Telperion Farms

2011 BSOP Show at the Portland Japanese Garden

2011-05-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

On the weekend of May 21 & 22, the Bonsai Society of Portland had it's annual show at the Portland Japanese Garden. Here are a few pictures.

A kusianum in bloom. We had hoped to have satsuki on display, but the weather didn't cooperate.

This is a huge collected hemlock.

On Saturday evening, the show was critiqued by Ryan Neal. This katsura was his choice for best in show.

A very old apple tree stump, in bloom.

Shore pine

Voted best deciduous tree in the show.

Collected ponderosa

Voted best conifer in the show.

I have grouped the shohin trees together. Sometimes, getting close enough to show the detail of the tree leaves no size reference.

Voted best shohin.

First look at field-grown Stewartia

2011-03-04T07:19:00.000-08:00

We have been field-growing Stewaria monodelpha for a few years now. We lifted a few this spring to see how they were developing. This first picture is a Stewartia that has just been lifted, and the Root Control bag is being peeled away. For size reference, the root ball is about 10 inches in diameter.

The lower part of the root ball is removed, and excess soil washed away.

This is a bit difficult to see. If you can appreciate the black material in the center of the roots, you are seeing a Geodisc. This is the same Geodisc we use on top of 1 gallon pots to help with weed control. We use them in a technique similar to growing on tiles, simply because they are cheap and readily available. We've gone through 1,000 of them already this spring.

Geodisc has been removed, and further root pruning performed.

The large roots are pruned back, and the tree is ready to go into an Anderson tray for it's next stage of development.

We anticipate offering the Stewartia for sale next year.

BSOP Show at Japanese Gardens

2010-05-09T21:34:00.001-07:00

A few pictures from the May show by the Bonsai Society of Portland, at the Portland Japanese Garden.

Separating a ground layer

2010-04-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

This is a photo series showing the results of a ground layer we did on a crepe myrtle. The myrtle had a major flaw on the back side of the trunk/nebari. The tree was in the pot you see in the first picture. A ring was made in the usual fashion at the level for the new roots. Root hormone. Pack on some sphagnum. Then a fence was built around the tree and that was filled in with soil. We use the same mesh that is used to cover drain holes to build the fences for ground layers. This first picture shows the new roots after the fence has been removed and the soil cleared away.

With the tree removed from the pot, you can clearly see the layer of new roots above the layer of original roots that were contained in the pot.

And here's the tree with the roots pruned, ready for a new pot.

Fusing multiple cuttings for nebari

2009-11-10T06:40:00.000-08:00

Over the last several years we have been starting some Trident maple projects by growing multiple cuttings through holes in a tile. Rooted cuttings are inserted from below. The group is planted for vigorous growing. If you try this, be sure there is plenty of soil above the tile for the new roots. This first pictures shows cuttings that have been grown for a year. There are strong roots below the tile, and new roots established on top of the tile.

The roots below the tile are cut off, leaving the roots above the tile.

New roots will issue below the tile.

Trees are planted and grown vigorously for a year or 2. We are finding the best container for this work is the Anderson tray.

Here are several pictures showing the results after a few years of growth.

This technique can be used to create a great base for shohin stylings, or as the first step for growing larger trees.

First harvest of Scots pines

2009-11-07T05:17:00.000-08:00

It has been a fantastic year of growth for all of the trees, but especially the pines. We've had these Scots pines in the ground for a few years, and have been eager to see what developed. We decided to lift several trees, and they have been potted in bonsai pots. They will be offered for sale in the spring.

We're pretty happy with the results. Several trees were lifted and potted. They will be offered for sale in the spring.