Surviving a Mild Winter

This is the first time I have had trees spend the entire winter outdoors - even if in quite a sheltered spot on the small terrace.

Frosts are frequent enough here, but other than winter 2017/2018 there hasn't been that much snow in years.

Got some this year - but looks like all of them survived it.

Here's a pick from the cold snap around a month back.

Spring is Here

It has really warmed up in the last few days, though the nights are still near freezing.

Looks like my little Oaks, Lilac and Wisteria will be coming back to life soon :)

As I might have said in the past, the Lilac I will try to grow into a significant cascade, the Oaks I am not sure yet, but they might be fairly central to my roof terrace design once I get everything sorted for that (could be adding ~50 square metres of unhindered roof space which will give me a lot more room.

I have plenty of plants indoors but they are completely different in terms of how I approach most of them.

Weeded the trees as well a few weeks back and brought them indoors to get a better look - will post some pictures from then as well, alongside where we are now,

I am not following most of the Bonsai rules, though will incorporate some of what I know as time goes on and I can build an automated watering system so that I can maintain the recommended soil mixes.

Fail

That last time was a bit optimistic, given what I was about to go through. 


Will share on that elsewhere, but feel I am truly coming back to being me so will attempt this again.


I have decided to make a return, and a meaningful one. Revive my web presence and see if I can find some kind of audience before I start my really crazy stuff.


I have decided to launch a number of separate blogs simultaneously.


As productivity increases I have a soft target of a post a day and a post per blog once a week.

Will update this post with links here once I have got a couple going, alongside the Anthology and the Opera Omnia:



At the very least I will revive this one as Spring approaches and my lovely little trees start coming back to life - they had a tough winter, plenty of days below freezing, so I hope they thrive.


This lost are and are not bonsai.


Technically, they are trees in pots so the transliteration matches, but not currently grown in any kind of meaningful restriction on their roots and in soil that is unfit for bonsai in any case.


The Oaks I ordered from Amazon last year and mangled somewhat, the Lilac has been with me for several years now - I tend to take it to my mums place when it is about to bloom and the Wisteria which I hope to grow in a cascade style as I do the Lilac.


Have no idea how the Oaks will do - will wait and see.

Sorry, Sorry...

Ok, had a short break in Istanbul for my brothers 30th, then fathers health issues took up a bit more time along with a few crazy weeks at work, back to regularity again starting... Now!

Shrub to Tree (Part 2)

Ok.

Maybe I wasn't expecting this many branches to come off but the end result shows promise.

I won't post any photos of it for now, still need to clean up the trunks, but below is a plate of cuttings :)

Shrub to Tree (Part 1)

So here are some photos of the new "tree" - CHAMAECYPARIS THYOIDES - Rubicon.

Went to a garden centre over the weekend with my dad, just to look for a few plants for their garden and saw this shrub with unusual colouring on new growths, an interesting purplish tint.

My father liked it and decided to grab it for me, I've been looking to experiment for a while now, and i guess the timing couldn't be better.

Will trim it down to something more resembling a tree later in the week.

I'm Back...

Not that many people are all that likely to care :)

Work has been crazy and had a little bit of a breakup, so now im free and single, with plenty more time to invest in myself and my future trees.

Let's say my trees have suffered over the winter, but recently had a gift of a "garden shrub" that I will be pruning into a, hopefully, successful tree.

Quite a few posts to come this week with pictures of the tree as it was, the extensive trimming and wiring. I won't be repotting it until next year, want some vigorous growth for now.

Will be planting quite a few seeds as well that have spent almost a year in the fridge.