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Another quick update for the trees shown in THIS post.
Everything is slowly improving year in year out and I am becoming particularly fond of the one in the Bikou pot. This tree was one of the original Chojubai in the country (a cutting from one of the plants imported in the 90’s).. It belonged to the late Richard Salvado, a friend and proponent of mini and shohin bonsai in Australia at a time when big trees were all the rage.
He originally found chojubai in someone’s backyard, planted as an accent in an imported tree. He took a cutting (which i think out survived the original specimen) and later spread the variety to those who were interested. He was ahead of the curve in regard to the small bonsai craze and its a nice memento of him and his broader influence.
It’s a strange season. Here in Australia we are in the middle of winter, yet in my garden some of my trees think its spring.
Trident Maple budding out.
For what ever reason, my trees seem to be ahead of schedule by a couple of months.
Chinese Elm.
My Chinese Quince dropped its leaves in autumn and almost straight away began to leaf out again and is now almost back in full leaf.
Chinese Quince leafing out.
I guess this means that at least for some trees I will have to move the re-potting window forward a little to keep up with their early movement. I think next year i will re-pot the Chinese Quince as soon as it drops it’s leaves in case it decides to move early again.
Are any other Australians seeing an early spring?
I wonder if these trees leafing out early will make for a big year of growth or if their lack of winter sleep will mean they are weaker than those trees that are taking the full winter sleep? It will be interesting to see what happens this season.
Another point of interest in my garden at this time of year is the ‘Choujubai’ flowering quince which although flowers throughout the year really blooms out in a big way now. It’s a nice splash of colour in amongst the bare deciduous trees. I had been hunting for ‘Choujubai’ in this country for a few years before finding one being grown by a friend. I am really enjoying it even though it is just a piece of stock at the moment. I hope to take a number of root cuttings this spring but perhaps that is the topic of a future post.
Choujubai colour.
Nichigo Bonsai 