Enjoy a few photos of my bonsai tree.
This is a Western Hemlock. Not to be confused with poisonous hemlock, this coniferous tree is harmless. In fact is has many uses in Native American culture, including using the inner bark as a substitute for flour to make bread.
If I was dying of hunger, I imagine the needles might offer some small nourishment to eat too. They smell like sweet lemon pine when plucked. So it could even be used as a perfume to hide one's scent. It might even do well in a tea.
The lovely short-needle canopy of this tree makes it ideal for bonsai proportions. It responds in the most ideal way when pinched and pruned, because it forms a new bud below any wounded area. It does this all season long. On most other trees, shortening the internodes between refined branches can be very tricky, but Western Hemlock makes it a cinch.
Something about this tree has a nature that is hard for me to describe. More than many other trees this one has always felt like a companion to me. A bit like a dog or child that stays quiet and never lingers far away, always tagging along. Maybe because it hides within plain sight, but always looks untroubled, it has that effect on me. I have grown to love this adaptable tree.
The only special needs this tree has, I discovered early on when the needles were losing color in Spring, is to not plant it in full 100% inorganic rock soil. In nature, it grows under the shade of tall forest trees, and so it appreciates a heavily composted soil, made by tree litter and small plants that scatter along the forest floor. I used last year's aged compost to mulch this tree, and that seems to help it stay normalized.
ID: 0030
Nickname: ??? (Unnamed)
Type: Western Hemlock
Age: 1 year
Grown: seed (from nursery stock)
Last repotting: February 2, 2019
Last Wired: August 20, 2019
More articles displaying this tree:
Let me know if you can think of a good nickname for this tree. I think this tree has a lot of potential value for the future.
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Photos in this post are all #originalworks by
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#western-hemlock #green #needles #green #native-tree #native-plant
