Harry HarringtonArtist and Author, Bonsai4me · Author, Publisher, Webmaster, Bonsai Artist

Hawthorn yamadori bonsai with Harry Harrington

26 Apr 2017 · 3 min

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2:56

In this video, Harry Harrington of Bonsai for Me introduces a large hawthorn bonsai, approximately 70 cm tall, that he originally discovered on an old coal slag heap in Greater Manchester in 2002. After about 18 months of in‑ground development, he collected and potted the tree in late 2003. Over the years the tree has been vigorously pruned, rewired, and grown in a large rectangular pot crafted by Victor Harris of Erin Pottery, chosen for its colour and bark‑like texture. Harrington explains his current focus on slowing the tree’s growth to encourage flowering within the next two to three years, describing his seasonal pruning strategy and recent rewiring of finer tips to refine the tree’s form.

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Good morning, my name is Harry Harrington of Bonsai for Me, and today I thought I'd show you one of my larger Hawthorn. This is nearly 70 centimetres tall, and originally collected from a field on an old coal slag heap in the Greater Manchester area 15 years ago. It's been in development with me ever since. As you can see, in 2002 when I originally discovered The tree looked very different. After around 18 months development of the tree in the ground, I then decided it was time to actually collect it, and it was dug up in late 2003, took home, and potted up. The tree has been very vigorous since. It's, um, of course had a lot of pruning over time, as most hawthorn are very vigorous. But at the moment I'm trying to slow the growth down in order that the tree can start to flower, and hopefully in the next 2 or 3 years we'll start having flowers appearing on it. The hawthorn is planted into this very large rectangular pot by Victor Harris of Erin Pottery, and it reflects the colour of the leaves as well as picking up on the actual bark colour and texture. The tree was rewired last autumn, and I rewired all of the, the finer tips just to lay them out as well as I could. At this time of year, I tend to allow the tree to to grow fairly freely while keeping a check on the growth in the, the crown or the apex of the tree to ensure that it doesn't become too coarse.