Craig Coussins his book, "Bonsai for
Beginners" published by Sterling Publishing Co.,
Inc.. and DS Books in the UK
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These
are the trees in their original setting.1986 |
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| When I got them home, I
was a little concerned about the scale of the
task. Maples can be cut right back to the stump,
and this had to be done simply to fit them into
their containers. 1987 |
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Using a 50-50 mix of grit
and potting compost, we planted them into large
buckets. Six months later, they had started to
sprout.
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| We will now look at one
tree's development over the following ten years.
It had to be trimmed back completely to enable
me to start allover again. 1988 |
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Year 1: I cut off all of
the main branches. It was hard to believe that
this would ever be a bonsai! 1988 |
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| I hollowed out the edges
of the cuts so that the cambium (bark) would
grow over them correctly, without creating a
lumpy edge. |
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Two years later, the tree
was budding all over the trunk. 1990 |
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| This is the tree after
four years. The branches now need placement, as
they are too wide. 1992 |
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After wiring, the tree
now has a bonsai shape. This took three hours.
1992 |
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| After nine years the
bonsai has come of age in 1997. |
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The Bonsai is now in the Japanese Gardens in
Devon with some of Craig's other Acers from this
project, |
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home to style page |
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© Craig Coussins
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