‘Tis the nature of bonsai that even after 20 years of experience you can have real uncertainty about a routine procedure like root pruning. In this instance it was over root pruning a dwarf crepe myrtle I picked up on sale last fall. The uncertainty was over the date. I don’t usually do root pruning and repotting this late in the year (except on tropicals). The only thing I had to go on was the one concept I have depended on for years… repot deciduous trees just as they start to push buds.
There are many common questions and misconceptions about bonsai. For many, after they learn that bonsai is not a special species of tree (rather nearly any kind of tree or shrub trained in a certain way) the next question is, “How do they stay so small?”
Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.
Even better, let me show you!
In the fall of 2015, I got two Japanese maples from a club raffle. They were the same variety, the same thickness, and the same height. I kept them both in pots for the 2016 growing season, and they stayed on par with one another. But in the spring 2017, I decided to plant one in the ground and keep the other in a pot. Just 14 months later, let me show you the difference.
This is the one in the pot.
Yes, it is quite tall for a potted tree, but I need the branches down low to fill out more before I reduce the height through pruning. Nevertheless, this is about the height of the tree when I first got it, and about the height of the other maple as well. Notice how compact the growth is.
Now, this is the other tree just 14 months in the ground.
Can you say, “Wow”? It is still about the same height, but the way the branches are extending, it will quickly become a much bigger tree.
This is, in my opinion, a fantastic illustration of one of the fundamental concepts in bonsai. A tree in a pot will not grow as fast as a tree in the ground. This, and the techniques used to grow and train bonsai, are how they stay so small.
If you’ve got a plant you love, make more! In this case, I have a Japanese maple I got in a 2015 club raffle. I just love the look of the tightly-spaced, small, green leaves it has all summer long, and the spring and fall colors are gorgeous as well.
The boxwood in today’s post and video was collected from a suburban yard about 14 months ago. You can read about the collection HERE, and a related article about getting it into a box this spring. I have been very happy with how well it is doing. It has a strong root system and has good growth this spring. Many of these long branches need to be removed as I reduce the plant back to the large trunk. Air layering will help move this process along while propagating new plants at the same time.
I confess, at times I am skeptical of the oft repeated notion that “bonsai is an art best undertaken with others.” (Credit Gary Reese for its repetition.) I am usually content to work on my trees in the quiet of my garden, and find the hours spent there to be very therapeutic. Then again, my office mates know full well that I love little more than “talking it out.”
Bonsai Iterate 