Collected Callery Pear Bonsai

Here is another picture of a pear bonsai. I am pretty sure its a wild Callery pear. This type of tree is particularly tough and vigorous. It can outcompete many native plants and trees here in the Ohio River Valley and is a widely invasive species. I often set out on foot in search of good material to extract. The one in this picture is from an area near some railroad tracks. Railroad tracks are often a great place to tree hunt. Check your local laws regarding this activity, if you don't own the land that is, or risk being fined or imprisoned. There are a lot of great wild pear trees out there along with elm, mulberry, hawthorn, and even some catalpa and eastern red cedar. I honestly feel that the pear trees develop much quicker that the others. They have a higher threshold for abuse, including root trauma, which makes them easy to collect if you know what you're doing.

Chamomile herb is a good source of calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, and zinc. These are all nutrients that plants need that are usually not included in plant foods. Im currently doing some experiments with chamomile herbs. I became aware of the beneficial effects of chamomile in 2007 when a friend poured some of her chamomile tea into one of my ficus plants and I immediately saw the plant respond positively. 

Winged Elm bonsai, winter update

Here is my winged elm bonsai, collected in kentucky. I'm hoping for another mild winter since again it won't be getting any protection.

Fall colors on a pear bonsai

I think its a pear. I'm really not sure.

My little bonsai

I should have left it in the ground for at least another year but instead decided to go ahead and collect in the spring (2012). It has been growing strong and has been repotted twice already. Now I'm curious if it will display any fall colors (I think it will). This tree has become one of my favorites and I believe it is a pear tree. I think it will have no problem surviving the winter unprotected mostly. Last winter was considerably mild so we'll see what this year does. If you go back to my spring update you can see the tree as it was when I first collected it.

Old barberry shohin bonsai

After some die-back, this tree is looking good. It has become a huge chunk of dead wood with a few little branches sticking out.

Collected Elm Bonsai, first year in a pot.

Winged elm will grow (Zones 6 through 9) in full sun but prefer shade and will tolerate drying out between waterings. The winged elm is a fast grower, quickly producing the fine twiggy growth and small leaves. It will take heavy pruning throughout the growing season. They are vigorous top growers, so when pruning keep more leaves on the lower branches and less on the upper branches. The twigs tend to grow in a naturally pleasing zig-zag manner and the leaves reduce to a half inch or less.

I collected this tree last summer in the Cincinnati area. It had been wired a little and routinely pruned. I removed many of the lower branches and much of its root system. The tree has been fed very sparingly and is growing in full sun. I plan on picking up many more of these in the nearest future.

Like what you see? Make me an offer and I just might consider selling it to you :)

Bonsai Pear

Collected this year. Already looking treelike.

Ficus in a pot way too small

I say its too small because the whole plant would tip over if it weren't for the rock weighing it down. I'm on the lookout for a perfect pot and might position the plant more upright.

New pot for elm bonsai

This elm was collected this past spring. These trees are perfect for bonsai.

Mallsai ficus

I crammed this ficus into a tiny pot.

Collected mullberry bonsai

Here is a shot of a mulberry that i collected earlier this spring around northern kentucky. It Has been trimmed twice since and repotted once. Not too bad for its first year. It has 1 tiny secondary trunk that I have left for now. I'm excited to see what the plant does next. I'm also trying to root some cuttings.

Ficus bonsai

I purchased this little ficus at meijer less than a year ago. I have it planted in a deep pot currently to get the roots healthy before I eventually cram it into a pot much smaller. I'm not sure if it will tip over because of being planted on a killer slant.

Real tree

You can learn a lot studying real trees. Check out these branches. I took this photograph in Mt. Airy Forest. Reminds me why I love trees

Some new developing bonsai plants

Ficus Microcarpa
Pear
Ficus Benjamin
And some kind of Hawthorn
(And another ficus benjamin)

Modest beginings of someday grand plants. Maybe.

Instagram Bonsai

I really do love instagram almost as much as I love trees.

Barberry bonsai

Here are some new images of an old barberry. The first photograph is of the plant when I first got it, a tangled mess

Collected Winged Elm bonsai

This plant may not look like it has much potential. Straight trunk, no taper, and relatively no surface roots to speak of.. however, I believe in the core of my psyche that this plant, in time, will look like a real tree that just got shrunken. I mean naturalistic and pure like a real tree. Imo too many bonsai don't rly look like real trees. They still look good. Just not real. And today more than ever there is a high value on what is really real.

crabapple bonsai, mica pot

Spring is just around the corner here in the Ohio River Valley. Turns out that my crabapple wants it to be spring right now and is furiously trying to grow leaves. I repotted into a round mica pot to hopefully develope its roots a little more because they are so lacking. The bark is developing nicely and the tree appears healthy. Since all of the primary branch structure in position, now we will build the canopy out. I was thinking maybe even a larger than "usual" canopy since the tree is so tall and snakey. I'm excited to see what happens.

Another collected crabapple bonsai

I was planning on letting this one develope in the ground for another year or two, however, when I checked on it I noticed that some animal had damaged the bark on some of the surrounding trees. This was not easy.

Day of collecting, a hawthorn bonsai from the cincinnati area

Here it is finally. I discovered this tree in the spring of 2010. I conditioned it int the field until today. With the help of a friend, we unearthed two decently large hawthorn plants. This the one I kept and my friend took the other. We beat the crap out of it and cut the roots back as far as possible. Hopefully its buds open soon and it can begin its new life as a container plant

Barberry bonsai, complete redesign

I have been training this barberry for years now and always I had thought that it was one plant with several trunks (that I reduced to just two). The dead part had started to rot out and get soft so when I repotted the plants I was able to see more clearly that they had been seperate plants all along. They came apart easily and with nice compact roots. Here is an image of one of the new plants and an image of what it looked like before, in case you don't remember.

Stick in a pot

I had to get a couple ficus since some of my plants got stolen. That's all I really want to say about that.

Barberry bonsai 2012

Okay this plant is developing nicely I think. Needs a different pot and to be planted at a new angle.

Box elder bonsai

Leafless. I really like this one.

Winged elm bonsai

  Collected winged elm.

2012 malus bonsai

okay, here is an image of my apple tree without leaves.. i had tried to post one previously from my phone but the images seem to suffer. idk why. but here is a slightly clearer image. what do you think about it? what would you change? i do want to change the pot.