Curly Willow: Casting off blackened limbs teaching me respect for life and death [Bonsai]
In my part of the world, Autumn is here, and my little bonsai tree collection is rapidly preparing for winter.
My wiggly willow pictured here had already lost most of its leaves. It is already storing green energy into the healthiest branches, and sacrificing the weakest ones to die. Eventually the blackened branches will fall off naturally, however this is a source for disease and fungus to form on a tree, so I decided to give this tree a helpful trim.
Before we look at the effects of cleaning up this tree of dead limbs, let's check out its past history as I've shared so far on Steemit:
ID: 0014
Nickname: Medusa
Type: Curly Willow
Age: 5 years
Grown: cutting
Last repotting: 2016?
Wired: never. Wood wedged the limbs apart 2017. Tied limbs downward 2018.
Past Posts (featuring photos of this tree's growth stages):
- The Gorgon Saint
- Trimming the Curly Willow in Winter
- Fantastic Tour of my Spring bonsai collection
- Caring for Bonsai Trees during a Heat Wave
Here after the trim, you can see only the healthy branches were left remaining. All the blackened dead wood was removed. I use bonsai cutters to make sure the cuts are flush to the trunk and branch, which allows the wounds to heal over more cleanly.
Over time the green wood will swell and fold over the wounds, leaving only a small knot in the wood, and new buds will often form on a willow near these knots.
.jpg)
One of the more interesting growth traits about growing Willow as a bonsai tree is that the branches are very long and flexible as they grow.
Traditional bonsai masters tend to dislike the tree for this reason, because the shorter small branches that they worked so hard to develop will often die off in the winter, leaving only the thick and long spindly branches. Wiring the branches into place tends to leave strong indents in the branches. This is due to Willow's nature of absorbing larger amounts of water from the roots than other trees do, which swells the branches and makes them flexible. Even after months of wiring, the branch will often snap back to its original upright form.
I try to use this to my advantage, by tying those long branches down into loops. Next year, new small branches will form along the top edge of all of the arching branches I formed. When I untie the branches next Spring, they will have already hardened into a permanent shape. The thickest parts of the tree become an area swelling with small new stems every year. As long as the center of the tree survives, there is no need to fret losing the smaller weak branches every year. The smallest branches will always die off, and then return next year. As the bonsai gets older, it will have more and more places along the tree for new shoots to appear from.
source: pixabay
This is the nature of Willow. Often seen growing near a pond or in a graveyard. The Weeping Willows especially reminds us of the sadness of losing a loved one. Every year the willow grows into almost an entirely new tree shape, as many limbs are sundered and discarded. Half the tree dies, but the spirit of the tree remains to invigorate a new generation of new leaves. The weeping willow especially is inspiring because the branches dangle downward, as if lamenting and paying its respects for its departed family.
Photos in this post are all #originalworks by @creativetruth, unless stated otherwise.
Find me on discord and chat with other tree growers, bonsai enthusiasts, and gardeners. We have quite a few accredited experts filling out our ranks, and a helpful Spanish-speaking community.
Bonsai!
| Account Value: $1,474.16 | Votes Given / Received: 4,014 / 9,352 |
| SP: 1,808.255 | Posts / Comments: 245 / 1,837 |
| STEEM / SBD: 0.753 / $7.057 | Delegated In / Out: 187 / 180 |
| REP: 62.898 | Followers: 1,622 / 195 following |
| Curation Rewards: 1.646 SP | Author Rewards SP / S / SBD: 2.547 / 0 / 0.534 |
| STEEM In / Ex = 0.811 / 0.79437 | BTC / ETH/ LTC = 6555 / 205 / 52.6 |
| SBD = 0.97790 | Gold/Silver oz. = 1,222.40 / 14.61 |
For everything you lose in this world, remember to give back again to start anew. Let the tears of sadness cleanse the soul. Death is an ending. Renewal is forever.
Very interesting post on the nature of willows. I love the careful, thoughtful, patience nature of bonsai. We often admire those traits which we lack. I think thats why I am drawn to your posts.
Bonsai is not my thing but this post really caught my eye, with it's description of the cycle of seasons for this willow and the bright sunny photo to open.