Fat Euonymous

This past fall Flex and I did some carving work on this tree. It was a great learning experience and the tree is now pushing buds out. Perfect time to re-pot, so I jumped on it. This was another that was over-potted and had good vigor last year. When I removed it form the pot the roots were extremely healthy and dense. Exactly what you want to see.

I cut the roots back moderately and stuffed it into a smaller pot with better proportions for the overall design I'm shooting for. The branch on the right will have to be reduced over time, but you can already make out a couple strategic buds that I'll develop into key branches in just the right place.

The tree does look top heavy, but the plan is to keep working the apex back over time to lighten the top...I'll do this while developing side branches so it all balances out. In the meantime, foliage covers all this mess during the growing season so it's still nice to look at.

Big Box Azalea

Re-potted my "big box" azalea...recall this was way over-potted with lots of extra root mass. So I took it down to what I think are about the correct proportions. It was a pretty hard chop but I think it should be ok. Still letting it fill in, build vigor and develop before I start really shaping it. But it's getting to the point where this tree needs to settle into a long term direction. After flowering I'll sketch out a form, then cut back the crossing branches and continue to pinch the crap out of it. We shall see...

That's a neat little Ron Lang pot I think will look really nice with the bright purple flowers.