Dear Liza,
My little bonsai forest, which I call The Hundred Acre Wood, is always changing. This last spring I removed my first transplant, Mr. Naito, after I realized he was not a Japanese Maple. I found a seedling that IS, named it Toranaga-sama, and planted it.
Here is the Wood on October 6, 2024.
Toranaga’s three layers of leaves show good health, and come spring, I will begin what is called Scissor Training. This involves lopping the top third of the tiny tree off, so as to encourage the growth of side branches and give it a more horizontal growth habit. This also encourages a thicker trunk, which gives the pleasantly aged effect of a bonsai.
The juniper, an evergreen, is getting taller all the time. I trim it often, dividing and shaping it into two uneven crowns.
I’m not sure what to do with the larch. Its natural habit is tall and straight, which is not what I am wanting for this forest. Two springs ago I wired it into a curvy shape, and now I have hung a weight (several coins in a mesh bag) from the top to give it a real bend, and we will see how it develops over the next few years.
Love,
Grandma Judy
Dear Liza 