Potting an old Yamadori Yew to encourage growth

March 10, 2014 / Tony Tickle / 1 Comment

George 1 This is a very old Yew collected in 2010, it is a tree that I visited on the hill many times before the tree was collected, and one that I took students to as an example of a ‘real’ yamadori in the wild. It was never my intention to collect this tree, as it was very long, it was growing directly in a rock crevice on a cliff face with no foliage close to the base of the tree.

Whilst visiting the tree at the end of April 2010 I noticed that it had fallen from its lofty position and was being held in place by a very small section, the fierce weather that winter had dislodged the rock that was gripping the tree and the whole could at any time fall to the valley below.

tree fallen out of cliff There was only one course of action, ‘Save the tree’ and this took place the next day. Four friends, two on ropes and one helping with passing tools etc. helped me. The tree came away in less than ten minutes as 95% of it was hanging in mid air… But with little root as most had snapped off in the winter storms, what you see in the photo are dead roots that have been exposed to the weather for many months, you can see where the large rocks have fallen away.

After the second year I removed the top of the tree after encouraging new buds lower down the trunk, this was done by slicing the live vein 2cm above the buds to stop the flow of sap and force it to the weaker buds, this worked remarkably well and will callus over at a later date.

The new grown lower down the trunk is now very strong. I have planted the tree in a much larger container to give free root growth to thicken branches and to place the tree closer to the final design I am after. The potting mix is 60% Pumice 20% Acadama and 20% Kiryu.

big Yew other side

Creating a New Branch by splitting and repositioning on a Yew.

February 13, 2014 / Tony Tickle / 3 Comments

Yew Tanuki 1

I have been developing this Tanuki over the last six years and the live is thickening up well although it has many years of growth before I would consider this a ‘convincing’ bonsai. The host tree is a piece of Yew I collected on my travels and the ‘scion’ is also Yew, the perfect match!

Fitting the scion to the host was done via a ‘keyhole’ groove and the Yew whip inserted; it has grown out and is firmly attached.

The tree has been growing well however there was a very straight section that was disturbing to the eye; also all the foliage was at the top of the tree, I needed a lower branch! The solution was to split a branch away and strip it down the trunk creating a Shari, adding interest to the ‘boring’ section.

This was done using a small branch splitter working my way from the top down to the lower part. To ensure that the split section did not break away I secured a small piece of hose with wire this also held in place two copper wires that were fitted along the length of the split that would help keep the thin section from damage during bending.

The whole section was then tightly wrapped with wet raffia and then self-amalgamating black tape. Carefully bending and twisting I positioned the ‘new’ branch into position under the deadwood. All the exposed edges of live were then covered with cut paste to help callusing and to stop infection.

First styling for a Mugo Pine

October 3, 2013 / Tony Tickle / 3 Comments

The styled tree laid over the raw material (Photoshop)

I traded a small Yew for this Mugo Pine at The Burrs workshop 2012, it was planted in a large flat plastic seed tray in a soil mixture not suitable for the rather damp conditions where I live. Whilst re-potting I saw that all the roots were on one side so decided to change the angle and make a cascading tree. The tree responded well and has thrived all year. Today I styled the tree, I have not wired to the tips of the needles because at this stage refinement is NOT my objective. Branch placement and the establishment of the design. The next few years will be bud development and refining the design.

update image due to a discussion on EBF

Please choose your favorite ‘Front’ for this Yew

September 3, 2013 / Tony Tickle / 11 Comments

This is a Chuhin Yamadori yew that I collected 10 years ago, I have slowly worked the tree down from a large double trunk to this little tree. Prior to making the photos I was undecided as to which ‘front’ I wanted for the tree. I think know, but what do you think? Please vote on your preferred front and comment as to why you have chosen. Thanks for taking part. BTW the pot is NOT the final pot for exhibition.

Progressive styling on the Tall Yew

August 5, 2013 / Tony Tickle / 2 Comments

Today I did the progressive styling on the Tall Yew. The tree is now well established in the pot and has a strong root system that’s developing sturdy branches and a lot of foliage. With the help of a hot summer and careful feeding regime the tree is growing well.

The Progressive styling

I removed about 30% of the foliage, and wired the rest. I grew a branch at the rear of the tree and replaced the previous one on the lower right because it was brought down from the crown and I was not happy with the structure. This branch now needs to thicken and ramify, the branches are left uncut to grow long, and these will be cut back at the end of the growing season. The lower left branch is well underway and has been cut back to a few needles. Where I want back budding I have removed the inner needles on three year old wood

Due to the vigorous growth the wire will be removed next Autumn just prior to the branches thickening, this growth has also helped the thickening of the live vein.

Branches left to grow to thicken

Branches trimmed to force ramification

Inner needles removed to encourage back budding

Thickening of the live Vein

When the tree was collected in 2007

How to create dense foliage mass on Yew Bonsai

July 11, 2013 / Tony Tickle / 1 Comment

It is important to know when to cut back and create good ramification. Planning the structure of your tree is critical in the early stages, even though the silhouette of the tree may look luscious and full, the structure and therefore the future quality of the tree will be compromised. The ‘pig tailing’ long branches and trimming the outline of the tree is a practice that must be stopped if our bonsai are to reach a high level.

Back budding is created on ‘third’ year growth, in 2013 this means that branches that were grown in 2011, so in the early stages of creating the foliage ‘clouds’ you are working on three year cycles.

If you cut back too early the strength of the tree is weakened, the best time is when the new growth is approx 5 inches or approx 20cm long, trim back to between 12 and 20 needles. This growth will have thickened the branch and stimulated good root growth, and trimming in July ensures that there is enough time for the tree to make new buds both on the trimmed area and further back down the branch.

To encourage new back budding pluck the needles on the third year’s growth, this will throw out masses of strong new growth before Autumn ready for the following year.

Carving Bonsai Masterclass and Workshop

March 8, 2013 / Tony Tickle / 1 Comment

Natural aged deadwood on Junipers, Yews and Pines, and with deciduous trees hollows, sharis and age are characters many bonsai artists wish to feature in their bonsai. Unless you pay top dollar for your material you are only left with one option! You must create the deadwood.

Creating ‘natural’ looking deadwood is an art in itself. Too many tool marks and the bonsai look false and amateurish, over elaborate and decorative and the tree stretches the bounds of good taste so getting the balance right takes skill and expertise.

3/4 August 2013 and the first time in the UK a bonsai carving master class will take place. The workshop takes place in a purpose built self contained training centre as used for the amazing annual Burrs Workshops Nr Manchester UK. With everything on one level, it’s fully catered with bunkhouse accommodation included. Your weekend includes full access to all the artists, evening presentations, all meals from Saturday Lunch to Sunday Lunch. A Barbeque and specially commissioned bonsai entertainment on Saturday Evening!

Three of the Europe’s most respected Bonsai Artists: Tony Tickle, Will Baddeley and Paul Finch who specialise in the creation of beautiful deadwood will be demonstrate their skills and teach you so that you can go on to create your own masterpieces.

This event is supported by Ryuga who will be providing Premium Quality Bonsai tools for participant to use.

Space is limited so you are advised to book early

Styling a Chuhin White Pine in a Dan Barton Pot

December 17, 2012 / Tony Tickle / 3 Comments

For my personal collection I have always worked on native European trees, this is for three key reasons. First: I live in the cold wet north of England and working on local material should give me the best chance to create bonsai that will thrive and survive in my climate. Second availability of good ‘imported’ material, for sure GOOD raw material worth buying was in short supply when I started in bonsai 30 years ago, simply put the trees coming out of the far east were the runts of the litter, we got the crap that that they did not want. Thankfully that appears to have changed over the last few years as the art is in decline in Japan more material is becoming available and at the right price. Third: Most material coming from the Far East is either ‘finished’ or ‘semi-finished’ I am an artist who prefers to work with totally raw material even though it takes longer, the satisfaction is greater.

This year however a Chuhin White Pine caught my eye… It displayed all the attributes and potential to create a great tree… Almost 100% of imported White Pines (WP) are grafted on Black Pine (BP) stock, this is done because BP is stronger and the bark quality is great, the problem is the graft is usually so prominent to render the tree quite ugly because the transition from Black to White is pronounced. On my tree it is almost invisible.

The tree was very healthy, had an abundance of foliage, good nebari, movement and taper… all things that you should look for when purchasing a bonsai, I was smitten… I bought my first ‘import’. Immediately after purchase it needed repotting as it was pot bound (this was why the price was favourable) I slip potted the tree into a lovely Dan Barton Pot.

That was six months ago, this week with the help of Mikey I completed the styling started by Hans van Meers and a few of the guys at the Burrs Event… THEY were supposed to complete the tree but never got past needle plucking and wiring a few branches… I believe beers and chatting got in the way! So it was down to me and Mikey to do the work.

The tree had an abundance of needles that needed to be removed. After selecting those branches I no longer required we set about wiring the remainder. This took over seven hour’s work fine wiring and bud selection. WP only has one growth per year and back budding has to be carefully managed, this first styling involved branch placement and random bud removal with a view to the final image being a refined fuller canopy in a couple of years.

The tree finally wired for its ‘first’ styling

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