Went to the Pumpkin Patch last Saturday. Not gonna lie, it sucked balls! It was a gorgeous day with a light breeze. Not a cloud in the sky. LOTS of vendors. Yet not that many shoppers. It's still too early in the season. Or maybe it's because it was the first gorgeous day of the year and folks did other things. Whatever. Point is, I think I'm gonna skip next week. If I go too often I get burnt out on the Pumpkin Patch.
I finally got around to repotting my 'mother tree' Chinese elm. This is the one that I bought a few years back at Northwest Bonsai. I did some work on it, trimmed the roots and I was able to get a few root cuttings from it. I have it in a large nursery pot. It didn't really need a repotting, but I wanted to harvest some more root cuttings. I trimmed back the roots, replaced the soil in the mother tree, and set it aside.
I have this bad habit of wanting to reuse my bonsai soil when I re-pot. This time it was no different. I needed small pots in which to place my cuttings. I pulled double duty and kick out some 2 and 4-inch projects. The ones not growing or just overgrown with weeds. I ignore these little projects, mostly. I create a LOT and quite a few fail. But some of them take. And some that 'fail' develop some really neat moss, which I can then use for bonsai.
I was pulling 2-4 inch failed pots. Inspecting each for gems hidden in the weeds. The weeds and roots would be tossed. The usable soil was placed into a small pile for rework. Each pot was placed into a respective pile of sized pots, ready for re-work. Little gems would appear unexpectedly. Some gorgeous moss. A forgotten cutting/seedling. These little gems were reworked and dealt with accordingly. Fresh weed-free soil and a clean pot for some moss. Then there were the little cuttings or seedlings planted prior. Crab apple, apple, and Chinese elm, mostly. Each pulled from the weeds and soil in turn. Laid bare to be scrutinized for future potential. A quick application of wire, some bending, fresh soil, and a top dressing. From the chaos of a neglected growth bench, new stars were being born. And Inspiration!
Digging through my bench, I saw one of my forgotten crab apples. This one is about 3-4 years old. I did a quick root pruning. It had a LOT of roots wound around its pot. Once free of its pot I did a quick assessment. I decided it was time for a pot. I happened to have an egg pot at the ready. Married tree to pot. Fresh bonsai soil, top dressing of some moss and scoria. I had a respectable little bonsai tree in no time. And lots of crabapple root cuttings. I was out of time, so I buried these cuttings in some soil and left that project for later.
I ended up with about a dozen root cuttings and reclaimed cuttings/seedlings. I didn't finish working on all of the Chinese elm root cuttings. I still have more than half of my growing bench to re-work. My other benches are neglected as well. I have a lot to keep me busy in the garden.
My pottery is a whole other subject. I have bisque ware that needs to be glazed. Pottery needs creating. Spring is here. Each day is getting longer. Warm weather is upon us. Time slips away and I've been caught napping.
No comments:
Post a Comment