Rosemary bush year end bonsai

Hello my fellow bonsaiphiles. This is the year end of an experiment that I have conducted with you.  I want to thank you for your comments and emails. I want to thank those who have posted on my blog (Luke, i'm still waiting). This Blog has been therapeutic for me. I have chosen this rosemary disguised as a christmas tree. I understand that people who celebrate christmas around the world are in the minority. However, This is the time when most christian feel an even more overwhelming desire for brotherly love toward all people. That is why I chose this tree at this moment.

Anywho, this rosemari I bought at one of my favorite nurseries. I t was a 2 ½ foot bush. Originally the tree had been growing like this:

Of course it did not have this shape. It was growing up, not to the side. I noticed the twin trunks. At first I was not sure if it would make suitable material. Every Time I looked at it it made me more and more excited.

At first, I tilted the pot and gave it its general outline.Then when it started to grow again I potted it in its current pot. A big problem I had was that all the roots where now on one side of the tree. It looked very awkward.

A few months later after roots had grown along all the soil I removed the tree and sawed off all the roots directly to the left of the trunk line (where the trunk meets the soil). Now I could place the tree in a better spot in the pot.

I spent seven months to get it to this point. It cost $8.00 U.S. and the pot is a used chinese one that I spent $5.00 U.S. on.

When I first started bonsai I had so much trouble seeing a possible bonsai in a bush. I didn't let that stop me though. I made lots of mistakes but I pressed forward. Am I a master? Heck no! I am having fun and learning. Maybe i'll tackle some pine trees next year?!?!?!? Cheers.

Rosemary

Rosemary

  One of the great advantages of rosemary is the small leaf size. It also can have a great green color and silvery accents. Some people myself included find the aroma of the essential oil very pleasing. I saw this tree at the local box store. I think i paid around $8.00 U.S. for it. it was tall and had many twisting branches. What I really liked about this tree was its trunk. The trunk looked braided, and it had bark that looked like it was peeling. It had a branch on the side that I was not sure if I was going to keep. I decided to keep it.

Close up

           The look I’m going for is of a gnarly old oak. Here in California we have a lot of live oak. The old trees have huge branches that touch the ground and then come back up. I am going to give it a domed top and have the branches go down then back up.

Planned silhouette

     I potted the rosemary in mostly volcanic rock and Turface. I would say 70 inorganic and 30 organic. Organic materials retain water. Since I didn’t add that much organic material the soil dries out quickly. To compensate for the lack of organic material I added a layer of moss. This will slow evaporation a little bit.

Back or future front?