If anyone saw Bill's exhibit at the Rochester symposium, or his commemorative
pamphlet, he has a cascade Chaenomeles 'Red Chojubai' to die for. Of course it
is about 25 or 30 years old. There also is a beautiful Chojubai on the Web that
belongs to a Japanese gentleman, A
HREF="http://www.remus.dti.ne.jp/~masumi-t/pic1/chojubai.jpg"chojubai.jpg (JG
Image, 800x600 pixels)/A. It is about 15 years old. He attributes its success
to growing the trunk in the ground.
I have to have a red Chojubai because it is the only temperate bonsai that
blooms for me in fall, winter, and early spring. I couldn't do anything with
Prunus mume (wrong summer climate) and true almond is subject to crown galls.
Now red Chojubai is a cranky, temperamental customer. I killed a couple before
this one. I have been growing this for 2 1/2 years as a cascade. It is fine,
except the tail broke or died back a couple of times (fortunately leading to a
nice taper).
No, it is not supposed to be falling off a cliff. Consider it as a tree hanging
over a garden wall. It is 3 1/2" tall with an 8 1/2" tail. It is potted in a
3.5" x 4" square pot (not the best choice but what I had on hand). I have the
basic trunk & branch structure the way I like it, but it looks flimsy. Not
enough leaves, probably due to last summer's heat. Trunk & branches sparse
looking. I can't put it in the ground because this cultivar is not hardy here.
I don't want to transfer it to a growing pot because I don't want to mess with
the tail. It is beginning to look like a bonsai, but I would like to beef it
up. Of course I know enough to feed it & give it full sun during the summer. I
also keep it with the pot at a 45 degree angle, to give the tail more light &
hormones. It spends the winter in my unheated sun porch. Can I cheat on
dormancy and put it under the lights in March? Any other suggestions?
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)