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Winter 2000
I collected
this Hawthorn/Crataegus monogyna in 2001 and since then I've been
slowly developing it into a bonsai.
This is the
tree still in the ground prior to collection, I found it growing
in a poorly drained area of some grassland. As the ground only
truly dries out for a few months each Summer, the tree's growth
has been very slow. Somehow in the previous 4 or 5 years, the
top of the trunk had been broken leaving a rough jin.
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Spring 2001
Immediately
after collection the tree was planted into a terracotta pot and
left to recover.
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Having recovered
well through 2001 and 2002, all branching was then removed to
restart the branch structure in Spring 2003.
This picture
was taken in the Summer of 2003 and shows the tree has responded
well to the hard pruning.
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Summer 2004.
The tree was
repotted into a round Erin Pot in the Spring; the roots needed to
be pruned heavily to fit into the small drum pot. As a consequence,
growth was weak through 2004 and wiring and styling had to be delayed. |
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Early Spring
2005 and the Hawthorn is finally styled.
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Updates:
Late Spring 2006 and November 2006 |
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October 2008:
the differences between the bonsai now and 2 years ago are quite
subtle; the main improvement has been the slow increase in thickness
and taper of the branches, and the improvement in the nebari.
Height of
the tree is 12"/30cm.
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