It’s time for some progress reports.

Here are four trees I’ve been working on. One tree you’ve never seen before, unless you’re a Facebook friend, on Instagram or the /r/bonsai board on Reddit.

Here they are before work:









Well, the last one above I worked on and removed the wires about 2 weeks ago and I wanted to show it and the summertime growth habits of the ilex schillings.

Lets start with The Pig.

Today it looks like this





The first post I wrote on it was here and it looked like this:



The second post was here and it looked like this:



The last post was this spring. The growth here



is all this year.

If you read the last progression piece you’ll see that I didn’t remove the wire then. Now it’s time.





I’ll probably only do one more major trimming in the fall with some wiring thrown in.

Next we have the crepe myrtle from this post here

This is how we left it less than a month ago



And now



Yes indeedy, I would call that a foot of growth, at least



The technique here is to cut the new growth back to 2 sets of leaves. And removing some of the big leaves.



It’s too early on some of that new growth for wire but it will need it soon.



As far as deciduous trees are concerned, the crepe develops faster than any of them. I will do this at least two or three more times to this tree before winter.

Next, introducing this magnificent, hollow trunk ilex.



This was the tree earlier in the spring



The work on this entails removing the wire and trimming



I know what’s going through your minds: it doesn’t look much different than the first styling.

It doesn’t. Until you look at the thickness of the branches and the new secondary branching that’s on it.

The ilex will, after you cut it hard, bud back profusely; I cut back more than half of the new growth. In a few weeks time it will fill in again.

I am amazed at the extensive hollowness of this trunk.



And yet, the vigor of the tree is not slowed down at all by it.



Which brings us to this tree





I trimmed and unwired it about two weeks ago.

It was first shown here and looked like this





I had trimmed it just as severe as the two previous ilex and its filled in again



As I did with the three previous trees, I chose not to wire it either.

In the summer I like them to grow unrestricted and not have to worry about wire cutting in.

I reapply fertilizer and a pre-emergent weed preventer and now at least these four trees are ready for summer.

I’ll revisit them in early fall and post some pics then.

The next update post will be on this monster.



I’m going to time myself to see how long it takes me to get it back to shape all by my lonesome while taking pictures too.

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