Whoah there little bonsai, you’re getting so big…..

 Ahhhhhh!!! It’s gonna eat me! It’s the mouth tree from hell, the Whomping Willow’s carnivorous cousin, the Chomping Willow……leaf ficus.

Actually, it’s this tree

 It’s kinda wild looking from afar too; you may remember this (and other) popular trees from the previous post  Total Willowleaf Ficus Drama!

If not, then go click on the link, ya jerky!

Look at this.  This is today.  Now look at this.    This was a year ago. 

This was a reapplication of wire (as I recommend) to scar the tree in the opposite direction.
 Let’s look at today again, one year later.    Hmmmmmnnnnnn……I’d hazard a guess that, in one more year, you won’t see the wire scars at all. Told you so! And that big maw, the big gaping wound…..

 this was a year ago.

And today.

 Purty darn good, I’d say. Now, should you read that previous post (and you should, it’s a durn tootin’ good yarn) you’ll know that I want to keep the scar in the final design of the tree. So at some point I’ll have to recut it. But not today. Today I’d like to talk about pot.

Yeah, it’s 4:20 in the afternoon as I write this, the thunderstorms are building and getting ready to light up….the sky with lightening and crash the silence with the cacophony of natures fury. The dark, boiling sky forbodes a deluge while the wind shakes the trees, scattering leaves in my hair. I stand at the tallest point in my nursery (on a milk crate) and I welcome the storm. I am the Lizard King, I can do anything……

Sorry. Ummmmmm, yeah….the tree.  

See this branch? It was the apical branch that was bent over to form a side branch (this is a technique I use often, it builds structure so you have a good looking tree,but it’s usually not permanent)   It’s too thick for the top of the tree (branches should be thicker at the bottom and get smaller the higher they are in the tree. This goes along with the idea of taper). It’s time to cut it out.  Especially as there’s a branch behind it to take its place.  

  At this point I’ve already defoliated the whole tree (sorry to those who like to watch the undressing part). That’s better.   

The first branch is really starting to ramify.   

Just a little wire……..  

……one half hour later and a lotta wire….  Next, after that extended pot contemplation, it is pot time.    There are several contenders. 

This dreamy, starry night rectangle.  

Just a little too small. 

A Bellota pot, oval.  Way too small. Nice pot though. 

A Chinese oval, unglazed?    Too shallow. 
How about this Erin pot?  Oh yeah! Nice fit!  
 

When I say an Erin pot I mean that’s the company that makes it.  They’re a father/son team out of the British Isles, I’m thinking. This is a  totally unsolicited plug but you can click here for their website. 

Before I finish, here’s a new tree I want to show you.  It’s a Willow leaf ficus root cutting.  I’m very excited about it.  

 Innit’ sweet? Look at that line!

And, to revisit the link I posted above, here’s an update on that Legacy tree I have of Juan’s. This was how you saw it last.   

And, after a year’s work.   I think he’d appreciate it. 

Ok, now for the big reveal (not so big, I showed it on Facebook already, just not with all the snark, commentary, and filler) 

 Looks good in that pot. Thank you Mr. Erin and son. That’s not really their names, it’s just funny. Reminds me of a joke my 6th grade teacher told to a female student one St. Patrick’s day. Her name happened to be Erin and he said “Hey, happy St Paddy’s day! Erin go bra-less?” 

Yeah, I know, he’d be in jail in today’s world but this was almost thirty years ago. People are just not so tolerant of bad puns nowadays. What is this world coming to? 

Did you hear the one about the cross eyed teacher? He got fired because he couldn’t control his pupils…..

Sometimes I feel like a broken pencil…..pointless. 

If you think this writing is bad, you should read a piece I wrote in the 11th grade for the drama club, on puns. It was a play on words. 

I bet your wishing, about now, that the guy who told the first pun died a horrible, painful death. If so, it was probably a killer pun. 

And I’ll leave it right there.