II: Hornbeam
My true feelings about bonsai.
Good morning. Today is duodi, the 12th of Germinal, Year CCXXXI. We celebrate le charme, a tree with wood as strong as iron.
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This tree is all about strength. Its various names include ironwood – for the ability to use its heartwood as a decent replacement for steel – and musclewood – for its bulky appearance that implies it's been hitting the gym, so go ahead junior, give it a punch in the old abdominals. It doesn't turn up much in anything that needs to be intricately carved or assembled, but if you need a block of strong wood, a sturdy peg, or tough white-bark flooring, hornbeam is the way to go.
Some of the most dramatic bonsai in the world are pruned from Korean hornbeam, which takes pruning so well it's also prized as a hedge plant despite being a, you know, tree. The contrast between the withered and ropy main trunk and the fine delicate twigs at the tips of slender branches that can be achieved through careful pruning make this a particularly rewarding species to work on.
