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Apr 29
by Francesco Santini in Uncategorized 0 comments

Cupressus Sempervirens “Peroni”

It all begins with this cypress entering into my garden in 2017, after purchasing it from my dear friend Stefano. Although it does not have a thick, dark bark, like other Tuscan cypresses I was intrigued by its well-sized trunk and healthy vegetation.   The scale is of a lovely shade of green and there are no traces of disease.   The branches are properly sized. Too often, unfortunately, you see plants with newborn branches on very old trunks. Having properly-sized primary branches will enhance the cypress’s appeal.    Some of them have a common malformation of the branch attachment: this branch inclusion malformation at the junction weakens the connection of the branch to the tree causing the reduction of the stability in case of bending. The area with this malformation is definitely more brittle, so I always recommend to secure it thoroughly and never force the bend there.   In the high section of the trunk we can see the huge pruning scar which has already resulted in a small Shari. We will obviously have to let the cut disappear and widen the Shari as a result of the natural withdrawal of sap.   I had the chance to […]
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Jan 13
by Francesco Santini in Uncategorized 0 comments

Juniperus Chinensis

This Juniper is with me since 2009, the very same year I joined the team Franchi Bonsai in Pescia (Pt). The photo shows the juniper a few years before my arrival.   From the beginning, it was my duty to take care of the trees in the Museum and soon I was mesmerized by this specimen of Juniperus Chinensis. The massive growth of the last few years had narrowed down the possibility for the light to penetrate the inner vegetation, resulting in a weakening.  Here is the tree, in 2009, before being worked on.   The first thing to be done is a good cleaning and thinning of the vegetation, using the wire only to open up the branches and let air and light enter the canopy. Once the work was done, the bonsai highlighted a beautiful trunk with two swollen lymphatic veins that, going up along the trunk, come together in the highest part only. The colour of the vegetation is a deep green, a clear indicator of a strong and healthy foliage.  The first branch only is unfortunately weaker due to a previous parasite attack that has already been eradicated. With the thinning and the opening of the […]
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Dec 08
by Francesco Santini in Uncategorized 0 comments

Cupressus Sempervirens Arcobonsai

A cypress for Arcobonsai. I don’t think I’ve ever bought a tree in all these years simply by choosing from a picture. I just can’t do it!  I need to see it, touch it, walk around it to fall in love and decide whether to welcome it into my collection. Then, in 2019, a dear friend put this cypress up for sale on a social media and instantly I was so curious to get to know it properly.     After a little while I was standing in front of the cypress tree, which immediately won me over with some lovely details: a beautifully sized nebari and the dark bark on the trunk, enhanced by the already old dry wood. The lack of movement was counterbalanced by some features that would ensure a composition with a significant sensation of old age. The straight trunk, distinguished by an old shari, ends in a manageable way.  The strong and vigorous vegetation attests the excellent health of the cypress. In two seconds flat, the tree was at home! I never make hasty decisions and all newly arrived trees are simply cultivated for a year, at least. This cypress is no exception, so it […]
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Dec 08
by Francesco Santini in Preparation, Uncategorized 0 comments

the Massive Cypress

I adore cypresses! Besides being the typical tree of my beloved Tuscany, I see in this essence the perfect combination of strength and grace. Its unmistakable scent, its dark green colour and its grey, wrinkled bark are the elements able to make it my favourite tree. I bought this cypress in 2007 from a very dear friend. It was definitely not the container in which it had been placed that draw my attention, but rather the large, old trunk with its beautiful dry wood. The vegetation, allowed to grow freely, testified the excellent health of the tree.     From the large, compact trunk, there were two generously sized branches which, however, created an unsightly fork. The upper right branch was particularly long and cylindrical and the vegetation was very distant. The lower left branch was a different matter, with rich vegetation even close to the trunk. I began by shortening this last branch with a hacksaw. Then I move on to the upper branch, shortening it with a splitter, to highlight the wood fibres and create a natural effect; I leave only a little Jin.   This is a fairly drastic pruning as most of the vegetation is removed. […]
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Dec 08
by Francesco Santini in Preparation 0 comments

BUXUS – SOOKAN STYLE

I get back here with an update of the boxwood project already described in a previous article, (you can find it here: https://francescosantini.it/bosso-in-stile-doppio-tronco/ )  In 2017 the work had been up to this point:   In 2019 I decide to rearrange the foliage of this bonsai.  In the last two years the vegetation has grown and thickened. The two canopies are sparsely spaced and so we decide to lower the canopy of the smaller tree in order to create a more defined spacing between the two trees. For this task we use a metal bar that acts as an anchor for a guy wire. Boxwood does not have elastic branches, so moving large branches is usually laborious and time-consuming. I always recommend working in stages, making small periodic moves, tightening the guy wire several times a year. An interestingly remarkable aspect I recently realized is the pleasure of having my students (but above all my friends) work on my trees. I have always been jealous of my bonsai, but I must say that over time I have become more and more enthusiastic in sharing my work with friends and sometimes even entrusting it to them. This is the case of […]
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Nov 26
by Francesco Santini in Preparation, Working 0 comments

Juniperus Chinensis var. Itoigawa

The juniper in this article is a Juniperus Chinensis var. Itoigawa which I saw for the first time in 2003 in my friend Roberto Raspanti’s garden. After a few years in the collection of another dear friend, Marcelo Michelotti (who did the first shaping), it made its way into my garden in 2007. The vegetation of Itoigawa is distinguished by its bright green colour and small, strong scales. It is a variety that can provide a definition and detail of the pads other varieties cannot.   In 2008, after a year of preparation, the first shaping took place. In particular, a large part of the vegetation on the right side was eliminated, thus obtaining two results: the freeing of some trunk movements that were hidden and the formation of a bonsai with a leftward movement. From a balanced foliage we pass to a foliage that is clearly shifted to the left side, The first branch is pushed further towards the front using a metal rod. Before working After working Back, right and left side respectively The bark of the juniper is normally cleaned with brushes in order to highlight the red/orange colour of the living parts in clear contrast to […]
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