One of the yaupons didn’t make it through the winter. The other, in the duck pot, lives on.

This mess of a guy in the duckie pot. Here we go.

I had attempted an air layer on that right branch, but I did that in late fall, the exact season you shouldn’t air layer in. I had no success, much to my shock. It’s a learning process. So chop it off!

Here he is in all his glory. Humble, tiny. This will be a mame bonsai, a very small one. It has great nebari (surface roots), so that is a plus. I trimmed some roots off, replanted it with the nebari covered in soil to encourage further growth), and added a bit of movement to the new leading branch.

Final product! As I know all too well, yaupons are brittle, and it did snap a bit, hence the raffia. But it should be fine and be a cute little mame once it fills out a bit!