"Ramification Techniques," from Cartagena Bonsai.

Sergio Martínez's graphic for his post.

     Two weeks ago, Paul Stokes at ofBonsai asked me to translate a post from the blog of Sergio Martínez, owner of Cartagena Bonsai in the city of the same name on Spain's Mediterranean coast. I enjoy translating bonsai-related items, and usually learn something in the process, so I was happy to fit it in when I had a chance.

Mr. Martínez gives a good explanation of clip-and-grow, with plenty of pictures that clarify any questions very nicely. Wiring he leaves for another post. More important, though, he goes into some of the underlying concepts which a bonsaiist needs to consider when deciding on an approach to a given project. One example: the design one wants to execute needs to be considered when deciding whether to rely more on wiring or on clip-and-grow, just as truly as the species's characteristics do.

For Mr. Martínez's original Spanish post, please click here.

For the English translation, please click here.

Let me leave you with another of Mr. Martínez's pictures from this article, to whet your interest.

Mr. Martínez's plan for a bunjin olive (Olea europaea.)

And by the way, and completely unrelated to bonsai: I learned that the city of Cartagena is more than 2200 years old and was founded by Hasdrubal Barca, brother-in-law to the famous Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca who gave the Romans such a hard time.

:-)  :-)  :-)

Surprise Figs

     I'm presently growing four species of Ficus: F. burtt-davyi, F. buxifolia, F. microcarpa 'Tigerbark,' and F. salicaria. They have all set fruit at one time or another, except the 'Tigerbark.' That's a little surprising, since F. microcarpa is one of the figs most widely grown for bonsai, and has a well-earned reputation for being relatively easy to grow.

And I've seen fruit on other cultivars of F. microcarpa, like 'Green Island' and 'Gold Coin.' Just not 'Tigerbark', which appeared to be the holdout. Until a couple of weeks ago, that is, when my oldest 'Tigerbark' surprised me with a few figs!

Figs on Ficus microcarpa 'Tigerbark.' Yellow cast due to artificial lighting.

The fruit is small, not much more than half the size of an ordinary dinner pea. Like the fruit of many Ficus species, it doesn't dangle. The darker spot at the distal end (blue arrow in the picture above) marks the stoma which, in the wild, allows a symbiotic wasp entrance to pollinate the flowers. (For more on the structure of a fig fruit, see  this post.)

This tree is parent to many other 'Tigerbarks' that I have kept or sold. I have two rooted cuttings that I'm readying for sale now, and one of them has started throwing figs!

New figs developing on a rooted cutting of F. microcarpa 'Tigerbark.'

 There won't be viable seeds without the presence of the correct pollinating wasp. But I'm happy with the situation all the same!

(For more about my big 'Tigerbark' as parent to many others, see this post.)

:-)  :-)  :-)

Anniversary Haiku

     Princene and I celebrated our 13th anniversary today. As one of her anniversary gifts to the bonsaiist-to-the-core man she married, she composed a haiku for me:

Silvering hair,

Bonsai clippers placed with care -

Happy man content.

She has not attempted many haiku, but I'd say she did a fine job with this one!

Then our daughter NaevEnya took a picture to go with the haiku:

My wife writes a good haiku, and my daughter takes a good picture! (Tree is a Black Hills spruce.)

(For any who don't know, haiku is a Japanese form of poetry that, like bonsai, has come to be widely appreciated in the West. A haiku consists of just three lines, and traditionally contains 17 syllables, in a 5-7-5 arrangement, tho minor variation in the number of syllables is allowed. It need not rhyme, and usually evokes a mood and/or has something in nature as its subject.)

Thank you, sweetie! ☺

:-)  :-)  :-)

Almost as if the tree is enjoying itself!

     My mame veldt fig must be quite happy with the present regimen in the Bonsai Crate: lately it's been throwing a veritable blizzard of aerial roots! It almost seems like a new one appears every time I turn around. I thought folks might like to see a picture.

My mame veldt fig, a Christmas gift from my wife in 2009. How many aerial roots can you find?