when I took the right photo on April 25th, it had an almost complete satsuki bonsai.



When I took the left photo on May 24th, 2016, though this tree is not in full bloom, the whole shape is nice because we can expect that it will be in full bloom soon. You can see the rough shape before trimming on the middle photo and the good one after trimming on the right photo. These photos were taken on January 3rd, 2018. If I repot it in the middle of next March, it will be one of my complete satsuki bonsai.



D. Kasugano

This is my memorial tree. It has very strange trunks and roots. I dug it from the bank of a lane in my grandfather's tea tree field when I got married in 1972. And I planted it in a terracotta pot. The height was about 15 cm and the roots were about 10 - 15 cm. Though I have grown a lot of satsuki trees since then, this tree is my good friend which has seen the changes of the world with me. I assume that it is more than 90 years old, and that he had planted it before I was born in 1942, and that it sometimes had a lot of soil over it and often had been cut so shortly every year that it couldn't have thick trunks and roots.

I repotted it in a bonsai pot after washing the roots in April 2002. Though I had repotted it in the same pot in April 2006, I put it in a little bit larger bonsai pot in April 2008. And I repotted it in much larger bonsai pot on March 28th 2013 because it seemed to be weak. And it was repotted on April 5th, 2016. Since I have grown it in the pot since 1972, I am very sorry to tell you that it is weak now and other two trees (Sangosai and Osakazuki) which were dug out with it at the same time were so weak that some branches died recently. I hope that they will continue to live while I am on the earth.

Though this tree has a lot of strange roots, since it has only one form and colour of flowers, the whole figure on the left photo which was taken on May 27th, 2010 is not very splendid. Some of you may have seen this photo in April number of The Satsuki Kenkyu in 2011, and the photos of Sangosai and Osakazuki which still were strong at that time. When the middle photo was taken on January 20th, 2011, the whole shape is good. Though it was not in full bloom, you can enjoy these flowers on the right photo which taken on May 28th, 2012.



When I trimmed this tree on November 27th, 2012, I took the left photo. Though it was the end of November, it has still green leaves. Repotting it on March 28th, I took the middle photo on May 4th, 2013. Since it was a little bit weak, it did not have a lot of new shoots. And when I trimmed it lightly on January 17th 2014, it is matched with the bonsai pot on the right photo.



Repotting this tree, I took the left photo on April 4th, 2016. In case of this type of the top, I have to prune it drastically like other top of complete satsuki bonsai lest a lot of branches and shoots should crowd together. This is an important working. When I took the middle photo on May 31st, 2017, though this tree is not in full bloom, the whole shape is so nice that it is one of my complete bonsai. And when it has the good shape on the right photo which was taken on January 13th, 2018, I always can enjoy it even except the blooming season.



Section 2. Semi-finished bonsai which were grown in the nursery

Though I planted a lot of satsuki trees which I bought in the nursery, I planted a considerable number of trees there which I had grown from the cuttings 25 years ago. And when I thought I would like to make some trees into bonsai, I dug them from there and planted them in bonsai or terracotta pots.

A. Juko A

I bought this Juko A for 30,000 yen in Kanuma in January 1993. The height was 50 cm and the trunk girth was 20cm. I thought that it was very cheap at that time. Though it did not some necessary branches, I planted it into a large terracotta pot. And I planted it in the nursery in December 1994 to make it grow large and have a lot of new shoots as soon as possible. Since I could see two suitable shoots, I grafted them on two branches in February 2014. And I dug it out from there, washed the roots and planted it in a bonsai pot on March 18th, 2014. The height was 58 cm and the trunk girth was 47 cm.

The left photo of this tree in the nursery had been taken before I dug it out on March 14th, 2014. And after planting it in a very large bonsai pot after washing the roots on 18th, I took the middle photo. Judging from the whole shape it has already all necessary branches. Therefore you can see very beautiful flowers on the right photo which was taken on June 1st, 2016. Though it has a little bit lots of purple flowers, the colour arrangement of flowers is good as the variety of Juko.



Judging from the left photo of this tree after trimming which was taken on December 26th 2016, you can distinguish the difference of the colours of leaves. It means that we can expect that it will have a good colour arrangement of flowers. The middle and right photos which were taken on March 19th, 2017 show the conditions of two shoots which I grafted in February 2014. It means that I succeeded in it though I have not separated them.



When I took the left photo of flowers on June 6th, 2017, the whole figure of this tree is rather good though the top has not been formed into a good shape yet. You can see it before trimming on the middle photo and it after trimming on the right photo. Judging from these photos which were taken on January 3rd, 2018, I will succeed in completing it in 3 years if the top will be formed into a good shape.



B. Hakurin

I bought this Hakurin for 15,000 yen in Sakai city, Osaka prefecture on January 15th, 1997 and planted it in the nursery to make it grow large as soon as possible. Though it was a small-sized young tree, the bottom of the trunk was thick.

I dug it up from the nursery and planted it in a bonsai pot after washing the roots on March 21st, 2014. It is because it did not have any large scars but all necessary branches and the thick bottom of trunk. Therefore you can see the nice shape on the left photo which I took immediately after transplanting. And when I took the middle photo on March 13th, 2015, it did not have a lot of new shoots after trimming. But since it was so strong and healthy that it had a lot of strong new shoots, I pruned it drastically to make it have a lot of new shoots like other trees in the nursery and took the right photo on March 26th 2016 .



You can see the nice colour arrangement of flowers on the left photo which was taken on May 14th, 2016 because I had kept a lot of thin and short shoots when I had pruned this tree in the previous year. Since it was so strong and healthy that it had a lot of very long shoots, I had to prune it drastically and took the middle photo on July 23rd, 2017. Therefore you can see the compact shape of this tree. And after being trimmed, it shows a good image of bonsai on the right photo which was taken on January 9th, 2017.



Since this tree has several pink flowers and some pink-striped flowers, the colour arrangement is almost perfect on the left photo which was taken on May 26th, 2017. You can see it before trimming on the middle photo and after trimming on the right photo. Judging from these photos which were taken on January 3rd, 2018, it will be one of my complete satsuki bonsai if I will succeed in making each branch have good balances when I will repot it in the middle of next March.



C. Korin C

After we had moved from Kobe city to Ise city 40 years ago, I broke a lot of sapings which I had grown from the cuttings when I wired them. And I sold them at the satsuki flower show after restyling them. But since I could not sell a considerable number of them, I grew them in the pots. When I made a large nursery 25 years ago, I planted more than 30 trees of them there. This Korin was one of them which already had a thick trunk. Since it had a very thick trunk, I dug it out from there on March 18th, 2014. The height was 52cm and the trunk girth was 42 cm. It has the thickest trunk girth of the trees which I have grown from the cutting.

The left photo which was taken on February 13th, 2013 is Korin C after drastic pruning in the nursery. You can see the whole figure of this tree which has a lot of long new shoots before pruning drastically on the middle photo which was taken January 20th, 2014. And since I dug it out and planted it in a very large bonsai pot after washing the roots on March 17th, 2014, the whole figure on the right photo has a massive image of big tree.



When it has passed a year since this tree was planted in a large bonsai pot, it does not have a lot of long new shoots on the left photo which was taken on March 13th 2015. But since it had a lot of long new shoots, I pruned it drastically to complete it as soon as possible though I did not prune thin shoots. You can see a good shape of this tree on the middle photo which was taken on March 26th, 2016. And though lower branches have only a small number of flowers, it has a lot of flowers as a whole in 2016.



Compared with the flowers in 2016, these flowers are much more beautiful on the left photo which was taken on May 19th, 2017. The middle photo is the front side of this tree and the right one is the back side. These photos were taken on January 3rd, 2018. Since the whole figure is good, I hope it will be one of my complete satsuki bonsai when I will repot it in five years though I have to repot it in the middle of next March.

/BR>


To be continued.



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