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Progressions
Taxus baccata
 
A specie I find mostly neglected in the
shohin bonsai art is the classic Yew, often used for larger bonsai. It is a
classical specie for bonsai and has all the advantages, both horticultural and
aesthetically, to be a success as shohin or even the small Mame bonsai.
In this progressions example I have used an
ordinary nursery raw stock and pruned it back severely, changing it to a
promising shohin bonsai main tree. The main tree in Japanese traditional
displays most often are black pines, and placed as the top tree at a shohin rack
it must have a strong and formal feeling. In Northern Europe i.e. the Japanese
Black Pine can very well
be replaced by the powerful and calm images of European Yew.
2006
Raw stocks from an ordinary garden nursery
is a way to acquire a material with all the benefits of controlled field grown
material, afterwards reduced in size by heavy pruning. This demands some
knowledge about which kind of trees that will cope with heavy pruning, not
risking to loose it because it doesn't tolerate the pruning applied to it.
The classic European yew, Taxus baccata,
does tolerate being cut back severely spring o summer even leaving no green
needles back. It will react with new
strong growth afterwards, helped on the way by steady feeding with nutrients.
This specimen I simply reduced below shohin
maximum size, to have space for new branches to grow. The trunk and base looked
fairly good, and the rest is about developing branches from the new emerging
growth from bare branches or what's left.
Please note that Taxus in general do
not heal scars well, so deadwood areas may be created instead of a normally scar
healing up as it does on other specimens.
First dramatic back pruning was done, giving
the tree plenty of time to recover before winter. All unnecessary branches are
pruned away leaving just what's needed for the future image ahead.
Some larger branches are wired and lowered.
Then the remaining small branches are wired
too. There is now an open space for the light to reach inner branches, adding
possible new growth to emerge.
 Midd
autumn the older needle formed leaves are pulled off to kick new growth on these
spots. Always pull the needles off in the upwards growing
direction in order not to harm the branch. If pulled downwards a scar will
opened at the branch that may dry it out and kill it.
Removing the older needles this way creates
a flush of new buds during winter, creating new branches for future development.
When removing the leaf the sleeping bud hidden at the adhesion will be awakened
and grow.
Final image after initial styling - even my
hair seems to be pruned away heavily .-)
The tree has been placed in a plastic
container for now, only removing a little of the outer part of the root ball to
fit in. Leaving the roots healthy and in full growth is essential in this first
step, to secure healthy growth.
2008
The tree has been unwired and let to grow
some, and also repotted after the first growing season, to adapt the root ball
to the reduced leaf mass, and fitting a smaller shohin container. This is just a
temporary pot. A better pot will be found when needed at a later time.
The tree now has a height of 20,5 cm, a
little to high considering the normal 20 cm limit shohin size if taken rigid.
But the top branches are anyway to be positioned with an lower angle, so this
solves the "problem" by itself.
2009
The Taxus baccata now has gained new
strong growth and next step is to needle pluck again, and make a more precise
definition of the branch formation. The tree now gets closer to exhibition
standards, maybe in three or four years time depending on the growing seasons
influenced also by the weather.
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