Bonsai Thursday.

Dave and I had a good natter about what I had been doing with the trees this week and a couple of coffee's.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The main thing is this Itoigawa Juniper, which has had a small bit of tweaking to refine the pads a little.

Then this afternoon I installed this bar in the garden.

HA HA.

Bonsai Wednesday.

I thought tonight was going to be quiet until John came with this Hawthorn.

---------------------------------------------------------------

It is growing well and very healthy, but a little out of shape.

After a couple of guy wires and a bit of pruning  it looks a lot better.

Another enjoyable evening and a job well done.

Itoigawa Juniper.

This Itoigawa Juniper was repotted earlier this year and I think the pot is a little on the small side, as I have been having trouble keeping the compost moist. So I have transferred it to a slightly bigger pot.

This pot by Stone Monkey is a really nice pot, but seemed to be a bit shallow for this tree.

This pot is by Bigei from Japan and should be a bit better sized.

Andy P.

It is with a very saddened heart that I have to tell of the passing of a good friend of everyone who came to my natter night gatherings.

Andy P.

30.09.1945- 28.05 2018.

R.I.P  ANDY. 

Natter night 28th May 2018.

We had an early start today when Boxie and I took Ken's trees back to his home.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Cork Bark Elm.

Back on display at Ken's.

All of his trees are looking good at the moment.

As is usual when we visit he has a few jobs for us to do, like clip out some trees, this maple was one.

A Cascade Hawthorn was another.

Then it was back to Ronin for another good night of all things Bonsai.

Chris H with the start of a Tanuki.

A nice piece of wood.

Ken brought his JBP to get a little work done.

After a little wire was added a a small tweak.

Tony W brought his newly made wire holder, looks a good job Tony.

Ken's Cork Bark Elm.

Today Boxie and I will be returning Ken's Cork Bark Elm to his home after a three week vacation here at Ronin Bonsai.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is when it arrived, it seemed to be struggling a little, so after an inspection of the growing medium we decided a repot was in order.

Today the tree in a new pot, slightly bigger than the old one, is growing really well now.

Berberis clean up.

Sunday morning is time for Bonsai again, this time it was a Berberis that had a clean up.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By clean up I mean remove weeds, brush all the dead wood and re-coat with Lime Sulpher.

Then top dress with a fine layer of small grade Akadama.

Lime Sulpher dried and it looks a lot cleaner than it was.

Even the pot was cleaned and oiled.

Saturday shutdown.

I have been out in the garden and given the trees a mist spray before locking up for the night. As it has been a warm and breezy day the foliage can become dry, so a drink before bed does them good.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

This Potentilla was rescued from the top of a barrow, on it's way to be dumped, about fifteen months ago. As you can see it is going well and full of flowers.

Larch rework.

I have this morning given this Larch a little rework, to try to refine it a bit.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before I started work looking a bit overgrown.

Thinned out and started to wire.

Back on the bench and looking more refined and compact.

A good couple of hours work.

Charity shop find.

My wife is a volunteer worker at our local hospice shop and today she came across something she thought I might like.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

These small Chinese bowls, not one.

Not two.

But twelve of them in a presentation box.

Hawthorn.

Today I decided to remove the flower stems from my Hawthorn as they have now died back. I have been doing this for a long time now as I do not let it produce berries, I think it puts a strain on the tree.

-------------------------------------------------------------

I also took the opportunity to clip it back to a finer image.

Bonsai Thursday with Dave.

Maybe I should change the title of this Thursday post to coffee with Dave during this great weather we are having, as we tend to sit out in the garden, looking at the trees and partaking of refreshment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I did however do a bit of weeding and finger pruning on this Larch.

Looks much better without weeds.

Bonsai Wednesday.

Two weeks ago John brought a Boulevard Cypress to get advice and tuition on, so I showed him how to thin the foliage and how best to wire this species. So tonight he brought it back for a second consultation.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How it was two weeks ago.

Tonight when he brought it back.

I started to thin some more, he got a shock as he thought he had reduced it to much.

This is what I removed tonight.

The finished image, for now.

John had a big smile on his face when I was done.

I think he was pleased.

A visit to Johns.

I had a little time to spare today, so I called in to see John R and scrounge a cup of coffee.

------------------------------------------------------------------

John with some of his collection.

Other trees in a sheltered area.

Thanks for the coffee John.

A visit from Susan.

Susan G came over today to get some work and advice on a couple of her trees.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This first one , a Taxus Baccata, she wanted to know how to clean up the bark and the Shari dead wood. I showed her how it is done and left her to get on with it and she made a good job of it.

This next one is a Cryptomera or flame bush, which has been left to grow for a while.

After a good clip and a little wire a nice image has emerged.

This is the front view.

The rear view before work.

The rear view after work.

I really like working with people like Susan because she really wants to learn all about the art of growing Bonsai.

Natter night 21st May 2018.

Yet another really warm day and also a good evening for my get together.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Beer and Bonsai, my future son in law with his first ever Bonsai, a Buxus.

He seems to be enjoying a little of both.

In the meantime Boxie and I were preparing some of his Satskies for the upcoming show at the Wirral club show in a couple of weeks time.

Time to relax a little when Ken arrived with a very sick Rhodie, which we placed into it's own mini green house to see if it will recover.

A quiet night as regards visitors, but never the less busy with the work done.