The Bonsai Blog of Rune Kyrdalen

This Lonicera was collected last spring. It was cut back to a stump and severly root cut. it was growing in a very claylike soil so all the soil was removed. It’s around 20 -25 years old.

It had no branches or buds after collection and was planted in a wooden box and let grow freely for the entire growing season. It responded extremly well and new shoots appeared all over the trunk. I removed only the brances that appeared on the wrong places on the trunk or where several branches appeared at the same place on the trunk. 

Last autumn I worked on the deadwood and wired the branches and placed them where I wanted them. I did not cut any of the branches back, this will be done this summer when I take off the wire.

This spring there are new buds all over the branches and it’s time to repot the tree. It had grown so many new roots that I couldn’t lift it from the wooden box. I had to knock the sides off it.  It was wonderful to see all the fine roots that had grown. It was no problem to reduce the rootball so it would fit into a properly sized pot, not the final one but good enough for now. From now on the main task will be to develop the ramification.

Here is another pine I collected this spring that I have high hopes for. It’s very compact and has an interesting twisted trunkline.

It was growing in a crack in the rocks and had a compact rootball and I only had to cut off some long running roots

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It looks like the trunk has twisted around itself

The foliage is close to the trunk so I don’t have to wait for backbudding on this one.

After collection it was placed in a frost free greenhouse (not the one in the pic) together with my other early spring collected trees. Placing trees in a humid, wind free  environment after collecting has a very positive effect on the trees survival rate. I have no doubt about the survival of this tree. Progress will be reported.