just.wing.it
Deadwood Head
I was helping a friend replace a fence last spring. From below the fence, on his neighbor's side there was a Mulberry tree growing out. His neighbor, Steve, was well into hacking the ever-living hell out it, and said he had done so before, for several years. At which point, he split it in half, as if you were to spilt a slingshot stick in half lengthwise. My buddy, Matt, saw me looking at the half that Steve chucked across the yard. He said, "You should bonsai that thing!"
Honestly, I wasn't really even thinking about that... but as soon as he said it, I thought, "Eh, why not?" And it went into a black trash bag with a splash of water and one broken off root, and into the trunk of my car. The rest of the bottom of the trunk was still in the ground being destroyed by Steve.
The next day, I pulled it out of the bag and potted it up. The new bottom (future nebari) is the section that Steve peeled away from the main trunk. I think it's about a foot long, and I'm hoping that I get roots all the way around (because that would be a huge and crazy nebari). We'll see.
I don't have many pictures. Just 2 from the day I potted it in March 2024 and 2 from today, as it's starting to go dormant.
It grew well.
I hedged it down once.
There's dead material to remove, so the future trunk will have scars and holes.
I think this plastic pot is 18" wide. It's a nice, deep training pot.
Shield your eyes from the hideous sight of the Mulberry.
Birds stole 90% of my sphagnum moss top dressing.
Honestly, I wasn't really even thinking about that... but as soon as he said it, I thought, "Eh, why not?" And it went into a black trash bag with a splash of water and one broken off root, and into the trunk of my car. The rest of the bottom of the trunk was still in the ground being destroyed by Steve.
The next day, I pulled it out of the bag and potted it up. The new bottom (future nebari) is the section that Steve peeled away from the main trunk. I think it's about a foot long, and I'm hoping that I get roots all the way around (because that would be a huge and crazy nebari). We'll see.
I don't have many pictures. Just 2 from the day I potted it in March 2024 and 2 from today, as it's starting to go dormant.
It grew well.
I hedged it down once.
There's dead material to remove, so the future trunk will have scars and holes.
I think this plastic pot is 18" wide. It's a nice, deep training pot.
Shield your eyes from the hideous sight of the Mulberry.
Birds stole 90% of my sphagnum moss top dressing.
