So here I have Craig and I saw this tree About two years ago was it again a year And a half and this is a beautiful trip But it's not in Leaf in case you don't Know what it is those of you who are Knowledgeable will know that this is Called a shishikashira that means the Lion's head map and to get one so big is Quite a feat I did tell Craig that Because it's sure where he could either Have alienated in different places Because this trunk can really only Support the tree of this size you want To make it into Bonsai we're going to Get in a bonsai pot We are now in the third week in February Which is the ideal time for repotting Maples and other deciduous trees so Before I repot I'm going to do some Pruning so you've got to trust me Okay so the tree is going to be about This size more manageable as a bonsai so We always think of an imaginary shape Like a dorm shape The extremities are okay so You've just got to imagine it some People have some difficulty but with a Bit of practice you should be able to do It you will see how the shape will Emerge in front of your very eyes So I'm doing one side first The tissue Garcia is a very very slow Growing maple Very strawberry
So that right hand side has been done You can see the shape I hope you can see The shape can you see that shape that's Not been done So I'm going to tackle that side as well How long have you had this tree uh for 11 years 11 years yes was it that big to Begin with no it was approximately half The size of probably 30 40 centimeters I Bought it at the deetland gardens Gardening but because you've got it in a Large pot it's had a chance to go it's Almost like growing in the ground it's a Good stand on this trolley to reach the Top this must I I had it in smaller pots But every couple of years I would change Into larger pots and that's when I Decided to to call you and ask you to Come and have a look at it because I put It in a very big pot but I wanted to Reduce it I was just concerned about the Taproot and not damaging the Taproot When it was so now that is a manageable Size I could have taken it down further But I will lose a lot of these branches I could have taken them down to days and So on [Music] No no that's perfect that's okay all Right so now the hard work began so this Is where I want you to use your muscles Cheese away It's much of this Possible from the top and you'll get it
So we're just teasing the surface Roots As well and if you look carefully You will find that these roots are going Round and round the trunk this is what We call the start of the girdling root You see it goes around and if you're not Careful these roots will eventually Strangle the trunk I've had it happen to some of my big Nipples when I grew it for a long time In flower pots you remember I took out a Big tree with a crowbar and a pickaxe Wow that is what happened to it it was Left to their own devices so we're gonna Take these gardening Roots out you can Cut it with secateurs or whatever But this is the best time to do that So we're going to take those roots out So when I'm parting around I've seen one Very big thick boot which is starting to Go round and round like I said this Eventually will be a very serious Problem and it will strangle the tree so I'm gonna bite the bullet And Take that out There are enough fine roots to sustain The tree So I'm not fresh can I just get on here See You see how it's gone wrong it's gone Wrong Half circle already And when that root swells
You're going to have a real problem See when it's buried under the soil you Don't see it That's why Bon white people are clever Than ordering Gardens an ordering Gardener will just plant this and would Have a problem but because we like to Get the Cosmetics right it also Beneficial is beneficial for tree See that's what I'm getting on like that All that has to come out See if you didn't put around You would think that everything is Hunky-dory underneath it's not Okay so This is what we're going to do I don't want to show The entire process because we got to Handle the Camera as well So can you see that route started there And started going Halfway Around And we caught it just in time we would Have never seen it had we not Dug below the surface [Music] It's a very serious route You have to use all sorts of devices Saws loppers the lot So if you don't have a tool like that It's not not that easy So it's a combination of cutting And sewing Because this is a grafted tree
I dare say that the Understock is our ordinary Mountain Label And they are very very rigorous trees Okay you can stop doing that because Take a large chunks of router but some Of that I can't access so this is where I have to bring the ax out Even the secretaries can't do that As I say if you leave that root it will Go can you see it going round and round It will completely encircle the trunk And in time It would strangle the tree Nut happens Many a Time Okay so this is what we're going to do I don't know how long it'll take it does Take time Or badly embedded that I can't even get My secretaries in there I don't want to use a chainsaw blunted Blade Silky so because I want to play this one So the ax is the most efficient way So This will take a bit of time Just to show you what I've started doing Foreign So this is the danger of leaving things In pots for too long Flower pots Okay we'll show you again when we've Completed the task
S see how it takes that root is two or Three Roots I think it's Rich stuff used Yeah So we're not using Force we're just Using the right tool And using it correctly and gently Stop that route going round and round Maybe to have a good that one at the Door I think that's not bad we got it Away from the surface yeah you don't Want me to remove any more I'll try and Get through it that one if you chopped And it won't go wrong in there Yeah just severed Yeah that's okay okay now deal with this Because this on the surface and this one Out of here The one on the left hand side Because that's popping out on the top It's really raised isn't it And then we're going to create a nice Surface root really root system Many people have Garden trees like this And they ask me what to do so this is a Good example but luckily you put it in a Big flower pot or a big ornamental pot Unfortunately it was an in-curved pot You have to break it Okay So that gives you a flavor of what we're Doing So look at it we're using a bow saw to Cut the root like cutting cake see the Amount of soil we got out of this root
Bowl And there you are Can you pull that away create for me Yeah Can you lift it Okay lift it and let's see it lift it High Look at that Look at that one massive root so we can Now easily get into a pot that we can Cut off and we can test it about what's The branches do That is it We will not get it in the pot [Music] So this is the debris we got out look at It all these thick Roots we had to chop Off with the ax And that was the amount of saw that came Out on my great big trolleys look at the Soil old soil and all roots And we reduce the root bore to that size We chopped off those thick big girdling Root We got a better base for the tree And that is what the tree looks like You must admit that it's quite a Handsome tree It looks like a Mighty Oak Tree You can take another six inches but do It gradually you can eventually get it Down to about this size okay But it looks nice as it is okay yeah I Think it's got a very it's got a lot of
Character on there okay so we're going To put it in this Great big Chinese pot If you just clonk it in This is more or less the front Straighten jaw let's see what it looks Like That's a serious repotting job let's Check it [Applause] I think we still need to take about an Inch or two off here we are we've cut it Into This lovely Bonsai pot I'm using our Herons Bonsai mix which is 40 akadama Ever since I showed the repotting Video about a week ago we had a run On our soil We couldn't keep up with the demand but It's a superior sword I had Kevin Wilson Here and he was saying how good the soil Was Uh he's never seen compost as good as This So it's Paul copy the zacadonna so look at that Magnificent boom Style kyohime [Music] I would have reduced the top by another 30 centimeter but no matter let it go And then you can gradually get better Ramification a bit at a time So there you are you happy Craig That must be exciting thank you very
Much all right so we had a good time Thank you very much thank you [Music]
Creativity in writing is becoming a scarcity.
Between the constant temptation to dance for the algorithm and the staggering advance of artificial intelligence, our world is spiraling into what I believe to be a creative crisis.
For us to remain an emotionally-aware race, while at the same time pushing humanity forward, we must cultivate and champion creativity both in ourselves and in the generations to come and write as we feel.
This is why I’m dedicating the next decade of my life to exploring the subject of creativity as both an artist and teacher.
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James
My Bonsai Journey
