Bonsai Club Auction

Tuesday of this week marked the date of the annual club auction at the National Bonsai Society. Having never been to an auction of any kind, I was really looking forward to it. I had also been waiting for some time to add some decent stock to my collection. So I attended, not knowing what to really expect. When I arrived I could see a vast number of trees all layed out in the centre of the room, so I made my way over to have a good look around. I was astonished at the variety of material, ranging from very small, raw material, and even well established show-quality bonsai. I made my way round and ear-marked any trees which I would like to bid on. There was one tree which immediately struck me, this was a large Chinese Wisteria. I decided this was my main target, and settled down to wait for the auction to begin. The auction began, and people began spending their money. I was surprised at the reasonable prices at which a lot of trees were selling, it really was a good source for obtaining new material at a decent price. So the time came for the Wisteria to go on sale, at first a couple of people began to bid on it, I left them to get on with it, already with a figure in my mind on which I would go to. The bids began to slow down, so I jumped in, and managed to secure the tree after a couple of bids, and way under my top limit.

I am incredibly happy with the tree, I think it is a real stunner. I was informed also that the tree is a regular flowerer, which is what Wisteria are grown for essentially. They can take upto 20 years to begin flowering, so this news was most encouraging.

So here is the tree, it stands around 66cm tall, measures about 5 inches at the base of the trunk, and has a root spread of about 7 inches.

 

 

 

This tree is now easily my largest bonsai in my collection, it is probably also the further along it's bonsai route. I am really looking forward to next year to see if it flowers. It is also a good chance for me to enhance my skills by looking after a tree with different needs to anything I currently own. I will clean up the base and remove the moss, and carefully remove any bits of moss from the trunk. I will do this to ensure there is no risk of rot to both roots and trunk!