Chamaecyparis Pisifera Bulevard

After the first real contact with the world of bonsai (visit of the beginner course with Thomaž Kovšca) I was full of enthusiasm and looking for a suitable material for the first "serious" work. I found a Chamaecyparis Pisifera Bulevardi) in a nursery near Ljubljana (April 2009), and notwithstanding the fact that this was the purchase of a plain bush I had considerably beginners luck and got a very solid material for the first serious work.

04-2009 - My first starting material

The first design (May 2009) was carried out at the Slovenian bonsai club workshop and with great help of Thomaž Kovšca my tree got its first design.

05-2009 - On the workshop 

05-2009 - The result of the first styling

After the first design I was confronted with many questions that were related to the care of a tree, how to achieve an optimal result for further development, how intensive should I water the tree, should I put the tree in full sun all day or just part of the day, what kind of fertilizer should I use, how often should I use the fertilizer, when and how often should I prune the tree ... a lot of questions with few answers.


Via different forums, articles, discussions with other “bonsai people” I found the answers and the tree developed nice, it survived the winter and in spring it was transplanted into the first bonsai pot (March 2009). Instead of normal soil from the nursery I used a mixture of Akadame (70%) and soil for conifers (30%). Wire from the first design was also replaced because it has already started to grow in the branches.

04-2010 - The tree one year after first styling

The pot is not yet final and will be replaced with a pot that will be wider, lower, and probably non-glazed and oval shaped.