Umbrella Tree Bonsai

I've been cultivating (and or killing) bonsai trees for about 6 years now. I've always taken lots of photos of the plants so I can see how they've changed over the years. The the first bonsai I have was a gift from my wife and daughter for my birthday in October 2006. Here are some photos to show how it has progressed (or regressed) over the years.

 

Here's the first photo I took of it in May of 2007. It was pretty bushy with large dark green leaves.

 

This is in March of 2008. I'd done some trimming but it's still pretty bushy but a bit more compact. It had been growing more on the right side and had looked very unbalanced.

Here it is in November of 2008. This particular plant has always been kept inside on a window sill. One thing I was learning was that the plants have to be turned once in awhile to get it to grow in all directions. It had been sitting in one position too long and all the leaves were turned in one direction.

This is in October 2009. Another thing you have to do is pay a lot of attention. This is just sad, I'd been neglecting all the plants all summer. If you don't keep them water, they start to loose leaves. I was also suspecting some rood bounding problems. You're supposed to replant a tree like this every 2-3 years. This one had been in the pot since at least October 2006. I pulled it from the pot, trimmed back the roots and all the branches before repotting in the same pot.

Here it is again in October 2011, two years after the repotting. It's looking pretty good. I've also starting doing some landscaping at the base of the tree, adding some large and small stones and a plastic frog.

November 2012. Another year of semi-neglect has produced some character, although it looks rather bleak. I have rededicated myself to the hobby. I've got 4 inside plants and 4 outside plants which is a manageable number.

I've done a bit more landscaping and am really satisfied with the base now.