Old Hawthorn Stump Progression

Series

August 2001: Through 2001 and 2002, the tree slowly started to recover,
producing more buds and foliage as the years passed. By the Winter of 2002 I
decided it was time to prune back all of the existing growth in order to prompt
new buds from the trunk during the following Spring. This would allow me to
start developing a branch structure for this future bonsai.

May 2003: This image shows the Hawthorn budding out after the previous
Winter's hard prune. As with many other deciduous trees and bonsai, hard pruning
in late Autumn and Winter prompts strong budding from the trunk.
July 2003: Two months later and the new shoots had extended well; at long last
the Hawthorn had recovered its strength.
December 2005 After another 2.5 years the branches had started to develop well.
However, I was unhappy about the branch positions as the bottom two branches
were a little too low. Their removal was not a straightforward option as
conversely, the next lowest branch was higher than I would have preferred.

Finally, I decided to remove the lowest 2 branches (see the result below) and to
make the new first branch deeper and lower to compensate.
August 2006 The Hawthorn was planted into a new Erin Pot and it finally started
to look like a bonsai after nearly 6 years of development.
November 2006 The tree is given a thorough rewiring. It is possible to see in this
image how I had lowered the bulk of the first branch and its secondary shoots
with wire.
November 2007 The changes over the previous year have been subtle. My main
priority has been to thicken the lower primary branches (the branch sections that
actually grow from the trunk itself) while also increasing ramification (the number
of fine shoots at the tips of all of the branches). To this end, I allowed selected
shoots to grow freely from April to late June to encourage thickening of the
primary branches and then pruned back hard to encourage a flush of fine late
Summer growth and increase ramification. Unfortunately, one of the wettest and
gloomiest Summers on record resulted in a poor second flush of growth!

The bonsai is shown here after its annual Autumn tidy up and a thorough pruning
and wiring of the branches.

Bonsai dimensions: Height 21"/52cm, trunk diameter (above base) 3.5"/8.5cm