The EASIEST Way To Make An Ash Bonsai!

[@BonsaiDruid-qo9lo]

I love the movement in the trunk and primary branches on the 1st Ash! The little mame has a very interesting trunk, too. The multitrunk and 3-trunk groupings are just as expressive as the single trunks, I love that!

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Thanks so much - all of them have had those basic shapes from finding them in the ground :)

[@MrPirreE]

I Iove them too, most seams to shy away from trees with compound leaves, I think they give a character. I have a Japanese rowan (Sorbus commixta). Have darker bark and more glossy leaves than the native ashes here. And a nice feature with ash/rowan is that they put flowers and nice berries with age.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Something I will hopefully see in the future :)

[@sueb1317]

Lots of fun! You really have got some great movement in your trees. The group plantings look so natural and well-placed. Started some ash from seed last year so really looking forward to watching them develop. Those little black leaf buds are pretty cool!

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

They are definitely distinctive and at their best right now - the compound leaves are still small and dainty :)

[@suer666]

Great video again. I rescued an Ash from my daughters garden a couple of years ago. A bit chewed/styled by her dog.😂 I knew its not considered good for bonsai but it has a great trunk i couldnt resist

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Dog chewed are even better Sue! The only issue with ash can be managing the compound leaves...but truthfully, that isn't much different from trying to manage Redwood fronds? I love these for bonsai :)

[@t3dwards13]

I prefer organic soils because they're free, and I water much less often, which helps when I'm out of town.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I agree - I would struggle to manage these if I wasnt home everyday...and had no holidays either :(

[@kamil_grabowski]

I prefer an inorganic soil, but I get your point. ;) I have a feeling that there are to many people saying "this is the only right way to grow your bonsai."

[@t3dwards13]

I love the round pot for the first tree!!! It allows you to have both fronts...Although I suppose that's possible in other shaped pots as well. Lol

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I don't hink I will ever really be able to chose - it depends on my mood mostly :)

[@markjagger7139]

Excellent as always Xav

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Thanks for saying that Mark. It is a great hobby to have the time for :)

[@nerinat8371]

Both are lovely tree and the pots as well 😊thx Xavier

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Cheers Nerina - hope all is well with your collection as you run through Autumn :)

[@chrismarshall8321]

Nice work xavier. Love that 1st pot.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

It is definitely an old favourite of mine. I have the larger version of that for my Italian Alder.

[@karenconquest]

At 20:07 I see an Ent with it's arms waving about in the air!

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Definitely a potential Ent or two in this batch - I have a few more stashed away in pots for that purpose next year :)

[@harrietb2141]

Very nice trees ,and beatiful pots😍🌳🌳🌳

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Thank you - that first pot was probably the first one I ever purchased back in 2002.

[@Darkfire1300]

Alas! The Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) tree is a member of the rose family (Rosaceae). Although called an "ash", it isn't one (Fraxinus) which is in the olive and lilac family. Weird huh? You don't see them here in Boise very much any more because of their susceptibility to fire blight. And our ash trees are dying in droves because of the green ash borer. Love ash trees whether "mountain" or actual but not a good bet here.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Poor you - I shall make sure to keep one of my ash on your bench :)

[@marosbonsai]

Lovely trees, Xavier 👍 I have a couple of them, and I would say they are heavily underestimated as bonsai trees. I was repotting one in my last video. Maybe you saw it. Cheers.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Oops - I definitely need to play catch up with your high quality videos and material. I have finally reached the point where all repots have been done and I now have a restful couple of weeks before I hit the pruning :)

[@t3dwards13]

Just had to double check that you wanted pics of our "ash" at the end.😂

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

You can never be quite sure what you will get with that statement :)

[@bonsaiexpression]

Ive just pulled 2 ash out my garden thatbhave been growing for the last 3 years. We all love free trees. Oh e45 should sort that rash out too. 🤣 Good video Xavier 👍🏼

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Cheers Christophe

[@kamil_grabowski]

Mr Rhino seems to be a great bonsai guard. 😂

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Just a shame he is afraid of birds when there is any moss about :)

[@uppergorple]

Only ever tried one ash, a bent bargain from a nursery. Never really backbudded and the leaves never significantly reduced. Then there was a heatwave while I was away... Might have another go.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Strange - mine all backbud profusely...without doing anything special. I have never managed to reduc eleaf size but what I do is remove one or two of the leaf pairs on the compound structure. This seems to work well. Same issue i often find when working with the Dawn redwoods :)

[@FrostBiteBonsai]

Hmmmm.... We have several Ash types here as well. Mountain ash with the red berries. I think there are several kinds of Mountain ash too. The seed I collected from the Black Ash did not sprout. I will try again. I did collect a couple Mountain ash, but, no luck. Yours look great. They seem very smooth.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Thanks Marysol. These grow like weeds around here and you can literally pull them up in clumps :)

[@trybonsai]

Another amazing and informative video..we don't have Ash but it's really great to see🎉🎉

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Thank you - but I know you have so much more variety than we do :)

[@BonsaiForRoman]

In a video "forgot my front" - you are not alone with that 😂.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

That happens far too many times for me to be any good at this hobby :)

[@BonsaiForRoman]

@@XaviersBonsaiRetreat 😂

[@givetanks]

ash really like your ash!

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Thanks - such an underused tree in my opinion.

[@TheBonsaiGarden]

Not one I have in my collection - they have never appealed.😮 I’m not even sure I could recognise one in a line up. That first tree has some nice movement in it.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

They are probably all around your neighbourhood. You would recognise them from the '8-lobe' compound leaf :)

[@KennetDeBondt]

I like these: the new front on the first one is nice. Grts Kennet

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Thanks Kennet - the first tree is definitely a favourite of mine

[@Bonsaicrazy]

Great video xav My Tanuki is not doing so well xav may have to get more trees in autumn

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Oh no? Are you talking about your rhino larch or another one?

[@Bonsaicrazy]

@@XaviersBonsaiRetreat the big Tanuki xav

[@TheMrjoehughes]

It’s funny how amazed us English people are when the sun actually comes out and shines on the garden lol

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

So true - love your Stallone pic :)

[@bonsaikastur]

Ashes make excellent begginers bonsai, but very difficult advanced bonsai. You won't see many "finished" ashes. I started with ashes 30years ago, and still have 3 from that era. They still seem pre-bonsai

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

That is very interesting. Is there any chance you can send me pcitures of these - I would love to see how far you have got. Why do you think they are so difficult to 'finish'?

[@oachkatzlsmum]

Lovely trees, beautiful pots. 😍👏 My ashes (I’ve got some, growen from seeds) also improved nicely since last year. Although none of them flushed out a second time after pruning (in May). I wonder if you experienced similar behavior? Unfortunately there is an ugly disease which kills a lot of ashes in nature in my area. They propagate quite easy, so I hope they will overcome the disease. Anything like this in Britain? Cheers 🙋‍♀️ Martina

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I haven't enountered any issues with my trees but that doesnt mean there isn't the same problem around the country. I know the US get hit by problems too. Mine do produce a second flush...but it is not a certainty.

[@katedodd79]

​@@XaviersBonsaiRetreat - You are very lucky Xav. In my area of Coventry we must have the "ash die-back" disease in some local tress because over the past 4/5 years I have had 2 very promising Ash saplings and both had ash die-back and I lost them (even though I had just been letting them grow out, so no harsh pruning etc) 😢

[@thebrightsidepotteryandbonsai]

That looks like Ent potential that first one.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Definitely a future lays in Fangorn for this :)

[@bonsaisn]

Hello ❤

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Hi, thanks for dropping in to show your support :)

[@karenconquest]

ooops! 6:25

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I've rechecked that time point 3 times and I'm still not sure what you discovered :)

[@harrietb2141]

Hi Xavier

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Hi Harriet - how are your trees doing?

[@harrietb2141]

@@XaviersBonsaiRetreat not to good. It,s Very cold in Sweden, today its even snowing. I don’t have a greenhouse, but I have covered the benches with thick plactic , and PUT the new rootpruned ones under. I hope they make it 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@GrowingBonsai]

ooohw.. I just got an ash. I need to come and do an internship with you. Can I?

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Only if you want to learn better ways on killing bonsai :) You are always welcome - especially if you want to give me a crash course in Juniper later this year :)

[@GrowingBonsai]

@@XaviersBonsaiRetreat lets do this!!

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

@@GrowingBonsai I will have a spare room by August this year. You would be more than welcome 😁

[@brucedeacon28]

👍👌🙂

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Thanks Bruce

[@ScottTheExperimentalist]

lol re-poot 😂

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Cheers Scott - it is never a good thing to take life too seriously :)

[@mattb538]

But did you water it?!?😁

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Now I need to go back and rewatch the video to see what you were referring to :)

[@mattb538]

@@XaviersBonsaiRetreat You never showed, or mentioned, watering them. It's a standard for repotting videos.