After four years of waiting, and a lot of ‘gentle persuasion’ I have finally got my dirty hands on a wonderful field maple trunk that is sure to provide many decades of enjoyment.
It’s not a small example by any means – at 3ft 11in high and having an 18in girth around the base of the trunk – this is one hell of a Bonsai.
The aim is to create an informal upright style Bonsai or Moyogi Bonsai, so finger’s crossed that branches will begin to shoot in all the right places over the next few years.
The tree itself struggled and never really stood a chance of truly thriving in its old habitat. It was surrounded by trees twice its height – some deciduous, some evergreen – and therefore never received the light or nutrients it deserved.
So, having noticed this field maple and its potential back in 2009, I set to work upon it, feeding it regularly with nutrients and mulch, while gradually removing two-thirds of the trunk and most of the branches over the past four years.
Each year I removed a main root, allowing it to recover and sprout new hair roots from the severed section. And yesterday, after being left in the soil for a year with all the main roots cut, I gently lifted it, and it’s neat clump of new roots, from the ground and placed it perfectly within a large pot tucked away behind the shed.
During this winter it will be stripped bare of all the remaining branches, kept just above freezing and watched carefully next spring, in the hope that new shoots will appear right where I need them.
They say that patience is a virtue, and in this case I think it’s really paid off as this beauty has the potential to become a real head-turner!
brilliantbonsai 