Prunus mahaleb_Zorro

Height: 37 cm
Collected in 2012 in central Bohemia - Czech Republic
Pot: unknown artist

In contrast to the majority of my other mahalebs this little tree has just a few jins and no other deadwood. On the other hand it has the highest quality of the bark. The colour of the jins is more like on a juniper  but for this special tree I plan to keep it as it is.  

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2015
The tree has reached a pre bonsai status and deserves a propper training pot next year.

thanks for posting! Love the aged bark. When it comes time to take out of the traning pot, what are you thinking would enhance it's looks?

Nice nice nice.

Very nice little prunus!
If I may add a comment with your permission... I think you should further elaborate the transition point from deadwood to living bark.
The circling "border" at the two branches looks quite unnatural and it is disturbing to my ignorant eye. Or is it just the photos...?

Thank you very much for your comments.

Jim, very happy that you like it.

Dick, my taste for bonsai pots is changing like a weather in April. So my plans just cover the next step. For that I am thinking about some kind of a triangular shape to accomodate the long surface root and avoid oversized pot. I will probably go into concrete pot with a coarse structurated surface - just to remind me the rocky terrain where the tree has grown.
I will be only too happy if you can share with me your views.

Alexandra, all comments are more than welcomed.
There are several branch stupms in the lower section of the tree that I need to decide whether to keep them at all. On the other hand I would like to keep the existing jins and their connection to the trunk in the same form as they are right now. It reflects the reality how the mahaleb deals with a period of harsh conditions. It just let the most problematic branch(es) to dry and transfers the sap corridors to the new ones or the ones better positioned. Only if the conditions are extreme then the tree may leave the whole section of the tree to dry out. That is my experience, maybe not correct...
On the top section there is a callus that is closing the sizeable wound after the removal of the top branch. Well the skin of the callus is right now as smooth as a baby's ... Is that spot the one that is disturbing you? I do not like either. I hope it will get better in next 5 or so years. If I do not see a reasonable progress in a couple of years then a I will deal with it. Right now I am curious how to make the callus look more natural. Any idea?

I like this Zorro very much too

I also think that reducing the deadwood, or making it thinner is an option too.

regarding my thoughts on a pot. The tree looks like it will be in transistion for a number of years in the future. So keeping a round pot will make it easier to turn and adjust to what may be a developing adjustment. But closer to completion, you may have to consider a rectangular pot for a more masculin look, or if a more feminine look,
maybe an oval. Both could accomodate the extented root and allowing enough room for movement by it's position in either.
Right now the strength of the tree is in it's stong nebari and trunk/bark. So I can envision holding that first impression as a viewer with a strong textured pot. maybe that cement pot you mentioned might be the right move. I think I'd like to see it first for more comment.
As you refine the tree to where you feel it looks best, I think the less foliage look will keep it more masculin while adding more foliage will help swing it more on the softer side.

Either way you have a wonderful example of your dedicated enthusiasm for living art!

Alain, options to have is a great situation for decisions that can be made in the course of next 2-3 years .   btw the trees in your club gallery look pretty good.  I have searched for mahaleb and it was there.  Nice beauty.

Dick, thank you for your thoughts.  You are right, the tree and me are just on the start of a long journey.  The thing that matters is to have fun and enjoy every single moment we spent together.  
Taking into account what is on hands:  the deeply cracked bark, the width of the trunk and  the amount of "firewood"  my vision is a stout, masculin tree.   So we just need to built a simple branch structure  with just enough foliage and then wait  aaaageees to get the right textured bark on them.  And we are there.

for me, the style is not appropriate in this case, if it was my tree, I would train the tree in the moyogi style, with drooping branches like on the virtual photographie.
Deads woods are not on the crown on prunus mahaleb, only smalls shari ot jins , because the wood of this species is not a hard wood.

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thank-you Vlad for your reply. I think we are very close in our opinion on the tree's future

abcd, this is a lovely virtual, I do like it. I will be very happy if I could discuss with you the shape of some my other mahalebs. For this one, I am on the way to keep it Different. Thank you very much for your effort I do appreciate it.

Vlad wrote:... ...Alexandra, all comments are more than welcomed... ...

Vlad, thank you for your detailed reply!

AUGUST 2016.

The "don't  step on the rattlesnake barefooted" jin is still showing above the slowly maturing canopy of green leaves.   Should it stay or should it go?  

KEEP IT !!!

please

this tree is on its way to being fantatsic

Wonderful tree. I don't know about the jin but no need to remove it now. Get a few opinions from your local bonsai friends.

Augustine, Kevin - thank you for your time  to visit this post and to send me your positive comments.   Happy for your "jin" support  

I think that without the piece of firewood  the tree would look the way mother Nature ( and vast majority of bonsai afficionados ) prefer.   And  frankly they are quite right.  

But is the bonsai just only about the reality one can see or is it  also about our dreams?

This is a great looking tree! I love the bark. I also like the front you've chosen.

Since you're on the fence about the deadwood, I'd like to say that deadwood on a tree should be featured. You have it poking up from behind the canopy. This looks very nice. When the canopy grows larger, don't lose the deadwood in the foliage. Find a way to keep it featured. If you cannot, then get rid of it. Any time I see hidden deadwood the first question is "Why are they hiding this?"

Thanks for posting this.

Great little tree with a nice jin I would keep it for sure

@Bill&Mimo Thank you guys for your positive feedback. I plan to keep the jin in place. It is part of the story the tree tells about the harsh biotope he lived ( see the first pic )

Nice tree, I like the jin

Height in target : 45 cm
Width current: 68 cm
Weight: +25 kg  partially due to the specific substrate based on the zeolithe, terramol, grit and organic materials & a slightly oversized pot

For the time being I am going to keep the substrate including the cover of the plates of slate on the top of it.  It is rather emotional reminding me of the place the tree has been found.

Hello Vladimir!
Growing nicely the Prunus.
I would like to see the branch structure when out of leaves.
When do you exactly prune this fruiting species? Late fall or late winter?
My brother has brought to me 3-4 small, young trees one month ago which seem to be P. mahaleb which I intent to use for a group planting, if they survive the collection...
They have started sprouting new leaves/shoots by now and I keep them in a sheltered place.
Any tips?

my nellie wrote:
I would like to see the branch structure when out of leaves.  

So do I Alexandra.  Hardly can wait.  But this tree keeps "working" till the first frosts...

my nellie wrote:
When do you exactly prune this fruiting species? Late fall or late winter?  Any tips?

 

In both periods in fact.  It depends on the phase  of the tree development and its strenght.   For the mahalebs in your area I guess the late fall is OK.  You do not have hard winters, do you?
In such case the tree will not waste energy in the development of buds on branches that will be pruned in late winter.

Thank you very much, Vladimir!

my nellie wrote:
I would like to see the branch structure when out of leaves.

I am going to shorten a bit some of the branches later this week. Just to get rid of the terminal buds really.

I guess you can get more volume in four years time. But most of the time I prefer a slower pace with more pruning and less wiring.