Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Barberry literati bonsai






This is the smallest of 3 barberries that I collected last year. When I got it out of the ground last year, it had virtually no roots under it's base. Yesterday I took a peak at the roots and saw that it threw out an amazing amount of healthy roots and so decided to try it out in a bonsai pot yesterday. About a week ago I eliminated a few of the other trunks that emerged out of the base and decided to style it as a literati. I'm excited to see what new growth appears this year to see what direction the apex will take. No branches have been wired yet and may not be wired because of the nature of them as they are full of thorns and are brittle. I might try some guy wires to pull the apex down some and shape it through clip-and-grow. I love the rugged bark, small leaves and berries, and fall color of an old barberry. However, they don't appeal to me much in the landscape ironically. Pot handmade by Chuck Iker.

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