Newsgroups: alt.bonsai
Subject: Re: Next project?
From: keith@intaud.usu.edu (Keith Sedgwick)
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 13:52:48 GMT
Organization: Utah State University (USU)

In article <1992Dec20.233845.28735@netcom.com> aldridge@netcom.com (Jacquelyn Aldridge) writes:


>        Fantastic day today. Went to East Bay Nursery in Berkeley. It's on
>2332 San Pablo, which is a block or so south of University on San Pablo.
>Met a guy there named Bentley who showed me some of the bonsai he'd done. 
>One of the other nurserymen showed me a corokia contoneaster, I'd not seen
>one before. 

>        So, I bought a corokia contoneaster, a japanese boxwood, and a
>feather cypress (chamaecyparis pisifera).

>        The corokia contoneaster has upright multiple trunks with 
>perpendicular branching straight out, but crossing and recrossing  each
>other on the interior of the tree. It looks like something out of
>Modred's forest, earie (excuse spelling here). In a gallon pot and about a
>foot tall. Tiny leaves, they open up black like the branches and then turn
>green. 9- each. 

>        The japanese boxwoods had great trunks and good roots. They remind
>me of English Oaks. Upright single and double trunks, looking aged already.
>I chose a smaller one, about a foot high. There was one in the back part of
>the lot that I'd have loved to have. Inch diameter trunk, about a foot and
>a half high. Absolutely gorgeous for a large single standing tree. The
>smaller ones were 9-, the larger up to 25-.

>        The feather cypress is my pride and joy. It's about two feet high
>with a two foot diameter umbrella shaped "top". It has about eight major 
>branches coming from a common short trunk. These branch and rebranch to
>form the top. It looks somewhat like an open,multibrached olive in the
>branches. But what it looks most like are the trees that grow along some of
>the northern beaches in California. Range: 25- to 50-. 
>	
>        There were about 6 more corkia there, dozens of small boxwood,
>about 7 large boxwoods, and three more of the feather cypress. One of the
>feather cypress was a magnificent upright form. 

>Trunk almost like a
>readwood in growth. 2 1/2 or three feet high. Well branched and filled out.
>It was 50-. The one I chose was 30-.  

>        There were lots of great shrub/trees to chose from. One type I liked but
>didn't get was a gotesque form of curvy branches which twisted back and
>around. Beautiful specimen trees. About two feet high. I think they were
>called  filberts.

>        Now all sit in the kitchen to be admired and so I can choose what
>kind of pot to put them in. I think the smaller ones will go into
>rectangular pots, smallish. The large feather cypress in a large round pot,
>probably one like I saw at the nursery which had a profile which tapers
>down conically so the body of the pot isn't very noticable.  

>        Hope you are all enjoying the holidays. --Jackie--

Hi Jackie:

	Boy, what a treat to read your post this morning.  After reading 
your descriptions and information about your new trees I had to write 
and thank you for your inspiring message!!

	We had a Corokia contoneaster in our last bonsai show.  It was 
about 18" high and looked so good I bought a small one from the local 
bonsai nursery.  The one in the show was potted in a light grey, un-
glazed pot about the same shade as the bark.  It looked very good!!  
If you could find a pot the same shade of grey as the contoneaster's 
trunk, you wouldn't be disappointed.  I love the leaves!  They 
remind me of small baseball bats, with a "club" at the tip.  

	This small tree will be one of my favorites.  This is the second 
one I've had.  Just a word of caution -- I sent one to bonsai heaven last 
summer.  Last sumnmer I was using a homemade organic fertilizer cake and 
my Corokia developed a case of maggots.  I got after the little buggers 
with some diazinon dust.  The maggots died and so did my tree 8-(..  If 
you develop any kind of pest, you might want to use something other than 
Diazinon.

	Japanese boxwoods make excellent bonsai.  The only draw back 
I've heard about them is their slooow growth.  I guess they only grow 
about 1/4" per year.  One of the best styles is an "oak" type.  I have 
a triple trunk that is about 18 years old.  It started out as a 
twin trunk, but two years ago I brought the 1st branch up and split 
the trunk, down to the soil line.  It is now a triple trunk and looks 
much better.  

	Thanks again for you post.  Merry Christmas and Happy Growing!

					Keith

KEITH@INTAUD.USU.EDU
Keith Sedgwick


Newsgroups: alt.bonsai