This is my second or maybe third Taxus or Yew I purchased for Bonsai purposes. The first one or perhaps two slowly died and I had no idea why? I could never put my finger on why they died. They simply just did not do well. International Bonsai Master Larry Jackel informed me that that they should be growin on the east side of my house preferably in a cool location. Well that was going to be a problem. I have tried just abut every side of the house execpt the north side. Finding a Yew in a local nursery with a big trunk is a challenge. I finally found one looked like it might make a good cascade or semi-cascade and it did not cost a lot of money. I brought it home and the next spring placed the tree into a recycled Tokanome vase I found on Ebay. The Ebay vase cost me $40 and I drilled a hole in the bottom of the vase now making it into a Bonsai pot! The tree was left alone and things were not going well. I did try styling the next year and it looked ok for a little while and then the tree started goingn down hill. It was slowly dying back and my very long cascade branch was now half dead and I had to cut it back. Last year it looked pretty sick to tell the truth. This spring I put it down on the gravel under 30% shade cloth and fertilized it with Plant Tone an organic fertilizer. I also added some Azaela fertilizer to. I was shocked the tree loved it and started growing all over with lush new green growth. New branches, dark green needles, all over to. I brought the tree into the garage and gave it a tune up. Added some new wire, repositioned some of the branches and cut a few of the new ones off. It does not look to bad right now. The deadwood is new. It does need several more years of refinement. I do know where it will be growing next year (2022), right in the same spot as in 2021. A couple more years of good growth and filling it should make it look pretty good unless I kill it?! I am not sure what type of Yew it is. I think I might still have the label somewhere?
All in all around a $100 investment for the tree and pot. Not to bad. It is now fun to work on and I am excited to see how it responds next year 2022.
If you need a really tall cascade pot look at Tokoname pots on Ebay. They can be found in many different sizes and shapes. You can drill a hole them if your slow and careful and keep the hole wet while drilling.
Gallery 10-01-2021:
