On a very cold day (for Florida) i was lucky enough to have the NoNaMe’ Bonsai Study group and Mike Rogers help me to move my large Trident Maple.  Altough it fit nicely where I had it, I found that it was too difficult to work on it.  So I decided to move it out into my yard for easy access.  The fact that the tree and bonsai pot weigh about 500 pounds I’m not worried about it walking away.

Trident Maple

The first challange was to get the tree out of the pot and then move the components separately. 

Defoliating the Maple

 We moved the tree into a plastic tub so that it could be moved more easily.  Since the tree hadn’t dropped its leaves yet, the group helped the tree into dormancy by defoliating the tree.

setting the stand

The stand needed to be placed and leveled so that it would support the tree, and sit level.  Edwin and David are using a level to make sure we had a perfect stand.

Finishing touches

I added some additional soil to stablize the stand while the rest of the group finished with the tree.

Combing the roots

One last task was to comb out the roots.  I don’t know the next time I will repot this tree so we took advantage by working the roots prior to the repot.

Setting the Tree

The tree was then set in the pot (back towards the photo) and the soil was added.  The sun rises from the right side of the photo and sets behind to the left.  I am trying to develop my first branch and in order to maximize the sunlight we potted it facing this way.

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Well actually the tree isn’t shrinking, just the bonsai pot that it is in.  Last year when I potted this tree up for the first time it went into a very large bonsai pot.  However because of the lack of roots close to the trunk I had no choice.  This year is a different story.

Bald Cypress ready for repotting

This tree put out so many new branches in all of the right spots.  I can’t wait to wire it out.  It is naturally weeping a bit, so that is how I plan to style it.  First I need to get it into a smaller pot.

New Bonsai pot comparison

As you can see the new pot is a great deal smaller.  I remember potting the tree last year and there were very big roots so this is going to be a very tight squeeze.

Great New Roots

When I pulled the tree out of it’s current pot I was very happy to see these kinds of roots.  The tree thrived this past year and these roots are proof.  Also if you ever had a question about how well my bonsai mix works, now you know!!

Raked roots

After a quick rake the roots are now combed out, and the tree is ready for the new pot.

Too Big

Okay, don’t panic!!!  This tree really is ver large and I knew this challange was coming.  There is some growth on the tips of the roots, but still there is plenty close to the trunk.  I’m pretty confident this will go in with some help.

Saws All to the rescue

Of course when I said help I was referring to my Saws All.  I removed just enough of the roots to have a nice fit with a little room for new growth.  You can still see loads of roots remain.

Repotted Bald Cypress

Success!!!  The tree fit, and this combination pot and tree looks very good.  I have still some carving, wiring, styling, etc to perform but the hard work is done.  Now comes the fun!

Big Nebari

One last shot to show the nebari of the trunk.  The tree is sitting a little low in the pot on purpose to let the roots heal up.  Next year I’ll raise it up a bit more to really show the trunk spread.

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As Winter comes, so does the time to thin the needles on the Black Pines.  I must admit this is not a process that I enjoy and generally I put it off as long as I can.  However it prepares the tree for the new years growth so the efforts really pay off in the Spring.  What better way to prepare for 2010’s growth than thinning the needles on New Year’s Eve?

Black Pine full of needles

I’ve had the black pine for a couple of years now, and it is doing pretty well.  My needles are showing a bit of yellowing, but nothing too much to be concerned about.  Overall a pretty easy tree to care for. 

Close up of full canopy

You can see that the growth on the pine is very full.  Black Pines like to top grow, so all these needles will block out the light needed for the lower branches. 

Black Pine after needles are thinned out

You can see how much thinning the needles opens up the tree to more light.  It could use further thinning, but that will do for today.  Leave lower branches with more needles than on top so that these branches remain strong. 

Close up of thinned branches

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I recently learned a new technique for making real life photos look like scale models of the real thing.  I had to give it a try on a photo I took at Kunio Kobayashi’s Bonsai Garden in Tokyo Japan.  It’s a amazing how it makes these huge bonsai looks so small.

Kunio Kobayashi's Bonsai Garden - Mini Version

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