Bonsai

I have always been intrigued by bonsai trees but the last couple of years I was blown away by how beautiful a wisteria tree can be as a bonsai.  I’ve always loved wisteria trees but have heard they are vigorous climbers and need a lot of space to grow out.  Since I have a lot of other things growing in my backyard, I didn’t want to worry about an unmanageable wisteria, turning it into a bonsai tree seemed the perfect solution. 

I bought the wisteria about a year and a half ago.  I let it get used to the environment for about a year.  This winter I trimmed its roots and planted it in the bonsai pot below. 

I wasn’t sure if it would make it because it was dormant when I trimmed it down.  The last few months it started sprouting healthy green leaves.  The wisteria below is called the Blue Moon wisteria and this is what it looks like now.  One annoying thing about wisteria is that it takes at least 5-7 years before it flowers! 

Below is another wisteria I am growing, it is the Japanese wisteria.  I transferred it to this bonsai pot while it was dormant a few months ago.  It has not broken out of dormancy yet.  I hope I will have much success with this one too. 

Another pretty tree I want to put in a bonsai pot is this bougainvillea.  The colors in this tree are wonderful, all my favorites!

I left the bougainvillea out in the sun after I stressed it out by trimming and transplanting.  I shouldn’t have done that even with a tough, drought tolerant wonder like this bougainvillea.  I should have left it in the shade for a few days to de-stress, give it plenty of water, and then bring it out in the sun after it acclimated itself.  Below is what it looked like after being left out in the sun.

That was pretty sad to see.  I’ve never seen a droopy bougainvillea before!  I gave it water and put it in partial shade and it recovered. 

I am also trying my hands at weeping willow trees and azaleas too.  I may have some pictures to show for next post. 

As always, below are a collection of new flowers in my garden.

These Champagne ranunculus are so lovely.  Everyday there are different shades of salmon and light/dark pinks. My all time favorite!  I love these.  They look like perfect roses.