Little Santa and the sycamore
Deadwood, living shoots and a rootball full of hitchhikers.
The spruce is labelled Little Santa. Most of its deadwood has been removed, with a few pieces kept in case they add character to a future bonsai. There are plenty of fine green shoots on both the trunk and living branches.
The sycamore’s rootball looked worse than it was: a lot of the roots trailing down the sides belonged to its hitchhikers. Its new leaders will need time to grow into something more majestic.
The dead upper trunk could become a carved deadwood feature. It might not make a traditional bonsai, but it could make an interesting one. For now, it is a prospect rather than a finished design.
Both trees were tidied and put back in their existing pots for overwintering. Neither was pot-bound yet, so there was no need to repot them.
Roots checked: Norway spruce ‘Little Santa’ → · Sycamore →
