Do the Turn and Drop

The best time of the year has arrived – Leaf Drop. Time to settle down and get styling my deciduous bonsai. I picked up this fine material for around $50 at the St. Louis Shohin Convention this past spring from David Kreutz, an Azalea specialist who operates the Satsuki Bonsai-en nursery. It was unusual to see such dramatic taper and shari in a Japanese Hornbeam. The leaf size may be a concern down the road, as I thought it likely would have reduced some already since it’s rather root bound, but I have no idea what kind of sun exposure it had when it came out of dormancy this past spring. I couldn’t resist making a mini out of this one, however, so we’ll if nature counteracts my need for scale. One of the best characteristics of this Carpinus is the seed pods it produces, but I doubt I’ll ever see them on this tuffy since it has been reduced so much. I’m sticking with the dead wood theme as I’ve attempted to carve out any cuts I make. I'll work on the large top portion at another time, as I'm using it for a wire anchor. Outside of maybe the delicate Japanese maple and a few other species, I’m becoming a firm believer in creating jin and shari on deciduous whenever it’s artistically appropriate.

Before and after...