Last year, I tried this Ino Shukuho pot for the ginkgo. It was significantly undersized, but I though I could make it work.
Here is is in winter 2021.
Repotted into this Sara Rayner pot in March 2022Late May 2022October 2022
Clearly the tree had a weak growing season. Really the only difference was the too-small pot used last year. It will be interesting to see if next year is stronger. I will not repot it in 2023 and hope for a strong recovery.
Fall color
After leaf drop, I cleaned up the tree, lightly pruning the few extension shoots.
Since this tree has been grown exclusively through clip and grow, pruning to outward-facing buds is important for the structure.Additionally, some of the long and straight internodes are allowed to remain for fullness, but will eventually be replaced with other branches in the area with shorter internodes.Moss, while pretty, needs to be removed from the trunk to prevent too much moisture retention.Finally, a shot of the tree cleaned up and ready for winter.
I have been studying bonsai since 1994, in an ever-increasing obsessive fashion. In our last 5 years prior to moving from Iowa to Alabama pursuing a career in the foodservice industry, my bonsai collection was limited to a few varieties that could survive brutal winters outside, or winters under dim light in the dank basement of our humble duplex...my wife puts up with a lot. Including the trailer hitch I put on our brown 1983 Chrysler New Yorker to pull a U-Haul full of trees to Nashville for a 3-month stop along the career path that led us to Alabama. 12 years later, we no longer have the New Yorker; and not a single one of those trees remain on my bench, having given the last holdout to a new club member this summer. I prefer collecting native trees and buying the classical species used in Japan, feeding organic, and reading everything I can get my hands on.
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One thought on “A year in the life of a Ginkgo”
wow! still working on a pot. 6th. iteration of blue……nice tree.
Nebari Bonsai 
wow! still working on a pot. 6th. iteration of blue……nice tree.