Orlando Bonsai » Crepe Myrtle

A whole new home

Paul Pikel — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 18:35:29 +0000

It is has been unusally cold in Florida this year, however the trees are going dormant quicker and giving me a great opportunity to work on the, I have been looking forward to repotting this crepe myrtle correctly for a long time now. As you may remember I showed this tree at the BSF convention in May, and I bought a new Sara Rayner pot for it back then. The time to repot the tree couldn’t come soon enough.

I let the tree grow out a lot, just to thicken some branches and to improve the tree’s health. The ramification continues to increase and the tree’s scars are just about completely covered.

The tree’s roots looked strong and healthy. I didn’t really have to reduce the roots at all once I combed out the old soil mix. The dark color and rounded top add a nice balance with the tree. I only had to wire a few back branches but for the most part it is clip and grow to keep this tree in shape.

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Grafted Crape Myrtle

Paul Pikel — Thu, 13 May 2010 23:00:12 +0000

I have wait so long for this tree to develop. The tree was originally grafted in April 2004. Finally it will be display at this years Bonsai Societies of Florida annual convention held over Memorial Day week end. I think it has filled in enough and looks balanced and healthy and it should make a good showing. If you get a canhe stop by and take a look.

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Winter Photos

Paul Pikel — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:00:22 +0000

This year’s winter in Florida has been the coldest one that I can remember. However one good thing is that it gave me a long time to do some major pruning, repotting, and even taking some photos. Here are just a couple of shots that I took recently.

Crape Myrtle - defoliated

I can’t believe that it has been 5 years since the dwarf crape myrtle branches were grafted onto this wonderful crape myrtle trunk. However the development continues to improve. It has a great shape and balance. This year it should be the year for this tree to shine. In on a few weeks the tree will begin to leaf out and the canopy should be very full and complete. Who knows how much better this tree will be in 5 more years?

Black Pine repotted

I took advantage of the cold weather to repot this pine. I didn’t really remove much of the root mass, but it is a much more expensive pot. I still have a lot of branch development to do on this tree, but it already has developed very well already. Next year we’ll try a smaller pot to show off this large base of this tree.

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Crepe Myrtle update

Paul Pikel — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:30:35 +0000

I have been working on this tree for years now, and it is so close to being a finished bonsai. This winter when the leaves drop I will wire this tree one more time, and it should be pretty amazing come Spring, if I say so myself. It filled in this year in all thright places. The canopy is sio full that the tree rarely even puts out shoots of the full sized leaves of its previous life. As you know, all these branches were thread grafted from a dwarf variety of crepe myrtle.

Grafted Crepe Myrtle Filled in

I am still hopefull to get some blooms this year, but it is late in the year and no buds are present. I have had this tree pretty shaded this year so I think that effected the flowers

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Little surprizes

Paul Pikel — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:54:38 +0000

This morning as I looked out my window I noticed a spash of color on my grafted dwarf crepe myrtle. I thought a flower from a nearby bougainvillea had fallen and got caught in its branches. However as I got closer I noticed that a small cluster of flowers had bloomed on the little tree.

Blooms on grafted dwarf crepe myrtle

I suppose it is just giving me a sample of what it will do later this year. The flowers are very delicate and don’t last long. However against the grayish bark & dark green leaves the flowers just about leap off the picture.

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