A glimmer of hope ?

hahah

Hi Will nice finds there, I’ve just collected my first ever spindle as I’m aware they have beautiful autumn foliage. One problem…… I have no idea as to their growth habit via pruning and wiring. Would you advise me on any idiosyncrasies I may need to know about this species please?

Kind regards
eric

Hello ..Er...Eric. Wiring Spindle as it grows is quite important. The young branches soon become stiff. Hard pruning will offer up loads of buds to get going on. Got any pics? Where you been anyway?

For those who are not familiar with the name, European spindletree is Euonymus europaeus. It is related to our burning bush, and of course bittersweet, Celastrus. European spindle is naturalized all over the eastern US and Canada, but I don't recall ever seeing it as a bonsai.
Iris

Hello Iris. Ed van der Reek has posted one on the forum. I would'nt say they're common as bonsai but I've seen a few. Very good they are too.

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Hi Will,
Thanks for your reply and here's a snap taken today. The base is 3 inches across and height is 91/2 inches. Anyone know how well spindle heal large wounds? The reason I collected this was because I saw the stunning autumn colour it produced last year. I’m sure I read an article about spindle as bonsai in one of my mags as few months back. I’ll have to dig it out.

As for my absence I’ve been collecting more Elms and here I must thanks you for pointing me in the right direction. For months I’ve been walking through thick Elm scrub with the bases of the Elm shoots covered with a very thick knot of Ivy. After reading your thread about Elm collecting I decided to dig into these Ivy knots, what did I find?……….Thick old rotten Elm bases with healthy young whips shooting straight up! If you’re interested I’ll post some pics.

Thanks again for your feedback.

you bet we are interested
cant wait for pics
andy

Spindle looks very promising. They do heal but quite slowly. When your tree has established and has produced loads of buds and branches, it might be better to hollow out the areas with the major cuts. Would really like to see your new Elms