Hedera, my forest friend in his spring wakening

My Hedera in spring awakening...this tree is very dear to me. It is one of my first trees and it endured all of my beginners mistakes. We are together for 17 years now, and we have gone through numerous wireings, repottings, feedings and prunnings.

One day in early spring 1994 I was walking in the forest near my mothers house. I saw that young hedera plant growing proudly upright near a forest path, just in a  treelike shape. First half close to the ground was already woody and the bark was fissured and nicely white coloured. That attracted my attention and I collected it without any tools, just pulled it from the ground. Well, there were some roots together with a little tree thanks to the loose surface peat and leaf mould on the forest floor. And, from then on, our life together begins. I planted a young plant on a rock and into a little plastic container. The plant was growing rather well and fast and it shortly outgrew container and the small rock also. Then, some three years later, I planted it on another rock, tied it well, and the tree continued to grow very rapidly. Of course, that second rock became too small once again, but there was too late to remove it because the roots grasped the stone firmly and there was a danger to destroy and brake the roots and trunk. So, my little forest friend stayed with the rock and with me from then on...for a long 17 years. When I roughly uprooted it almost 20 years ago, I had no idea that we will be inseparable for such a long time. He was 5 milimeters thick and 15 cm high when I found it, like a tip of his branch on this todays photo, and now...well look at him now!

He is everything my spirit is in bonsai...he is my bonsai life.