Alex Serban - gardening and bonsai

       It past a whileee since I wrote the last blog... it was 2024, right?   Where I have been? Busy as usual, as 2024 was another difficult year, followed by deceptive times and lots of difficulties.      Fig.1.Bonsai forest in 2024      Fig.2.Bonsai forest in 2024. The bonsai forest developed a lot since the last blog, it was repotted and trees developed astonishing canopies and branches, yet the leaves still remain big. Unfortunately I lost one tree after I've been away for a long time, nobody was home and trees were crowded in their former pot. The tree was replaced following spring.     Fig.3.Repotting process The forest was repotted in 2025, amid my health decline. Luckily I found a tray that included all trees properly. The old pot was just a tray for chicken meat- trees grew quite well within that, though the soil was recycled and back in 2022 I was so hopeless in the project. I...

  April started with sunny and warm weather. Trees were already blooming, I got a chance to photograph those in a hurry (fig.1). As usual, I went out of town and I left the forest in the care of thirty parties.       Fig.1.A lilac in full bloom, early April a.c.   I made an unfortunate discovery upon my return home. The bonsai forest broke dormancy too early (in my opinion) during February. Temperatures were over 8°C, no blizzard, sunny days and an "optimistic breeze" that spring would come early. And it came... and went on.         Fig.2.Bonsai forest as of 23/4/2024    One of the "pioneer" trees is slowly dying.       Although it got a proper start in late February, one of the trees got a slow start. Unfortunately, I wasn't home to change place of the pot so all trees can have equal sunlight. The four ones got bigger and bigger, the fifth one being unable to surpass the growth of its "br...

   I know I didn't write anything about my project in a year, but in one word, it's good.    For the moment, it successfully passed the winter and yesterday it was its second (infamous) birthday since 2022. Yay... I wrote its backstory in an earlier blog, so let's see how it looks now.         Fig.1.Forest as of 16/3/2024  The forest broke dormancy in mid February. I was so baffled and worried at the same time, one point because this winter was literally the most difficult one since I was a kid and second point, it broke dormancy in a few days after I pruned it.   As usual, I prune it once a year, because Acer Negundos got a chaotic rhythm of growing and I am restricted to this point when I can't make too much pruning.         Fig.2. Detail.   Probably I would look like a clown trying to bonsai such a tree species, with literally none of the desired features for bonsai, but... th...

  It's almost mid April and the weather was hm, rainy. My expectations of a sunny warm April broke within minutes when one morning I woke up and saw the snow in early April, I already knew how the weather will be.    My "Acer Negundo" shed its leaves as usual in mid March a.c, and as of 3/4/2023, it already released its powerful green in a time when outside temperatures still got under -1°C.     Fig.1.The forest in mid March     Fig.2.Snow in April, 2023   The snow was quite unexpected and really screwed my schedule, as (luckily) I was home and hadn't any business somewhere. The day before was a bright sunny day and I left my bonsai forest on its regular place, watered and ready for spring.    When I woke up, I felt uneasy and contacted my sister and move inside some of my potted trees that broke their dormancy and are now in full force.       Fig.3.My trees in early April 2023   Th...