Berberis thunberghi

I searched for "berberis" on the forum, and the only result was Ed Van Reek's post :

Ed's cascade berberis

All right, this species is more often used as an accent plant, but Ed's tree shows it does have potential.

So here is mine, taken from a tree nursery in January 2005 : it was used as a stock plant for cuttings, the patch was to be replaced, so we came with our shovels. I paid 5 € for this one :



The first idea was to make it a "hokidachi" accent plant, but I have no tree that is big, and good enough, so I decided to try to make it a bonsai of its own. I do regret it now, the branches that are left take sooo long to thicken, it is NOT a trident maple from South-East Asia grown with the clip-and-grow method.

But what can you do, anyway ...

This is how it looked in June 2007, after pruning some branches in early spring :



February 2009 (Wow! Drastic pruning indeed...) :



I let it grow freely for some time to try and thicken the top. May 2009 :



July 2009 :



... and today, March 2010 :



So far, I've left a branch on the right to try to correct the inverse taper, but I will eventually cut it off I think. Temporay virtual :



I think that if I want the new leader to develop, I should repot it in a much larger pot, or grow box. I understand it might take years : wish I could pass the virus to one of my sons...