Entry #33
Verbena bush (Lantana camara)
Zambia
250cm (98.4")
Before
Lantana is a invasive plant here in Africa. It self seeds everywhere. This one grew in my garden between some shrubs, in a tight spot. I dug it out for the competition. It took 3 hours of careful digging, so the next shrubs are not damaged. It had almost no fine roots on the surface. I washed all the soil, reduced the branches and roots, and planted it in well washed river sand to recover. It has a beautiful trunk with lots of character, and will make a beautiful bonsai. The only problem is that all the little branches I left died and it has no new shoots yet, which is somewhat disturbing. Lets hope it will survive and I will manage to turn it into a beautiful bonsai, and there will not be an entry: MHSRIP.
Probably it will be some kind of informal upright. I dont plan to do any curving on it since the trunks has lots of character and nice flaking bark.