Bonsai Focus (English Edition) – July-August 2019

W

isteria is a woody

deciduous plant

in the Fabaceae

family of legumes

and it's a native

of Japan. It is found in mountainous

areas as well as lowlands. Along with

Prunus species it is considered one

of the most representative Japanese

flowering trees. The racemes develop

from the base of leaves, during April

and May, then hang pendulously

with multiples of butterfly-shaped

flowers. It has been known for the

racemes to grow to 90 cm. Throughout

Japan it is possible to find wisteria

that have been trained over a trellis,

with all of the vines entangled and

twisted round themselves. When it's

the flowering season, the trellises are

covered in flowers and people flock to

see them. The vines themselves are

very strong and it has been known for

the vines to twist around another tree

crushing them to the point of damage.

The vines of wisteria always twist in a

clockwise fashion, whereas the closely

related silky wisteria twists around

counter clockwise.

As wisteria age, they develop a very

unique rough bark character giving

a sense of refined elegance. Due to

the large leaves and rough, vine-like

growth, not much interest is evident

throughout the year. To have just a

few days every year to enjoy the most

beautiful flowers, it is necessary to

work hard all year long.

The challenge is to create a finished tree starting from scratch

Text and photography: Kinbon, Japan.
In this series we look at creating bonsai from cuttings, grafting and other methods using interesting and unusual
species. With the help of illustrations, we will see how to take a piece of material through to completion

Purple rain

Fertilise

Remove the plas-

tic and tape Graft union

The branches have grown after grafting

After leaf drop

Two buds are starting to

grow

Use a quick tie to tighten it

Once it grows more, cut

through the bag

Moist sphagnum moss

Plastic bag Cut off one corner

Once the new

shoots start to

grow, cut the

other corner

Grafting

February and March

Preparing the stock tree. Two to three

years from seedling

Sprouting

Cut to

leave 2-3

cm

Push the scion into

the split in the

stock tree

Leave two buds

Split the stock tree

Cut at an

angle to make

a V

Tie together

using some

grafting

tape

Use a scion from an

established tree

Preparing the scion

TECHNIQUE

Years 1 - 2

Bonsai Focus 55