Shohin Cotoneaster - no more lurking!

Okay, that post on IBC lurking has inspired me to finally post.

Here is a shohin cotoneaster that I have been working on for only 1.5 years. The raw material was grown in a 3 gallon container(~11L for the rest of thew world). It was purchased from a decent bonsai stock nursery north of San Francisco with bonsai-friendly varieties for no more than $30. We (Bonsai Society of San Francisco) used it as demonstration material for a club workshop and I was the lucky guy to take it home that night.

It started, as most cotoneasters, as a rough ball of straight twigs and was cut down to just the trunk and a few leaders.





Over a single year I was able to develop a new apex and get a basic branch structure. BTW, these things grow like weeds!


It's looking pretty decent now, but there are quite a few things still to do. Next spring I'll probably cut back most of the branches to the primary and work to get better ramification. Maybe I'll shorten it too. It's about 14cm now. It also has nasty scar on the front of the trunk. It has been healing slowly. I need a few sprouts in that area to help out. If I keep the foliage trimmed, maybe enough sunlight will get in there and stimulate some buds.



A quarter for scale.


As for a real bonsai pot, that may take a while. It was grown in a deep nursery container so the root ball was spread out without many surface roots. That means the nebari is almost nonexistent. I repotted it this past spring in a more shallow terra cotta pot. If the roots grow as fast as the rest of this thing, I should have decent roots in a year or two. Otherwise, I may have to ground layer or root graft. These plants seem pretty tough, but I haven't met anyone that has ground-layered a cotoneaster - yet.

Let me know what you think,
Lawrence

very nice little tree!
just one thing...the big cut is in front side...
maybe you could reshape it in shari?
it is a good work anyway...

Nice tree. About the cut, shouldn't it just mend with time? I don't think it will be a problem really, could you post a few pics from other angles also?

of course it s a choice...the scare will be closed with the time
scare or shari...question of taste

Or a neat compromise which might be to gently carve out a bit of the scar to give the effect of a slight hollow. Advantages of this are 1. sharis can look a bit wrong on deciduous trees and especially on small ones 2. sometimes scars if left alone heal over looking a little ugly and 3. it would provide a bit of a feature on the front of the tree and can create rather nice light/dark effects which enhnaces the 3-D quality of the tree.

Just a suggestion based on something I've done to several of my own smaller trees.

Yeah, I was thinking a bit about the carving Fiona, but I don't have much experience with that, I was just a bit afraid that it could result in rotting..

I agree with Fiona, I think carving would look great. As for the rotting, no idea how to contend with that....anti-fungals? Sulfur rub?

I think Fiona's on the right track. A natural hollow will add to this tree. You've created a very good tree in a very short time and it looks like an old veteran. Some evidence of old wounds will back this up.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm................ Cotoneaster

Lawrence, this is a fine Shohin with bags going for it.
I'm with Lady Fi & Will about the hollow as it would give the appearance of some extra "age" even though you have only been training this little gem for a short time. Great job my friend

Okk, Okk,
Simon

Heck of a tree- top job and recommended/rewarding material for those new to bonsai in my book.

Have found that pruning scars, when hollowed out a tad with concave (wen?) cutters, dull down quite nicely and just add character to the tree as I hope this work in progress shows.

The first pic sequence is early 2006 and the last picture is May 09 as I think it says.

Pic 5 below is the front now



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Hope this helps

TimR

Hi Lawrence,

This is a really nice little tree... I'd be proud to own it. About the scar .... it shows up more because of the algae growth on the trunk. Remove the algae and it will be less of a problem. We recently were discussing a product for this, Physan 20, which can be found on the internet. I found it on an orchid/greenhouse supply site.

Good luck,

Norma

P.S. TimR... You have a great little tree also !

This one is epic.

Everyone loves this tree, including me! I think this is the tree we would all like to make. Simple design, simple beginnings, but simply beautiful proportions, lines, foliage pads, et al!

Thanks for all the replies. The scar really is no problem. It is noticeable because we used liquid cut paste to seal the wound. Other wounds that were made and not sealed have healed nicely, but that stuff tends to hang on forever. I bet I can peal it off a little at a time. My main concern is getting the roots prepped. I'm anxious to see how well they've grown when I repot in the spring.

Norma - I do need to kill the algae that's creeping up the trunk. A little vinegar-soaked towel should take care of that.

TimR - Nice tree too.

It was covered in berries all summer, but caterpillars had their fill the last month. I was able to find most them but in one day, they can do serious damage. Many of my bonsai friends here in San Francisco have had big caterpillar problems this year.

This thread was very good. How is the cotoneaster now?