Entry: Ligustrum Ovalifolium – Oval-Leaved Privet – Germany – WITHDRAWN
ofBonsai Magazine
Before
For this tree I have been looking in several garden centra. I wanted to submit a deciduous species into the competition. HOwever, most plants you find need a lot of time to grow out into something realistic. However, rather than grabbing a plant which I have been growing for bonsai in the garden and style this, I decided to take a challenge. Hedge-row stock ligustrum. This individual looks interesting, because of the number of stems in the pot. It looks like they may be connected underground. I suppose we will find out at repotting time. The plant will be removed from the container, and the roots will be combed out. Subsequently I will trim the plant, and place it in the ground for 2 months to recover. In the ground I will add a layer of grit around the roots, to make transplanting easier. At the end of summer the plant will most likely move indoors: This species is very hardy and tolerant of a winter indoors, as long as you don’t keep it indoors forever. That way I hope to lengthen the growing season, and add some more foliage lower on the branches. Major styling may not happen until a month before the end of the contest.
One Quarter Progression
When removing the Ligustrum from its container, fairly quickly it became clear that I was not dealing with a single plant. Big disappointment. Instead of having purchased one large plant, I got three very young unsightly sticks in a pot. However, I am always keen to be a sport, and see what may be made of this. So I decided to try and get some basic movement in the trunk. I selected one plant that had at least a little bit of taper on the lower section of the plant. The other two have moved to a corner in the garden to get some age on them. Also put in a whip by the way, tho create a bit of movement. Also the plant for this contest was placed in the ground to regain some strength. Unfortunately the separation of trees took a bit of effort and damaged the roots quite badly.
Half Way Progression
With the tree having had some time to think about life, I decided it was time to plant the tree in a training pot. Nothing much was done to the tree in between. As always with bonsai: A bad selection of material means you have to wait and wait and wait befor you can do anything.
Three Quarter Progression
The tree is stil sitting in the training dish. It seems like I made a very bad choice selecting this tree for the competition. Unlike another ligustrum I have, this one is not in the mood for growing at all. Soon I will move the plant indoors, hoping to get at least some foliage on the plant. Untill the next post. I wait. And wait; and wait.