A Japanese dwarfed tree may be considered as the product of
2,000 years of experience: a perfectly proportioned miniature
which has been tenderly raised and trained over several years by
secret methods which have been handed down from generation
to generation. It may live for over a hundred years without any
appreciable enlargement, yet in its early maturity it can have a
gnarled, aged and weatherworn appearance, with, perhaps, the
grotesque shape of some characteristic symbolism. In its way, it
is a work of art involving immense patience, care and skill.
Such trees can be bought but their prices are, of course, high.
Their value increases with their age and with fine and rare specimens may run into tens of pounds.
However, there is no reason why anyone should not raise their
own miniature trees by a simplification of the Japanese method.
It is a fascinating pastime which can give you a new conception
and affection for things of the garden generally and a redoubled
interest in the minigarden.
SIMPLIFIED JAPANESE METHOD
A miniature of any kind of tree can be raised, although they
vary immensely in difficulty. They are started from seeds or
cuttings in exactly the same way as for normal growth, including
that extra little nursing and nourishment Nature asks for infancy.
Rooted seedlings are transplanted into small pots and subsequently trained by continued pruning of roots and growths and
by twisting or shaping. It will be about two years before they
are ready for the minigarden, and three to five years before they
may have developed all the characteristics (such as flowering and
fruits) of the parent tree.
The types which normally co-operate most readily are conifers,
maples, oaks, beeches, prunus varieties (cherry, plum, etc.),
sycamore and birch, and sometimes wistarias. Apples, oranges,
elms, chestnuts, shrubs and most common hardy varieties do
well. All types can be attempted with reasonable chance of
success, depending largely on the care and attention given and
providing that the seeds or cuttings have come from fertile and
healthy stock.
The methods of propagating are described in Chapter XIII.
The dwarfing process does not come into operation until the seed
has germinated and grown into a seedling one to two inches in
height; or, in the case of a cutting, until it has rooted. When
this stage is reached, and not until then, the dwarfing process
can begin.
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