Here comes spring!

At last my mountain maple is opening.

I don’t know if you can see from the photo, but the tree is extending.

This show the growth a little better.

Over the next few days I will trimming the new growth as it appears.

 

More Hosta’s!

This is one of the many plants that I bought from Robert Porch.

The name of this Hosta is quite a mouthfull. Now I have four.

One of the new plants I very kindly got from Ian (Bonsai eejit) yesterday.

 

Hornbeam re-pot.

This is my rather large Hornbeam. I have been looking for a suitable pot since I bought the tree a few years ago.

With the help from Peter Snart (Willowbog Bonsai) we thought this pot would be suitable.

 

 

So last saturday ,at Ian’s, we got to work.The roots needed a good clear out and cut back pretty hard.

This is a great improvement, with a much more refined pot.

The better exposed roots system.

I’m very happy with the overall look of this tree, now just to wait to see the tree in full leaf.

 

First of many!

This is the first of my many Hosta’s to be split.

So this time I got three plants, one for my “mother” plant and two for keeping small.

Lots more to follow.

 

Larch repot

This is the tree that I felt needed a repot.

The surface of the growing medium had become clogged up.

Just about the right time to repot.

The tree is now in its new pot.I used a slightly bigger pot that its last, I was’nt happy with the amount of roots the tree had produced, so this should help.

 

School Workshop.

Here is the start of our Sunday Workshop. As alway Peter talks through everyones tree, or trees, that are to be worked on.

It might not look like it, but I can’t wait to get started.

And this is why. My latest acquisition a Japanese Mountain maple in a Clumpstyle.The tree need a repot so this was my,very pleasant, workshop tree.

This is the tree back home the next morning. I will be posting more on this tree over the next few days. But a great weekend, both the school on sat and the sunday workshop. Many thanks to Ian for hosting the school-workshop,and to peter-Willowbog Bonsai for all his effort and his teaching.

 

Cold walk.

Had my usual walk with Rufus, never used the camera until these past right over my head.

Very cold, but seeing these made it worthwhile.

Here they are just landed.

Really looking forward to our Bonsai school this weekend. Lots of learning and some good craic, it is strange that some people say they get nothing from the schools, I have been keeping Bonsai for almost 20 years and I still am learning,,,,,strange. Rant over, looking forward to seeing you Peter.

Spring feel!

My walk today really had a spring feel .

Nice to see all the new spring shoots.

Tough re-pot.

This little Cotoneaster cascade we have owned since we where first intrested in Bonsai. I said we because this tree is owned by my Wife Vanessa. She bought it of a member back in 1995, or their abouts.

I had noticed that the growing of the tree had slowed.So time for a re-pot.

The tree had been left in this pot far to long, so getting it out was a real problm.

The only way I could take the tree out was to root prune, then I could get at the rest of the roots.

As you can see the mass of roots at the bottom of the pot

I think I should re-pot a lot earler, and not leave it just as long agan, lesson learned!

 

Pest lookout!

I felt that my trees are telling me the first signs of spring are in the air.

The buds on my Maples and hawthorns are on the move!

A few more weeks of mild weather, and the trees will, I hope,all green up.

 

Having a closer look at this Maple, and something other than the new buds caught my eye!

 

This little pest was making a new home.

A closer look and he is spoted. This got me looking closer over all my trees this afternoon.