Hi all. Today was the Shohin Exhibition in Doncaster, where there were some absolutely lovely trees put on display. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of them as I was busy going around all the stalls! There were something around 120 traders there I believe, and there was quite a selection to pick from (although, unfortunately there was no Satsuki Azaleas which bummed me out). Nevertheless, I still picked up seven trees which I look forward to working on.
A quince. I had been looking for one for a while, it was slightly expensive (£15) however I didn't mind paying it as I'd probably use it for cuttings and try to make something nice out of it.
Although, after getting home I noticed some pretty bad inverse taper. I plan to chop it off and hopefully make the branch on the right the new leader. Anyone able to advise me when the best time to do this chop on a quince is?
A pyracantha. It was quite cheap at £10, and has some good movement in the trunk. It's got a ton of berries on and seems quite healthy, so I picked it up. Definitely has some good potential.
Something for you conifer fans - an Itoigawa Juniper. Admittedly, I probably shouldn't have picked this up as I am absolutely terrible with conifers and don't understand at all how they grow / pruning methods. I'll definitely do some research on it, but for £20 an Itoigawa Juniper seemed worth it to me.
A closer view of the trunk - the branches still seem quite pliable so I'll definitely get some wire on it soon enough. However, I don't have any copper wire - can I use aluminium wire since it's still quite young? Any advice on how you would develop this juniper would be appreciated.
A hornbeam for £5. I've never owned a hornbeam, and there's a tiny bit of movement at the bottom. I was thinking of chopping it nearer to the bottom - to develop taper and to get some movement in with a new leader. I'd love to ground grow half of these trees, however I have no more space in the raised bed near the fence which has already got a white alder growing in it and I don't think my mother would be too supportive of planting it on the grass. I'll just make sure to keep it in a big pot but refrain from overpotting it drastically.
Not entirely sure on what this is. I'm thinking a Larch, but I completely forgot what the seller said - I'd just wanted to experiment with conifers as I don't own a lot. Not completely sure on what I'll do with this one yet, I'll probably just let it grow for a few years and stick some wire on it soon and see what I can do with it. Only £1!
A spruce. Only cost £2, so I thought why not! I've heard spruce can be quite challenging as bonsai though - has anyone else had experience with spruce? Again with the (larch?) I'll just let it grow for a few years and put some wire on it to explore my options.
Lastly, I believe this is a Beech if I heard the buyer correctly. It's quite nice and I instantly took a liking to it. Again with the other trees, I'll stick some wire on it and see where I can go with it. There's a crossing branch at the top that definitely needs removing, but it's not too thick so it shouldn't leave that much of a scar. Was meant to be £20, but he gave me it for £10! I guess that's a benefit of being young in the bonsai hobby.
A quince. I had been looking for one for a while, it was slightly expensive (£15) however I didn't mind paying it as I'd probably use it for cuttings and try to make something nice out of it. Although, after getting home I noticed some pretty bad inverse taper. I plan to chop it off and hopefully make the branch on the right the new leader. Anyone able to advise me when the best time to do this chop on a quince is? A pyracantha. It was quite cheap at £10, and has some good movement in the trunk. It's got a ton of berries on and seems quite healthy, so I picked it up. Definitely has some good potential. Something for you conifer fans - an Itoigawa Juniper. Admittedly, I probably shouldn't have picked this up as I am absolutely terrible with conifers and don't understand at all how they grow / pruning methods. I'll definitely do some research on it, but for £20 an Itoigawa Juniper seemed worth it to me. A closer view of the trunk - the branches still seem quite pliable so I'll definitely get some wire on it soon enough. However, I don't have any copper wire - can I use aluminium wire since it's still quite young? Any advice on how you would develop this juniper would be appreciated. A hornbeam for £5. I've never owned a hornbeam, and there's a tiny bit of movement at the bottom. I was thinking of chopping it nearer to the bottom - to develop taper and to get some movement in with a new leader. I'd love to ground grow half of these trees, however I have no more space in the raised bed near the fence which has already got a white alder growing in it and I don't think my mother would be too supportive of planting it on the grass. I'll just make sure to keep it in a big pot but refrain from overpotting it drastically. Not entirely sure on what this is. I'm thinking a Larch, but I completely forgot what the seller said - I'd just wanted to experiment with conifers as I don't own a lot. Not completely sure on what I'll do with this one yet, I'll probably just let it grow for a few years and stick some wire on it soon and see what I can do with it. Only £1! A spruce. Only cost £2, so I thought why not! I've heard spruce can be quite challenging as bonsai though - has anyone else had experience with spruce? Again with the (larch?) I'll just let it grow for a few years and put some wire on it to explore my options. Lastly, I believe this is a Beech if I heard the buyer correctly. It's quite nice and I instantly took a liking to it. Again with the other trees, I'll stick some wire on it and see where I can go with it. There's a crossing branch at the top that definitely needs removing, but it's not too thick so it shouldn't leave that much of a scar. Was meant to be £20, but he gave me it for £10! I guess that's a benefit of being young in the bonsai hobby.
