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Kojo-no-mai
http://weetrees.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=19044		 Page 2 of 3
Author:  cmarkr [ 25 Jul 2020, 21:46 ]
Post subject:  Re: Kojo-no-mai
stephec wrote:
Would you class this as one?

Bought for a fiver from Morrison's in March and planted in the only available spot in a border, it's probably doubled in size since then.

Imageqewfc by Bonsai stephec, on Flickr


Might be a Prunus Incisa but the defining zigzag branches are missing for it to be a kojo-no-mai in my opinion. Hard to tell scale but the leaves look a bit large/elongated too.

I've got a healthy shrub kojo-no-mai and the leaves started to take on a red tint a few weeks ago, looks like I might get a few months of autumn colour out if it.
Author:  stephec [ 26 Jul 2020, 11:09 ]
Post subject:  Re: Kojo-no-mai
Thanks Chris, it's about 15mm at the base, and some of the leaves are about 50mm long.

It's bulked up quickly since I planted it so I'll see what it looks like next spring.
Author:  stephec [ 08 Aug 2020, 11:22 ]
Post subject:  Re: Kojo-no-mai
I picked this up a few days ago at a nursery near Preston, the leaves look a little scorched but I'm hoping it should recover ok.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Imagewe by Bonsai stephec, on Flickr

Imagevb by Bonsai stephec, on Flickr

Imagesd by Bonsai stephec, on Flickr
Author:  stephec [ 08 Aug 2020, 13:43 ]
Post subject:  Re: Kojo-no-mai
Gary Jones wrote:
Here's one as purchased a few years ago.

Image

Do you have any current pictures please?

That looks similar to what I've just bought and I'd love some inspiration.
Author:  Gary Jones [ 08 Aug 2020, 17:20 ]
Post subject:  Re: Kojo-no-mai
I've found the main thing you need is to keep it shaded and well watered - perhaps a bit like a maple. I've had tremendous problems with die back on mine and it's only been recovering this last year or so. I will post a photo soon but sadly it's not particularly inspirational.

Kojo-no-mai is a bush not a tree and by that I mean it's small so the trunk will not easily grow big. Even ground growing it for many years will not necessarily give you much joy in terms of trunk size but it is of course one option. Most of them that you see are very small. In your case to fully "bonsai" it I suggest you will need to cut the main trunk off where the first significant branch emerges just below the label and also reduce that branch to around the gap in the middle of the label. The gives you the available trunk line. From there you can build your branches. Sadly this about a 90% reduction in the foliage.

The alternative is to go for a half-bonsai approach and keep most of the foliage and treat the whole tree as if it were a branch. You can ensure proper structure, good movement and fine ramification and will get a beautiful display of flowers each spring. I do this with a few trees I have, in preference to making them tiny.

The evidence for this is that the only Kojo-no-mai you will see in a bonsai show are mame or shohin sized ones at club shows. Paul's one on this thread is one of the best examples I've seen of Kojo-no-mai "Bonsai" but you can see how it's not a natural look for this species (which is a tendency to be bushy). I suppose a small delicate literati may be possible but I've never tried it. You will however see many shohin & chuhin half bonsai around. Many people seem to have one.
Author:  Gary Jones [ 08 Aug 2020, 17:30 ]
Post subject:  Re: Kojo-no-mai
The red lines show the chops for a smaller tree. I'm not suggesting that you do these chops now or at the same time but you should be able to get away with it next spring. The blue line gives you a silhouette that you may find acceptable.
Author:  Gary Jones [ 08 Aug 2020, 19:07 ]
Post subject:  Re: Kojo-no-mai
Here's the progression on mine. I doubt it'll be an inspiration but its honest about the history of this tree.

So that first year it had a basic prune. It flowered and then put out the foliage.

Image
Image

The following spring taking advice I took it right back to a single trunk.

Image
Image

It's then had some bad years with die back and limited growth so here it is this year (three years on) before and after a prune.

Image
Image
Author:  stephec [ 08 Aug 2020, 22:19 ]
Post subject:  Re: Kojo-no-mai
Thanks Gary, something a bit bigger than your blue line suggestion was what I had in mind, similar to your last but one photo.

So the best idea is to keep it alive until next spring the chop and shape it?
Author:  Gary Jones [ 09 Aug 2020, 11:20 ]
Post subject:  Re: Kojo-no-mai
tbh if you're not reducing it severely, you could prune it back a little now then re-pot in spring.
Author:  Keith Hansell [ 09 Aug 2020, 22:34 ]
Post subject:  Re: Kojo-no-mai
Here's mine

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=17404
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