treebeard55

Yesterday, April 23, we of the Ft. Wayne Bonsai Club had a tropicals workshop with Scott Yelich, owner of Eagle Creek Bonsai in Indianapolis.

I almost didn't go, because the Bonsai Crate is getting crowded, and none of the species that Scott planned to bring particularly appealed to me. But then I realized that when the time came, the merits of individual trees would matter more to me than species, as usually happens!

But then Lady Dilemma waltzed in! My selection came down to two: a very worthy Ficus microcarpa 'Kaneshiro," or a very worthy Gmelina philippinensis, common name in English "parrot's-beak." (Common name comes from the flower shape; the initial "G" in the genus name is silent.) That's when species did come into consideration: I already have three species of Ficus, including several microcarpa. Besides, after studying both trees I could already see exactly the path to take with 'Kaneshiro;' the parrot's-beak would be more of a challenge. So I chose the parrot's-beak.

The first picture shows the tree "before." The exposed fat root -- almost a "knee" -- on the right side of the base was one thing that caught my eye. Overall taper is good, and there were branches in most places where I'd want them.

Styling it was just fun! Several design answers unfolded as I went along, so to speak. The tree will be a shohin (or nearly so,) style a somewhat unconventional double-trunk upright. Scott brought pots, and I put it into an unglazed rectangle that I think works with the foliage color quite well. The second pic, of course, is "after."

There's still a way to go before I call it finished. The lowest branch on the right does nothing for the design and will be removed once I'm sure the tree is well-recovered from yesterday's work. The top will be shortened by an inch, maybe a tad more, and then I'll start working on an apex. I repotted the tree lower in the soil than it had been in the nursery pot. In a couple of months I'm going to wound the cambium in a few places in front, just below the soil line, and apply root hormone; the intent is to induce some new roots to fill in the nebari in front. And I need a major branch on the left, about halfway up the tree's total height. Either a new buds breaks there, or I'll have to graft.

But I think the journey will continue to be fun.

Attached Images

	B138 2011-4-23, acq pic.jpg (93.1 KB, 19 views)
	B138 2011-4-23, first styling & repotted.jpg (102.1 KB, 27 views)

__________________
Treebeard 55
Steve Moore
http://hoosierbonsai.blogspot.com

The most important bonsai tool is your brain.

treebeard55

A bit of an update ...

I've learned some things about parrot's-beak over the summer. For one thing, it tends to be leaf-dense, but not necessarily branch-dense. That may mean I'll have to reconsider the idea of keeping it shohin-sized; I'll make a decision once I see how the leaves reduce.

Second, it is very touchy about drought. This summer was our 4th-hottest on record, and there were a couple of instances when the trees didn't get watered in a timely fashion. Nothing reacted worse than the parrot's beak: I lost several twigs and small branches as a result of one such incident. (No other species lost any twigs that time.)

The journey continues. The tree is now doing fine, and will soon be tucked in for the winter. It also seems to be more vulnerable to near-freezing temperatures than my other tropical species, but I have yet to verify that. (And not sure how I want to!)

__________________
Treebeard 55
Steve Moore
http://hoosierbonsai.blogspot.com

The most important bonsai tool is your brain.