in this previous post: http://dj-bonsai.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/zelkova-serrata-material.html
So finally got around to an emergency repot, with the help of Chrissie Leigh Walker at Bushukan Bonsai Nursery in Essex, as the buds went from dormant to leafing in days . Get yourself down there on a Wednesday night - it's five quid for 2.5hrs workshop with Chrissie - her expertise shines and it's.... a FIVER - http://www.bushukan.co.uk/
My suspicion was that there had been a failed ground layer to promote radial root growth and develop a nebari which had killed the top, as there appeared to be a trench around the base of the trunk. There was also some weird lump showing through the soil which looked like an overgrown root?
In good health under the soil, lots of lovely fibrous root. I hoped this would reveal the origins of this tree....
it turned out that..... neither I or anyone else could muster the faintest idea how this tree was created. It *could* have been an old fat branch which was rooted but in all honesty, it's so weird under there it's unfathomable.
But safe to say that the tree was indeed layered at ground level, which failed and killed the apex
Either way, the lump to the right below the trunk is completely dead, going a couple of inches up the right hand side as you view it. It looks aqs though it was left like this to aid stability in the pot, as the whole left side is alive and rooting. Problem is there are roots above this lump, coming from the base of the visible trunk and some a good few inches below. Bit of a mess and certainly not conducive to creating a nice nebari.
Dead section (alive underneath, the top of this lump is dead)
So the plan was to start to work back the main lump underneath, create some roots that radiate while eventually removing (or at least making a feature of) that dead right hand lump somehow. This way in a few years I can either:
1) Lift the tree up in the pot maybe a couple of inches or more making more of that dead area with carving (link it to the existing hollow possibly)
2) leave it as is but try to create a nebari around at least 60% of the base and again make a feature of that dead section, while using a much shallower pot.
So, under the advice and guidance of Chrissie, I set about removing about 1" depth of the rounded underneath, sharply cutting around the cambium, packing with sphagnum moss, rooting hormone and replanting with new root growth in mind.
started here:
underneath, all live but thick and
Jesus Christ it was HARD work. I had a massive sweat on, and the other people there had to take it in turns to hold the tree with both hands while I nibbled away. It took over an hour just to remove a section 5" x 2" x 1" deep.
here's the tiny amount of wood removed after some swearing and a LOT of laughing
and the tree just about to go back into the pot.
The evil woman that Chrissie is, I noticed at one point that she'd nicked my mobile phone and was filming me grunting and sweating. I'll post it up if I can get a link to youtube. I'll have my revenge at some point.
Clearly lots of issues with this tree but I think it might turn out nicely in about...oh..15 years. I've certainly never ever seen another Zelkova serrata like it, and as such it is quite a special little tree to me.
It has every faulty in the book- poor branch placement, eye poking branches, no apex(but that's being worked on), poor nebari.... but the deadwood when combined with the fab leaf colour are wonderful and the deadwood is going to be great!
Here it was having a nice cool soak afterward the 45 min journey home.
For the next year it will be allowed to grow freely before working on styling again next year.
I will be updating my blog a lot more frequently now that spring is here - loads going on in the garden now
Thanks for reading....until next time
DEJE
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