Potting the Tamarack

This last Thursday I spent the day repotting, and among the trees addressed that day was the Tamarack.

The handsome blue/gray container for this plant was made by the late American potter, Don Gould. He was from eastern Pennsylvania, and one of the distinguishing features of his pots was a centrally located, keystone shaped drain hole:

Here is a look at his signature and chop, on the bottom of the container:

One of the weak points of this Tamarack is its base, with the elongated root sticking out horizontally from the right side as one looks at the tree from the front. When the tree was donated to us, it came with a rock planted at its base on the opposite side from the offending root, in an attempt to create a counterbalance. I left that stone in place through many repottings, but ultimately decided it did not really help matters and finally removed it. It has been my observation over the years that a bonsai with a rock or rocks around its base has usually got something to hide.

This year I decided to try something I have been considering for awhile - shifting the tree to the left of center in the container. Deciding the visual movement of a formal upright tree can sometimes be a coin toss, as is the case with this Tamarack, I think. One benefit I hoped to derive from the move was a more favorable positioning of the problem root, allowing it more room as opposed to being hard against the right hand side of the container. I am not certain that worked, but I like the look of the tree positioned as it is now, anyway: