Bonsai Focus (English Edition) – July-August 2019

NATIVE BONSAI

November 2017. It's time for a new and better pot

for aesthetical reasons, but also because roots have

started to elevate the tree from the pot. The lower 7-

cm of the root ball was cut

November 2017. The tree in the

new pot. It needed four people to

carry the tree

February 2019: The tree received a nomination in the
broadleaved trees category at XX Trophy in Genk,
Belgium

March 2019. Tree is 100 cm tall

Fruits are small nuts covered by a leaf-like bract

(May/June), and the second time at the

beginning of August, so that new shoots

still have time to grow until dormancy.

These two summer trimmings are fast,

almost without looking at the details. In

winter, while leaves are off, I do a detail

cutback (to prepare the tree for the next

growing season). Also, this is a good time

for wiring. Hornbeams grow fast so you

need to be careful because wire usually

cuts in during the next growing season if

you do not remove it in time.

The technique

All trees grow faster on top, slower at the

lower positions of the crown. To achieve a

more natural look of the crown, we need

thicker lower branches, thinner upper

branches. We achieve this by cutting the

upper parts of the crown more often and

leaving the lower parts of the crown to

grow without cutting during the period of

vegetation. This way, the lower branches

are elongating and getting thicker at the

same time. In winter, we cut off the parts

of the branches that are growing out of

the silhouette. This is the technique that I

have applied.

Bonsai Focus 15