2020 MEMBERS’ DIARY DURING COVID

SADLY WE HAVE HAD TO CANCEL OUR SEPT. SHOW DUE TO COVID RESTRICTIONS.

September 2020: See the updated page on Airlayering—of an Amelanchier (snowy mespilus) as today the branch has rooted well and was detached from the tree and is now planted in the garden. It was not intended as a bonsai, but the technique could be used of course.

Last year we were contacted by the Head Gardener at Overbecks, a National Trust garden near Kingsbridge, South Devon, asking if we would like to take part in their forthcoming (2020) themed gardens on the Japanese way of growing. Of course we would! Happily Peter lives locally to them and he arranged a series of displays over a weekend or so. Here are two of the displays for April and May that he planned to do, but as you know C-19 took over and spoilt it. April’s was the superb bridging pot containing his raft hawthorn. May’s display was a collection of some bonsai pots by British potters. The June display would have been the accents, lovely to see.

Meanwhile Jim our Chairman has been pruning and caring for his trees and sent pics of three that we will never see at the club because they are too big to get in a car and too heavy to lift!
1. Trident maple from Ray Jacobs at the Plymouth show in 1998.
2. Japanese maple plaited trunk from Bill Coles a valuable old member who sadly passed away a number of years ago and was a great experimenter. You can see the trunk barely shows the plaited technique now, it was from at least 20 years ago, if not more.
3. Hawthorn collected by members for Jim on a very wet day about 25 years ago on a water board site with permission.

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This is a repotting of an old ash (fraxinus) by Peter.
1. Hollow trunked ash. 2. Cut around edge to release from pot. 3. Out of the old pot.
4. Tease out the roots remove soil. 5. Remove extended roots. 6. Remove crossing roots.
7. Clean surface with water and soft brush. 8. New pot meshed and wired for tie in.
9. Check soil levels, I prefer to leave slightly lower to aid watering in summer.
10. Secure in pot with wires, if crossing large root add padding. 11. Add soil and grit mix. 12. Moss added with gaps for feeding. 13. Finished and displayed.

These are some earlier updates

A gorgeous pleione grown by Daphne

Mike’s beech group which would also have gone up to Expo 2020.

Mike’s maple group

Now for some trees to comment on please if there is a query posed by owner. Refer to tree by name and send message using contact link.

This is Tony’s Antarctic beech Nothofagus which is putting out flowers!

Tony says he is struggling with the Nothofagus to get some shape into it. Any helpful suggestions?

Janet’s lovely mixed bloom azalea which has been flowering since the autumn and is still going!

Bob’s Caucasian grey bark elm. He wonders how to deal with the dead branch, leave a stub, remove? Probably died due to shallowness of pot/dryness.

Christopher’s (cannot say Chris because we have 3!) mountain maple in a Walsall pot obtained from Peter, he was helped wth repotting last year by Petra.

This is another of Christopher’s trees, an oak which had been growing under a patio. He wants to know how to deal with reducing the size. As the long root is not in the soil can it be removed so he can get the tree into a bigger pot to encourage new roots nearer the trunk.

Keith’s hackberry from Gordon. Repotted and is hoping to reduce crown to stimulate growth to the lower branches this year. Any comments?

Dilly’s elm airlayered from hedge after its first prune this year. Dan Barton pot.