Unique Bonsai Contest: Entry #1 – Honeysuckle 9/30/09

This little Boxleaf honeysuckle (Lonicera nitida) belongs to Ferry Freriks of the Netherlands. Though it has room for improvement, still it’s a decent example of what you can do with a well chosen nursery plant, a few tools and a little time (four years in this case). The pot, in Ferry’s words, is “cheap Chinese.”

A better pot
This tree is on it’s way to becoming a worthy shohin bonsai. One of the surest ways to speed up that process is to put it in a better pot. Something just over half as deep would make the strong little trunk appear even stronger and something a whole lot nicer would dramatically improve the overall effect (a bonsai is a tree AND a pot).

The trunk
The trunk is this tree’s strongest point. Not only is it thick and powerful, but it’s got a nice little flare at the base. My only question is; what’s that stuff sticking out on the bottom right?

The roots
It’s hard to tell in this photo, but it looks like there is a root that comes off of the trunk and crosses over the only visible surface root. This crossing, up-too-high root detracts from the tree and should be removed. Hopefully, other surface roots can be developed over time to balance out the one decent looking root that we can see.

The first branch
It looks like the first branch on the right is a thick little stub with another longer branch growing on top of it. If this is the case, the little stub should probably be removed. In any case, something should probably be thinned out as the right side looks a bit like a jumble of branches.

The foliage
The foliage looks pretty good with those nice small leaves. Overall, it could be filled out a bit more, but still, not bad.

Anyone else want to comment?
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