The Curly Willow is one of my oldest trees, marking the years since I first started my bonsai hobby.

In this article, I'll be sharing some photos of the Curly Willow tree as I work on inspecting the soil and root layer to improve the drainage.

Each time I post an article featuring my trees, it also acts as a permanent record to help me chronicle the passage of time as my trees grows. One day I'll be able to look back and learn from my mistakes, or look back fondly on a tree after it's gone.

Historical Information

ID: 0013
Nickname: Elphaba
Type: Curly Willow
Age: 7 years
Grown: cutting
Last repotting: 2016?
Wired: Never

Tree of Witches

Two magical wands gripped by two green witches fingers give this tree named "Elphaba" her deserved nickname. Elphaba is the name of the Wicked Witch of the South in the Wizard of Oz, as told in both the book and musical "Wicked".

Examining the Surface

The black cauldron contains a mixture of my own bonsai soil and the witch's weird spells. Green moss is overflowing the rim of the pot. A strange weed has sprouted, with roots boring deep down.

Other than the decorative rock and my pouch of fertilizer, the entire surface has been coated with green.

Removing the Moss

Using a hand rake and a chopstick, I carve out all of the moss until I find good bonsai soil underneath.

Small little tree roots are wiggling around here. The roots I noticed were not growing into the moss, but only just underneath. The roots are growing well into the rocks and clay, where they can find water, air, and food made by the microbial life that also calls this soil its home.

A New Soil Layer

New soil has been added to dress and cover the fine root hairs. The ideal soil mixture is a combination of pumice, lava rock, and akadama.

Portait Views

In celebration of weirdness and things I do not fully understand, yet appreciate, I decided to leave the little weed alone.

Now the weed continues to grow through winter beside the tree. Normally I would pull weeds out, but sometimes I allow them to linger if they do not seem to be disturbing the soil or the tree.

One year I even planted some sweet peas to grow and crawl around this tree. It did a good job of acting as a trellis for the pea flowers to cling too. On a hot day, the sweet peas provided some needed shade.

Later in summer I did have to prune back the peas because they were shield the tree leaves from much of the sunlight. They finished their ornamental purpose, and the flowers had faded, and would have been removed anyway.

Eventually this little weed did fizzle out in late Winter I discovered.

Whatever it was doing there, its purpose has ended. And now its roots will decompose and become food to nourish the deepest tree roots.

---

Photos in this post are all #originalworks by @creativetruth, unless stated otherwise.

Find me on discord and chat with other tree growers, bonsai enthusiasts, and gardeners. We have quite a few accredited experts filling out our ranks, and a helpful Spanish-speaking community.

#teambonsai

No memberships. Love trees. Make friends. Grow together.

---

#curly-willow #twisted-willow #soil #bonsai-soil #root #roots #rootlets #jin #deadwood #dead-wood #wand #witch #weed #moss #tutorial #diy