Ready to pick up the tools and work on that tree in the corner of your collection? It may just require a couple of big moves and a bit of time and you will have a tree revitalised and ready for the next decade!
(Dec 23) An estimated +_40yr Brazilian Pepper tree (Schinus terebinthifolia, cashew family). The tree has seen better days! With great bark/ age and some good movement with the potential for interesting displays showcasing its fall fruiting, let’s see what we can do.(Jan 2025) Fast forward a year later, the tree has responded well to a repot. It was in a poor organic mix with very little quality rootage. Now in a mix of pumice and akadama and a deeper pot, the tree is doing well. The tree was also hard pruned back as evident with the Jin left behind. At the time of repotting this angle seemed a good starting point.After studying the tree it seemed appropriate to highlight this interesting root and therefore change the angle of the tree for the future design. A special feature is 1 of 3 elements in design decision making and can often be critical in making a tree ordinary or special. The suggested new front, showing off that interesting root in the back and some muscling in the trunk line. The work required to compact the tree involved bringing down the top of the trunk so it can become the lowest branch. Bending an old broadleaf evergreen branch is not for the faint of heart and required steady application. It’s not advisable to apply force in a manner that puts the root ball under tension, as depicted here (clamped to the table) as this force is tensioned by the tree tied into the pot, however this was an initial necessary temporary move that was then replaced with a guy wire to the tree itself, thereby removing the tension on the rootball.An old wound on the trunk near the bend site was undoubtedly going to be the area under careful review. As seen here the tearing required to manipulate the branch into the position needed. Seeing the initial tear is a sign you are reaching the limit, pushing it a bit further is always a risk but in most cases is required to achieve the goal. I decided to reduce the size of the Jin, notice the reddish heartwood colour. The wood is very hard and is often used in high-end woodworking. I prefer to avoid power tools and in this case it was torn using a large root cutter.The completed work. Creating a quality foundational structure is so important. It allows for the future work to build on this rather than replace. Although the lowest branch drops down, I lift the tip back up, this is not a conifer and therefore the line of the trunk is also continued upwards. My vision for this true is one that is displayed in fall for fruiting, and fully defoliated.
Two Islands Bonsai 
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