Today I bring to you my bonsai of the day. This one is not the most inspired tree in my collection. In fact, it is downright ugly. Some would say, its twisted.
ID: 0004
Nickname: Xayide
Type: Curly Willow
Age: 4 years
Grown: cutting (local florist)
Last repotting: early summer 2017
Wired: early summer 2017
Photo of Clarissa Burt. Shared on pinterest by a2.tvspielfilm.de. From the film The Neverending Story II.
Some of you may remember Xayide from the movie The Neverending Story II. Trust me, she was not the villain in that movie. This movie continues to give Neverending Story fans nightmares due to the plot hole filed script, low budget, and recast of the main character to B-Movie teen heartthrob Jonathan Brandis. However, in the original novel by the glorious author Michael Ende, Xayide was a bit more like the Ice Queen in the Chronicles of Narnia. The source of her power was from befriending those of weak will and bidding them to do favors for her own pleasure, which triggers her spells to work. The more they trust her and do what she wants, the more empty and shallow they become inside. She needs no physical weapons, because her only weapons are glamour, beauty, words, and the magic that exists within those words. Xayide never claimed to be powerful, but everyone fears her because nobody has ever been able act in contradiction to her dominating will.
Shared from pixabay.com
It makes sense to me to name this tree should be named after her because it is believed in myths to be a magical tree. Branches cut from this tree release a substance believed to aid root growth in other plants and trees. At its core, it is very gnarled and twisted from age, and yet in the spring it grows green leaves so fresh with youth and vigor, it makes grass grow envious. This is the type of tree that should always remain sealed in a pot, because if it is planted in ground, its roots will take hold over the earth and eventually destroy everything in its path. I have even heard of Willow trees that became so dangerously tall that gigantic branches fell to the earth crushing anything foolishly contented to stay underneath it. Willow wood is also a good choice for a witch's wand, because of its twisted shape resembling and old hag's finger. Although Xayide is the black swan of my collection, I am hoping she can be shown some love and trained to become appreciated in the future.
About this tree: The curly willow is one of the easiest trees to grow. It is a heavy drinker, so keep the soil wet. All I did to get it started was prune a branch down to something smaller than the size of a pencil (in the summer time), stick it in some wet potting soil, and forget about it for a while. You can also root it in a water vase as long as you change the water every week or so, and then pot it up in soil once you see some thick roots spike out. The branches always grow upward like grass. When you cut a branch, it just starts growing a new leader from where the last leaf node exists. Last year I discovered I could encourage more branches to grow all over the place by trimming it hard as soon as the first branches emerged in the spring. This encourages more buds to to form along the older branches and trunk. I keep pruning down so that only a few leaves are allowed to remain on the new branches, and the tree continues to develop better ramification and smaller leaves. So far, I am really liking the results of having the growth pattern more spread out along the branches.
It usually develops a bad case of aphid damage on the tips, or a case of splotchy leaves that spreads across all leaves. When this happens I remove all infected leaves and branches, spray with soapy water or baking soda water, and the tree resumes normal growth patterns. One time, a black leaf disease infected down the branches like it had the zombie plague. When any of these maladies trigger, I prune it all off so that only healthy parts remain. Sometimes the tree will defend against these diseases by forming a callus below the dead wood, to help the infected area to dry out and fall off.
Future plans: As soon as the leaves fall off in the fall, I'm going to remove the wires. The tree will probably plump up as it transitions into dormancy for winter. The last thing I want is to leave groove marks spiraling down the branches because I left the wires on too long.
Some of the new branches got too long, and they look like they could be pruned down right now. I will look for the base of the new growth where it connects to last year's branch, and leave only three or so leaves on it, and prune the rest off.
In terms of shape and styling, there are several new branches lifting upward that could be wired outwards. They are very pliable. Most of these new branches will likely die off in the winter though, so it is a bit of a gamble trying to select which of the new branches will survive the winter. After winter, all old branches will become very hard and less pliable.
Right now I do not like the shape of the strong upright trunk, because it is too straight and harsh, which is not like this tree at all. The bottom branch is also a bit too straight, but I think I can work with it since it has forked out into a nice horizontal direction, and is spreading out nicely. The second branch is too high up the trunk. Next year I am hoping the tree will form some more buds along the trunk, and possibly give me the option of building a new branch on the left side below the knot in the trunk. I think that would help the proportional balance of the tree.
If that doesn't work out, I think it would be a good idea to repot the tree in early spring so it tips slightly more to the left. This would give the illusion that the left branch is a bit lower, and the right branch is a bit higher, and I can continue to focus on the two horizontal branches to balance out the sides as I wait for more buds to develop branches towards the front and back. The height of the tree will be maintained by pruning it down in winter.
Lastly, here is another photo, which I call the honorable mention of the day. Enjoy!
Coreopsis. "Tickseed".