I have re-potted most of my chojubai this year but this tree, i decided could go another season. That’s not to say it escaped the work bench…….

After another year of development it was again looking a bit ‘all over the place’ so i began by busting out the mini-pressure washer and removing the moss from the trunks and soil surface and pondered what to do next.

Above: Post clean up.

For anyone who grows small clumps, you will know just how difficult it can be to wire the individual trunk lines so in this case i Jerry-rigged a wire around the pot rim which i used to attach tie down wires to to lower and adjust the the various trunks and branches into positions i was more happy with.

Above: Post adjustments

The aim was to spread the clump out a little more and even out the density of branching more evenly across the canopy. I started with the outer most shoots and worked my way into the center of the group as i went. I think it’s shaping up well.

Chojubai are a great species to grow. They are fast to develop, grow easily from cutting and as the above tree shows, you can go from a handful of cuttings to a little clump setting in a fairly short period of time.