Black pine

I have had this small black pine for about 5 years now. In this time it has had quite a few different shapes and the crown got smaller and smaller. By choice of course. In the meantime the crown got nicely dense so I had to pluck all the old needles to let more sunlight reach the branches. This will on one hand promote new backbudding and on the other prevent branches from dying due to lack of sunlight.

Before plucking the needles.

How it looks now.

This is the tree before the first styling in 2011.

And a photo from autumn 2013 when it looked best so far.

English yew

I received this yew as a gift from Tony Tickle in 2011 when I was visiting Burrs. I styled it for the first time at the workshop there.

The tree as I got it.

After the first styling.

Yesterday before the second styling.

Today, after restyling and repotting.

Demo video

 A short video from the demo.

 

Demo at TORA

Yesterday I was invited to do a demo at TORA bonsai school. I worked on a mugo pine I had since 2012.

Most photos are by Tomaž Kovšca.

Half cascade in final pot

In my experience Larix trees are very delicate about repotting. The one repotting with the most risk is the one right after the first one after you collect it. Once I even had a larch which was practicly finished and when it was repotted, it died. And I have not removed a single root... So the best time is to do it when they start to but.

Now it was finally time to repot this half cascade larch of mine. I placed it into a pre-ordered pot by Erik Križovensky.

The tree last summer, still in the previous pot in which it was growing for 4 years.

Aplying Keto-tsuchi to the rather steep soil level.

Resumed with moss.

The finished product.

And here is the tree when I found it in nature in 2007.