Greenwood Bonsai Bash Sept 2014

Ligustrun roots over rock bonsai progression

This is one of my entries for AusBonsai Shohin Progression Competition 2013-2014 which is still ongoing. This is the progression so far.
The objective is to create the best possible shohin sized bonsai over an 18 month period, between 1st April 2013 and 30th September 2014.

Shohin sized bonsai = Bonsai who's max height must not exceed 250mm. Size is measured from the top of the pot to the tip of the tree/s. There is no minimum height restriction in this case.

Species name : Ligustrum sinense
Common name : Privet [en], Troène [fr]
Original height of stock (from top of pot to tip of tree) : about 200mm
Where you obtained it from : From the garden, most probably a bird dropping. [ Its a common species found in Curepipe, Mauritius ]
Cost of stock : free

Starter material

The starter material was a ligustrum sapling (young plant), most probably that grew from a bird dropping.

Its a relatively young plant and at first sight it does not have much potential as a bonsai, but I saw some potential in the root system and lower trunk.

Collecting the material

First step was to collect the plant with loads of precautions to get as much roots as possible.

I removed the more obvious rocks then proceeded to soften the soil all around the tree with water and slowly loosen the roots.

Removing the rocks covering the roots

Removing the rocks covering the roots

Using water to soften the soil to remove the maximum roots possible

In this case I am trying to keep as many long lateral roots like this one as possible.

Not really visible on the shot, but there was a thick tap root preventing me from simply picking the plant up.
Ended up cutting it off.

There had to be a tap root present, I tried my best to extract as much as I could here too.

The full plant, I'm holding it by the truncated tap root.

The root system has enough lateral roots to create a root over rock in this case.

The rock on which I intend to attach the roots. In this case the rock will be part of the tree, part of the design. I tried hard to find a rock that would integrate into the tree's design in the long run.

Using the long roots to tie the plant to the rock with some sphagnum moss to prevent the roots from drying out. I realize now that I did a messy job on this one, I should have used some aluminium foil to wrap the roots tighter around the rock.

Back into the ground, with one piece of ceramic underneath. This is to reduce the formation of tap roots or any major vertical thick root formation.
I also placed two rocks on either sides to stabilize the whole setup.

Sketching

At this point I had a rough idea of where I wanted to go with this tree's design.
I did two sketches of how I wish the tree to progress over the years.

Basically the plan is bring back the foliage closer to the roots and find a way to thicken the trunk while keeping the overall balance of the tree.

This plan is something that should be achieved in 4 ~ 5 years, but for the 18 month period duration of the competition I should be able to achieve the basic shape and structure.

Basic estimation on how to approach the material

At this stage in the development of the bonsai, if I want to be honest with myself, I should "Grow" the trunk instead of doing any ramification.
Get a trunk [with taper ] in place as well as a bunch of primary branches.
Then proceed with the creation and refinement of the ramification.
But since this is an entry for a competition, I also need to take into account the competition's deadline and try to create something out of nothing in that time-span.

I can already estimate how it will behave in the following scenarios:
1. I leave it alone to grow freely :
> Most growth will be in the upper branches, with few to no growth in the lower section of the structure.
> The trunk will thicken up quickly but for a shohin size I would end up with next to nothing in terms of ramification.
Conclusion : Bad choice for a short time-span, but good choice for a proper long-term development approach.

2. If I start creating the ramification :
> This just won't do it. The trunk will never thicken up. I'll get a nice ramification on a stick by the time I reach the deadline.
Conclusion : Extremely bad choice for a starter material with no characteristics. The plant is still basically a stick in a pot, it needs to have a taper developed at least and starting with ramification will prevent the development of a proper taper.

3. If I use a sacrificial branch while doing the ramification :
> Encourage strong apical growth with sacrificial branches for some time to thicken up the whole of the trunk line, then remove them and stick to an approximate apex.
> Encourage the formation adventitious buds in the lower areas of the tree and later use those resulting lower branches as sacrificial branches to thicken up the lower structure.
> While the sacrificial lower branches are being developed, proceed with the ramification process in the upper region.
Conclusion : This would be my best course of action if I were to do it and have something presentable by the deadline. This plan could solve the issue of the thin trunk as well as provide me with a basic ramification structure both at the same time. Only major issue would be the "fresh" scar left after the sacrificial branches are removed, but that can be hidden with some care.

Option 3 would be the way to go.

Progression

The tree is starting to pull off a new set of growth, the old branches have harden off and the old leaves have turned this dark green shade that for me means that its time to feed the tree.

There are new growth appearing a bit all over the place following the feeding regime, but mostly on the extreme ends of the topmost branches, and those are the ones that's developing faster.

There are also several adventitious buds that are starting to swell in the lower areas too.

So here's the little guy after the first "pruning" to get a rough shape.
Basically I removed all the apical bud and apical branches. I'm hoping to force the energy to be redistributed more equally all over the place, instead of only the apex. The aim is to get those lower buds to get more energy and grow.

The pruning above did not yield the desired results. The plant got lots of leggy growth and some slight thickening of the trunk but most growth were on the apex once more.

I was going to allow it to grow some more, but it seems like the inside shoots I was aiming for were dying off or were not growing at all.

So I decided to hard chop the branche to roughtly where my future apex should be.

Close-up of the tree before the hard chop. There's not much growth in the lower area
and the upper area had some long enternodes.

Close-up of the tree after the hard chop. I've removed the apical growth and
kept the few growth that managed to occur in the lower area.

When the new growth occurred, there were more adventitious buds.

Decided it was time to check on the roots and re-pot in a training pot for better control.

One sacrificial branch. I'm keeping this one in place some more time
to allow it to thicken both the branch and the lower trunk area.

Future sacrificial branches - I need to allow those to grow freely for now.

I'm also controlling the apical growth. I've place the scissor at roughly the level
where I want my apex to be. In short any growth above that will have to be either removed or wired down.

Rough shape done, I'm using my hand to try to visualize how the crown would look in the future

Rough shape done, I'm using my hand to try to visualize how the crown would look in the future

I used some rocks as weight to "bend" down and keep the sacrificial branch in place.

After another growth season, the tree's shape is starting to appear.

Proceeded with some thinning out both in the apex and on the sacrificial branches.
This should create some ramification in the apex
and lower area as well. I did not want to end up with only
straight branches in the lower area, I needed some branching out.

Another check on the root's progression

Re-positioned some roots. No root pruning at this stage.

Used a sheet of cling film to hold the roots in their new position.

Used a sheet of cling film to hold the roots in their new position.

Repotted but this time I left a larger section out of the soil.

The right side is progressing at a good pace, but the left
side is lagging behind. I need to force the tree to put more
energy in the lower area also.

Time to concentrate on the left side now.
The right side has progressed nicely, but the left side is still lagging behind.
I need to force more energy on the left side and encourage the development of one or more sacrificial branches.

The apex is starting to draw all the energy once more. More buds
are forming in the upper area than in the lower area. I need redirect that
energy to the lower area.

The sacrificial branch has now served its purpose.
I need to decide where to cut it back.

In order to force more energy in the lower area,
I made a full defoliation of the upper area. The regular pruning
of the apex has already created a basic ramification structure.
I will leave the wiring to a later date. I want to have the lower areas
more developed in order to decide how to wire the apex.

I kept the leaves in the lower area, but again I want to get more growth
in the left section. The right section with the sacrificial branch
has a greater amount of foliage and greater amount of dormant buds.
I might pull more energy than needed.

So I removed the sacrificial branch.

Plan worked. More vigorous growth occured in the lower area and I
was finally able to obtain not one, but two sacrificial branches in the
left area.

Some time later I decided it was time to encourage the roots to mature.
I removed part of the plastic covering the roots closer to the trunk.

After another growth season, the apex is starting to get into shape.
The lower area's is allowed to grow wild for now.
Time to start wiring the tree into shape and do some basic pruning.

Pruned and wired. Again I thinned the upper area and
left the lower area more or less intact.

Top view

Another growth session has gone by and the shape is getting more refined.

The apex's structure is getting more ramified but the overall shape
is starting to get a flat shape instead of the domed shape I am aiming for.

Wired the apex and re-positioned the branches to get a rough domed shape.

I also checked on the wires placed previously for any "wire bites"

Removed the wires where needed.

Quick overview

Its been a an interesting development so far.

Started out with this leggy thin stick and I managed to get quite close to my original design when I started out.

I did managed to get some interesting growth and an acceptable trunk thickening for this time span.

The competition is still on-going, so I'm planning to re-pot in a round pot for the final submission ( as in the sketch). 

Starting material

Plan / Sketch

Up to where I managed to shape the tree so far.