Description
The Cedrus family of trees are not so commonly seen as bonsai subjects but generally make good and rewarding projects. They are, on the whole, relatively easy to grow and respond well to bonsai techniques. My Hillier tree ” bible ” lists four species but concedes that many authorities consider there to be only C. libani and C. deodar, with all others geographical varieties of the above. C. libani is thought to have been first introduced to the UK in about 1645 so it has had a long time to acclimatise !
This example is the Cyprian cedar and features arguably the best foliage type of all the cedars for bonsai use. Just look at the close up photo of the lovely fine delicate green needles. Like all examples you are likely to see in the UK this tree will be from garden or nursery origin material grown by the horticultural trade. It would be interesting to know if it is available to enthusiasts in Cyprus, where it is a native, as yamadori [ wild collected material ] This tree featured a pretty straight up and down trunk with little character so inclining the tree and creating the deadwood feature, shari, has added interest. There is a small carved feature created to disguise where the upper part of the trunk was removed earlier. The inclination also made better use of the minimal branch options all emanating from the top of the trunk. However, on those branches there is a plethora of secondary branching and ramification with which to define and refine the image. What has been created is a piece of part styled material that is quite compact but with a really heavy trunk just waiting for further development. It has a height of 40cm. so chuhin in bonsai size class though in truth it ” feels ” a bit bigger than chuhin should be ! Branch spread is 65cm and the spread across the trunk at soil level is 13cm. some way above this the trunk diam. is 7cm. The oval plastic trainer is 43x35x14cm. This is a nice example of a scarce, sought after species with great potential.
