Hope all is well with the Peace Love Bonsai readers! Shout out to MusicCityBonsai for winning our first ever giveaway! Look for more giveaways soon.
Today is Thursday, which means we are up for another progression. I've put all my previous progressions HERE, feel free to see my other work, if you'd like.
Today, a yew grown from garden center material.
I chose this yew because it's trunk seemed to have some nice subtle movement, which I thought might look good down the road. To be honest though, I didn’t really know what I was doing! The tree was wrapped in burlap and the burlap was filled with hard clay. As you can see, it had very few roots.
Summer of 2017
I filled a large plastic container with perlite and set the tree inside. From there, I watered and fertilized and not much else.
About a year later, I took a crack at styling. This is a great example of my early work. Akin to a Tennessee lawmaker, which is to say conservative and lacking imagination. (Relax, I kid, I kid, it's election time and it's on my mind. Only Peace & Love around here. Also, GO VOTE!). Needless to say, it wasn’t much of a styling.
Summer 2018
In the Spring of 2019, I decided to get the tree out of that huge plastic container and into something a bit more appropriate for it's size. I had received a tie-down air pot for Christmas and I decided to use it on this tree. Notice the root growth. This particular yew enjoyed the 100% perlite.
Spring of 2019
After the re-pot.
Later that summer, I took the tree to Bjorn's. And we worked on it together. I had many "aha" moments watching Bjorn go to work. As this was one of my first classes, he definitely did more of the styling after I had wired the tree.
Summer 2019 Before
And After
As you can see, we highlighted the deadwood and made a nice first styling.
In Spring of 2020, the wire was biting in hard, so I unwired and let the tree grow freely. I recently got it back out and decided to restlye.
Fall of 2020 Before
And After
Like so many trees from the beginning of my Bonsai journey, I've learned much from this tree. I look forward to repotting it into a more proper container. (I'll also be interested to see how the air pot performed and I'll be sure to give ya'll an update).
A quick time-lapse wiring
Final Before & After
So, what do you think? Do you like the direction of the tree? Have you worked with Yews? Have you started bonsai from garden centers? Post a reply down below or hit me up on Instagram. Post your progressions with the hashtag #ProgressionThursday so I can follow along! Until next time, Peace Love Bonsai!