Birch bonsai in the making

Fishtank307

Shohin
Messages
445
Reaction score
970
Location
Belgium
I collected this downy birch (betula pubescens) in March from a field. I planted it in a mix of akadama, lava rock, perlite and composted cow manure (sounds weird, I know). It grew extremely well! I'm not planning on pruning it, just removed some suckers and recently also some of the larger leaves, in order to get some light to reach the interior buds.

IMG_20190614_174130.jpg

IMG_20190614_174148.jpg
Lovely white bark, decent flare and the first branch is already in place!

IMG_20190614_174205.jpg
Ii'm really happy with the roots! The only downside is that it doesn't have the same root-spread on the backside. But I really can't complain!

IMG_20190614_174158.jpg
Should've chopped it lower though...

New leader:
IMG_20190614_174158-22.jpg
Trunk chop next spring. Should make a good looking shohin!
 

Fishtank307

Shohin
Messages
445
Reaction score
970
Location
Belgium
Chopped it two weeks ago. I was worried some of the primary branches would die, but luckily they all survived. Couldn't be more happy!
IMG_20200330_155721.jpg

Two large chops:
IMG_20200330_155735.jpg
The buds were just starting to turn green when I made the cuts. The tree didn't bleed at all.

Side view:
IMG_20200330_155739.jpg

The new leader was left untouched. It grew 70 cm last year, after collection.
IMG_20200330_181012.jpg
I hope I can keep it happy! :)
 

Fishtank307

Shohin
Messages
445
Reaction score
970
Location
Belgium
Pruned it two or three times last year, making sure light could penetrate the canope. At the end of summer I pruned it one last time and then left in untouched until last week, when I hard pruned last year's growth. I tried to seal the wounds as best as I could, but the tree bled tremendously! I hope it comes through okay...

20210221_095127.jpg20210221_095135.jpg
I think I'm going to cut the leader again, to create some more movement and taper. And check the roots...
 

Fishtank307

Shohin
Messages
445
Reaction score
970
Location
Belgium
...what were you thinking specifically?

‘cause I personally like the lines it has... Just curious.
Thanks! I was thinking about cutting it a letting it grow again along these lines:
20210224_224215.jpg
It grows so fast that it's hard to keep up. Maybe I'll use a finer soil mix when I repot it.
 

Fishtank307

Shohin
Messages
445
Reaction score
970
Location
Belgium
Repotted this one, 3 years after collecting:
IMG20220318160532.jpg
Left it to grow last year, after cutting it back in june.

IMG20220318160556.jpg
Scars are healing quite okay. Only the latest one at the top looks a bit unhealthy (not visible in this picture).

IMG20220318161504.jpg
Mat of root at the bottom of the pot...

IMG20220318162822.jpg
Nebari is quite to my liking, especially for a collected tree!

IMG20220318180707.jpg
Managed to get most of the old soil out. Didn't remove too many roots, just enough to get into this Japanese pot.

IMG20220318181912.jpg
I like the combination of the unglazed pot, with the green accent, and the rough black and white trunk.

IMG20220318181859.jpg
I'm probably going to hold of cutting it back. I broke of a small twig and it was bleeding quite heavily!

After cutback, I'm going to wire the new growth downward and start creating a more 'weeping' birch.
 

Attachments

  • IMG20220318181924.jpg
    IMG20220318181924.jpg
    199.2 KB · Views: 4

HorseloverFat

Squarepants with Conkers
Messages
11,356
Reaction score
16,220
Location
Northeast Wisconsin
USDA Zone
5a
Repotted this one, 3 years after collecting:
View attachment 427533
Left it to grow last year, after cutting it back in june.

View attachment 427534
Scars are healing quite okay. Only the latest one at the top looks a bit unhealthy (not visible in this picture).

View attachment 427535
Mat of root at the bottom of the pot...

View attachment 427536
Nebari is quite to my liking, especially for a collected tree!

View attachment 427537
Managed to get most of the old soil out. Didn't remove too many roots, just enough to get into this Japanese pot.

View attachment 427539
I like the combination of the unglazed pot, with the green accent, and the rough black and white trunk.

View attachment 427538
I'm probably going to hold of cutting it back. I broke of a small twig and it was bleeding quite heavily!

After cutback, I'm going to wire the new growth downward and start creating a more 'weeping' birch.
Well Damnit if that isn't shaping up SPLENDIDLY!
 

Paradox

Imperial Masterpiece
Messages
9,338
Reaction score
11,405
Location
Long Island, NY
USDA Zone
7a
Good luck with it over the long term. Birch have an annoying habit of killing off branches for no apparent reason, usually ones important for the design.
The one I had a few years ago decided to kill the main trunk in favor of lower suckers.
Ruined the whole thing and I ended up throwing it out.
 
Messages
1,944
Reaction score
5,284
Location
SE Michigan
USDA Zone
6a
Good luck with it over the long term. Birch have an annoying habit of killing off branches for no apparent reason, usually ones important for the design.
The one I had a few years ago decided to kill the main trunk in favor of lower suckers.
Ruined the whole thing and I ended up throwing it out.
I'm really starting to regret buying a Betula nigra as a newbie (got it a month ago). Glad I got it cheap, the more I read about Birches the more I realize it may not live long. No offense to you, it just seems like there's a lot of "Bitter Ex-Birch owners" and I'm starting to see the light as I respect all the experience on this site. Wish me Luck!
 

Tums

Shohin
Messages
388
Reaction score
376
Location
Woburn, MA, USA
USDA Zone
6a
Good luck with it over the long term. Birch have an annoying habit of killing off branches for no apparent reason, usually ones important for the design.
The one I had a few years ago decided to kill the main trunk in favor of lower suckers.
Ruined the whole thing and I ended up throwing it out.
 

Fishtank307

Shohin
Messages
445
Reaction score
970
Location
Belgium
Good luck with it over the long term. Birch have an annoying habit of killing off branches for no apparent reason, usually ones important for the design.
The one I had a few years ago decided to kill the main trunk in favor of lower suckers.
Ruined the whole thing and I ended up throwing it out.
Yeah, I'm trying to not get too attached to any of the branches! So far I only lost one secondary branch and that was because I didn't let it get enough light. I let other branches grow too long.
I just hope it doesn't decide to kill of the backside of the trunk, because of the wound!
 

Fishtank307

Shohin
Messages
445
Reaction score
970
Location
Belgium
Love it! The tree, the bark, the pot, everything. What is the covering (mulch for lack of a better word) that you used to cover the rocks in the last two pics? Post pics when you wire it up please.
Thanks! That 'mulch' is finely chopped spaghnum moss🙂 It helps keep the top soil moist.
 
Top Bottom