Saturday, July 20, 2013

Ezo spruce #3 finished

Ezo spruce, Picea jezoensis, collected in Japan about 70 years ago, very old. It was probably collected before the war on the Kuril Islands which used to be part of Japan. It was made a very high, slim bonsai possibly even before the war. Eventually this tree was exported to Germany many years ago. The owner managed to ruin the tree by loosing the very top. The tree was twice as high as it is now. Someone who did not think too much cut off the dead top instead of making it deadwood. Anyway now it was a ruin, an ugly ruin for most tastes. This was the only tree that interested me out of way over one thousand very good offers at Bonsaipark Remscheid in the north of Germany last weekend. Why would I pay quite a lot of money for such an ugly tree? Well, it appeals to me very much. While it is ugly it has a real lot of character. It has the character of a very very old tree from the island. And it is a great challenge to bring out that character to its very best.  Very old genuine edo spuce colected on the islands are invaluble. They cost a lot of money in Japan and most one is not allowed to export anyway. Well, this one did cost considerably money as ruin, but I got it in trade and I am very happy to own such a rare tree. Only two months after I got the tree and did the first styling it has changed dramatically. The spruce really likes my feeding and watering regime. It looked as well as it ever could look finally. So I decided to do the final styling much earlier than I had thought originally. Anyway, now the wire will stay on for four to five years and then it should be presentalbe afterwards.