Happy New Year

This is last post in 2014 and therefore picture of nice tree should be here. Covered with snow, of course. Preferably conifer, of course. Unfortunately, no suitable conifer is around, and no good picture in my archive neither (but I promise, there will be one next year for sure, in my last post). Batch of snow dedicated for our part of Central Europe was unloaded somewhere else, as well. Simply I don't have luck in this aspect, and I have to improvise, and wish you all the best into 2015 with summer picture of my bonsai tree.
So I wish You in 2015 good eye on your walks through forests when hunting new yamadori trees, courage to cut hard when necessary, patience when you grow sacrifice branches, health to You and your bonsai trees.
Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you will have many good reasons to come to this blog next year and you'll find some valuable information here.

Toto je posledný príspevok na mojom blogu v roku 2014 a preto by tu mala byť fotka pekného bonsai stromu. Pokrytého snehom, samozrejme. Ideálne ihličnanu, samozrejme. Na nešťastie, žiadny vhodný ihličnatý bonsai navôkol nie je, ani vhodná fotka z archívu (ale sľubujem, že tu už na budúci rok v poslednom príspevku fotka ihličnanu bude).Dodávku snehu určenú pre môj región Strednej Európy Perinbaba vyložila niekde inde. V tomto som teda nemal šťastie, preto musím improvizovať a pomôcť si letnou fotkou môjho bonsai z archívu.
Takže Vám želám v roku 2015 dobré oko počas vašich výletov za yamadori v lesoch, odvahu robiť radikálne rezy keď to bude potrebné, trpezlivosť keď bude dobré nechať stromy rásť, zdravie Vám a Vašim bonsajom.
Ďakujem za Vaše návštevy na mojom blogu. Dúfam, že aj v roku 2015 budete mať veľa dobrých dôvodov na návštevy blogu a že tu nájdete veľa zaujímavých informácií.

 

Story of My Fraxinus Bonsai

I would like to share with you few pictures from development of this little bonsai tree and its story from collecting to present times.This tree is the Ash (Fraxinus ornus/Flowering Ash or Fraxinus excelsior/ European Ash I don't know for sure, but it is not important at the moment, anyway). This bonsai is from yamadori material, collected in forest in 2011 in late April. Tree was growing on dry place on shallow powder like soil with rocky underlay. That's why tree created shallow root ball but quite dense system of fibre roots close to the base. Perfect conditions for successful collection of the tree from the wild.
I think tree had a few leaves at time when I was digging it out from the ground. Since I wanted to experiment I try to collect this tree later as usual. There are moments of bonsai enthusiast life, when you think you need a lot of collecting opportunities, covering whole year if possible. Remark for outright beginners – it will diminish by number of your seasons in bonsai business and with increasing occupation factor of your garden.

Dnes by som sa s Vami chcel podeliť o pár fotiek a  príbeh bonsai stromu od jeho vykopania až do súčasnosti. Je to Jaseň (Fraxinus ornus/ Jaseň mannový alebo Fraxinus excelsior/ Jaseň štíhly ale neviem presne ktorý, ale na tom momentálne až tak nezáleží). Tento bonsai je z vykopaného yamadori materiálu, vyzdvihnutý bol niekedy na konci apríla 2011. Strom rástol na suchom mieste v prašnej zemine na skalnatom podklade.  To bol dôvod prečo strom vytvoril plochý koreňový bal a dosť hustú sieť vlásočnicových korienkov. A to sú výborné podmienky na to aby bol strom vyzdvihnutý z lesa v vysokou úspešnosťou. 
Zdá sa mi, že strom mal už niekoľko lístkov v čase keď som ho vykopal zo zeme. Chcel som trochu experimentovať a kopať v trocha inom čase ako je obvyklé. V živote začínajúceho bonsajového nadšenca sú momenty keď má pocit, že potrebuje čo najviac príležitostí na chodenie do lesa a kopanie stromov a najlepšie v priebehu celého roka. Poznámka pre začiatočníkov - ten pocit sa postupne oslabí alebo stratí s počtom strávených sezón v bonsai biznise a rastúcim koeficientom zaplnenosti Vašej záhrady.

5-2011

5-2011

 
6-2011

 
7-2011

7-2011

7-2011

I heard about similar behavior of different tree species belonging to same family and Ash is part of Oleacae family, same as Olives. I thought if olives are easily collectible, with very little roots basically same can be true for Ashes. After few growing seasons, my small experience is that tree was from very beginning behaving very well. Growth was vigorous and it was back budding all over the trunk.

Počul som o tom, že druhy stromov patriace do rovnakej rodiny druhov sa správajú veľmi podobne. A keďže je jaseň súčasťou rodu Olivovité, rovnako ako olivovník. A olivy sa vraj jednoducho vykopávajú aj veľmi malým množstvom koreňov a dobre sa ujímajú, tak to môže platiť aj pre jasene. Po niekoľkých rastových sezónach je moja skromná skúsenosť taká, že sa stromy sa správajú veľmi dobre a darí sa im. Rast bol veľmi dobrý a puky sa objavili po celom kmeni a vetvách. 

8-2011 with chicken granules, aggressive feeding at work

5-2012
 
I repotted the tree from plastic bowl into training pot from Isabelia nursery in April 2013. Plastic bowls are cheap alternative for big yamadori trees when brought home form wild. But they start to crack after few seasons, and they deform when you are moving tree around the garden, which can damage root system. So finding good cheap ceramic pots is good idea, and it is possible to find them at your local bonsai vendors.
I was not removing all of the original soil from the root ball when repotting. Nor I was washing out completely. I try to do as much of removing old soil just with bamboo stick. I learned this lesson hard on my own mistakes when I killed too many trees by drastic methods of original soil removal.

V apríli 2013 som bonsai presadil z plastového kvetináča do keramickej misky z Isabelie. Plastové misky sú super. Používam ich pre všetky veľké yamadori ktoré som doniesol z lesa. Majú ale niekoľko nevýhod. Po pár sezónach začnú praskať a keď v nich presúvate stromy po záhrade tak sa misky deformujú a to nerobí dobre koreňom. A to nie je dobré hlavne u čerstvo vykopaných stromov.  Takže nájsť vo svojom okolí zdroj dobrých a lacných misiek u niektorého z bonsai obchodníkov je podľa mňa dobrý nápad.
Pri presádzaní som neodstraňoval z koreňového balu všetku pôvodnú zeminu. A nevyplavoval som ju úplne prúdom vody. Snažím sa odstrániť čo najviac pôvodnej zeminy bambusovou paličkou (keď idem k Číňanom na obed tak si ich stále pár donesiem). Túto lekciu som sa naučil na vlastných chybách a bola to drahá lekcia keď sa mi drastickými metódami odstraňovania zeminy zabil primnoho stromov. 

4-2013 in new training pot

4-2013

4-2013

4-2013

4-2013 two euro coin comparison
I was watching closely how tree will react. It responded with strong growth like no repotting happened. I'm trying to be more careful during last seasons, and not to make too many big steps during one season. But with this ash its vigor encouraged me to defoliate it in July 2013, and then wire it completely as can be seen on pictures.

Pozorne som strom sledoval ako bude na presadenie reagovať. A zareagoval silným rastom ako keby ani nebol presadený. Poslednou dobou sa snažím byť pri práci so stromami viac opatrný, snažím sa nerobiť viac veľkých zásahov počas rastovej sezóny. Ale u tohto jaseňa ma jeho vitalita presvedčila, aby som na ňom urobil defoliáciu v priebehu Júla 2013.
Zároveň som ho kompletne nadrôtoval ako je vidieť na fotkách.
 
5-7-2013 after defoliation

5-7-2013 after defoliation

5-7-2013

5-7-2013

Again, very good growth continued and tree was thriving well till end of the season.
A znova nasledoval vitálny rast a ten pokračoval až do konca sezóny.
 
5-7-2013

8-7-2013

8-7-2013

10-7-2013

10-7-2013

13-7-2013

13-7-2013

13-7-2013

I wish leaves will stay this size all the time...not yet :)

 Here are few shots from autumn 2013 with yellow designed leaves. 
Tu je niekoľko obrázkov z jesene 2013 s listami v žltom prevedení. 
 
11-2013




This year it was again growing very well and I had to prune it strongly several times during the season and I did partial defoliation of bonsai to allow light get to the crown. It was targeted by aphids during whole season so I fought with them mainly with Rockeffect. Another problem arise when I find out, that moss applied all over the substrate surface, did not like thin layer of peat used to bond moss to inorganic particles. So moss was continuously dying out during the season and now it is in ugly black mess stage. I will change it then during early spring next year if everything goes well with the tree. I will use different type of moss from pine forest, may be it will better match my conditions.

Tento rok sa stromčeku veľmi dobre darilo a mal veľké prírastky. Niekoľko krát počas sezóny som ho ostrihal a znova som na ňom urobil defoliáciu aby sa svetlo dostalo do koruny. Počas sezóny bol cieľom pre nájazdy vošiek. Pásli sa na ňom také veľké biele chlpaté príšery. Mravce ich tam aktívne nosili aby sa dobre napásli. Bojoval som s nimi hlavne s použitím RockEffectu.  Ďalším problémom bol postupne odumierajúci mach, ktorý som rok pred tým použil na povrchu anorganického substrátu. Problém asi bude v tom, že použitý mach sa neznáša s vrstvou rašeliny ktorou som ho na zeolit lepil. Momentálne a mach nachádza v stave hnusnej čiernej kaše. Na jar to vyriešim, ak bude strom v poriadku. Použijem nový mach z novej lokality v borovicovom lese, snáď bude viac vyhovovať mojim podmienkam.

11-2014


11-2014

11-2014
When moving trees to winter storage few weeks ago I find out tree needs serious wiring. Branches was growing straight up and needed new touch. On pictures you can see result. Wire will go off in late spring just before leaves emerge. It is clear from pictures that lower branches need a lot more growth in next seasons to thicken and balance whole design. But generally I'm happy with result. Unfortunately when taking pictures I forgot to make helicopter shot, which can show much better branches set-out. I will do it after holidays and update.
I try to use bigger size of pictures for the blog as usual, so may be you will like it (just click on them to enlarge them). 

Keď som stromy pred pár týždňami ukladal na zimovisko a mal som jaseň v rukách, bolo mi jasné, že bude čo najskôr potrebovať drôtovanie. Mnoho vetiev sa počas roka dostalo do príliš vertikálnej polohy a potrebovali upraviť. Na obrázkoch môžete vidieť výsledok. Drôty pôjdu dole na jar, pred tým ako sa objavia listy. Z obrázkov je jasné, že spodné konáre potrebujú výraznejšie zhrubnúť a preto ich budúcej sezóne nechám maximálne narásť. Celkovo som zatiaľ s výsledným efektom spokojný. Mal som v pláne urobiť fotku koruny zhora, ale akosi som na to zabudol. Napravím to po prázdninách a pridám to sem. 
V tomto príspevku skúsim použiť väčšie fotografie ako obyčajne, snáď sa to bude páčiť (stačí na nich kliknúť aby sa zväčšili).

12-2014 after wiring

12-2014

12-2014

12-2014

Inspirational old Oak tree

I use to walk around this tree from picture almost daily for several years. Christmas are coming, so at least to me it seems everything is calming down a bit. So today I took a chance to take picture of it. Tree on picture is an old English oak (Quercus robur) tree in our village. Tree has impressive dimensions - about 22m height and its girth is about 5,3 meters.
As it is unique tree and it is protected by authorities. Based on its dimensions I estimate its age to at least 350 years, most probably more than this. If you imagine tree was planted at time when GalileoGalilei, JohannesKepler, RenéDescartes or IsaacNewton were alive it is pretty exciting thought, dont you think?

From bonsai point of view it has interesting taper at the base, nice structure of branches. One can see there must have been interventions to keep it healthy and safe for pedestrians and traffic, since it is over busy road and sidewalk. Majority of main branches are aiming upwards, branches are crossing. We do not see it on bonsai too often, do we? Lower positioned branches are very long and heavy so growing horizontally and bending to the ground. I can easily imagine such bonsai tree in bonsai pot. Very naturalistic, indeed. 
What do you thing? Would you like to have bonsai tree with such shape on your bench?

English oak / Quercus robur / Dub letný

Prunus spinosa in winter

I took picture of prunus spinosa just before it went to winter storage. Still a lot of work have to be done, especially on dead wood carving but start to look promising to me.

December 2014

Winter protection


My little helepers and Cornus mas ready to sleep under leaves. Moji dvaja malý pomocníci a Cornus mas pripravený na zimný spánok.
Few days ago it was just about the right time to end garden bonsai season as usual. This year it was quite late compared to previous years due to quite favourable weather conditions this autumn. Just during last few days temperatures dropped below 0°C. I'm pretty sure trees could comfortably stand on benches few more days. This year I changed my protection method slightly and instead wood chops I used only dry tree leaves. 100% natural bio protection :). In spring I will see how it worked. I will report.

My two little helpers made great job so not much actual work left for myself. When we were finished I did last bonsai garden picture of the year. So we are ready for the snow and winter.

Little story of Tilia cordata

In my last post here I posted pictures of my Tilia cordata. Looking back to my blog archive I found out that this was its first appearance here. So I decided to write decent blog post about its history. 

V mojom poslednom príspevku na blogu som ukazoval Lipu. Keď som sa pozrel do archívu, tak som tu o nej nenašiel zmienku. Tak som sa rozhodol to napraviť a napísať o nej riadny príspevok. 

11-2014

Many of you know following situation. You are new to bonsai and you fell in love with trees collected from wild, yamadori. So you go out for searching the trees into different forest locations as much as possible. Does not matter which season of the year is outside recently.
So was my situation in August 2008. I went to wild forest, equipped with pick and military collapsible spade and some other necessary stuff. It was one of my first real trips dedicated to yamadori hunting.  I was full of fresh information about collecting trees from different sources. I knew there is good time to collect few types of conifers at this time of season so I was looking for some. Unfortunately, no reasonable conifers were around. With quite a lot of walking around I was disappointed with wasted time. And then I found it. My tilia. 

Zeolit

Ak by mal niekto záujem, tak mám pár vriec Zeolitu na predaj. V 25kg vreciach mám frakciu 2,5-5 mm a 4-8 mm, teda najčastejšie používané.  Len osobný odber. Ak by niekto chcel spojiť odber s návštevou mojej skromnej záhradky, tak je samozrejme vítaný.   Pre viac info mi napíšte na mail maros.bonsai(zavináč)gmail.com.

2,5-5mm frakcia

4-8 mm frakcia

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