Every once in a while a gamble
pays off. Late in 2004 I was offered some trees I had never heard of from
northern China. Syzygium buxifolium I discovered is a member of the myrtle
family and is very tough. So with no more information than that I ordered the
trees.
When the trees arrived I was
delighted but apprehensive. The evergreen foliage is fantastic, light green with
fine red twigging and a beautiful tiny leaf form. The trees looked very sorry
planted in scabby old pots in red clay.
In spring I carefully washed away
all of the clay and planted the trees into good bonsai pots in pure akadama. The
initial response was trees that just sat and sulked whilst the trees that were
not re-potted grew well. However by mid-summer the situation had completely
reversed. By October the re-potted trees had roots literally climbing over the
sides of their pots.
Early autumn and, as this tree had
grown so well I decided to complete it's first styling. Wiring is very difficult
as the fine growth is easily broken.
Just two weeks later and new shoots are beginning to emerge, in December!
Fei Lian is the Chinese god of the wind, direct translation would be "flying
curtain". I thought this seemed appropriate.
