I believe either John Naka or Ben Oki when visiting CFBC many years ago said “It’s better to have a few good trees then a whole bunch of mediocre ones”. How true! Even though I’ve been trying to down size my collection I still seem to have more then what I can maintain, style, and just plain keep looking like a bonsai. An example follows.
The bougainvillia has been sitting on the ground since the last time I took it out of the garage because of the cold weather last winter. I have not touched it except to give it some water. It was so over grown that it was blocking the pathway so I decided it was time to give it a trim. When I went to pick it off the ground it would not easily lift off the ground since its roots had grown out of the drainage holes and into the ground! In the first picture you can see the roots hanging off the left side from the bottom of the pot.
The second picture is after I trimmed it and put some wire on the branches. Every year when I’m taking it in out of the garage because of the cold I grumble and say I want to get rid of it, but after I trim it and it blooms I change my mind.
BTW, it’s purple in color.
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I finally decided I could no longer put off working on my trees because of the heat. I worked on 2 podos that I’ve had for over 2 years. Both trees were rescued from the compost pile during the month of May 2008!
The first one I like because unlike most podos its trunk is not straight. So I decided to make it a tree with a lot of character. I’ve been creating shari and jins on it for over a year but I could not decide whether to keep the 1st left branch or not. So last weekend off came the branch hoping to create even more interest. Then I wired out the tree. Next winter when I repot it I will tilt it back and it should be on its way on becoming a better tree.
So the 1st tree went from this last year:
To this on August 1st of 2010:
And after my workshop it looks like this:
The 2nd tree has a pretty nice 9″ nebari and is 19″ tall. I wanted a tree with few branches but lots of jins and sharies. In January 2010 it looked like this:
After a workshop in January at Joy of Bonsai with Suthin it looked like this:
On August 1st 2010 it looked like this:
After the workshop with me it looked like this:
I will add more shari and jins to both trees when it’s cooler! What do you think of the 2 trees salvaged from the compost pile?
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is up and running………………….he responded to a picture Clarina posted……..of the entire group…………unfortunately, I can’t find her post or picture………………….but the comment section works. rj
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The year is 2010. A year after CFBC 40th aniversary. The day is June-27, the fiscal year end picnic. Before starting the party, we took group pictures.
More club members came later, but it needed an act of the president to get everybody together for the photos, so we may take another one at the Christmas. Get prepared for the photos. Marge we will be waiting you for the photo.
The party was fantastic. We had a great fun time!
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I’m moving right along and changing the style of some of the trees in my collection. This buttonwood was purchased from Mary Madison 2 years ago. Betsy had affectionately named it “The Bird nest” because the trunk went round and round like a bird nest. It has a nice nebari but I could figure what to do with it. I took it to one of the Noname Study Group with Mary Madison as the visiting teacher. She suggested to make it into a full cascade. So since I’m in the mood to change styles I said why not.
So it went from this, the day I purchased from Mary:
To this last summer:
and finially to this:
or this, another front:
I think it’s much more dramatic. Those last 2 pictures where take over two weeks ago and it’s already growing. It needs alot more refinement but what do you think so far? Thanks Mary!
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June 19th,2010
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It was Monday but a lot of people came to see the demo, and on top of the great lessons about the bonsai styles we were privileged to have a wonderful snacks (if I can call snacks the delicious dishes brought by Diane).
The juniper at the start:
How to use the tape and bend the tree:
A bonsai tree is promising:
The tree which will be raffled in the club picnic (Jun-27).
The interesting side is that the winner will have the opportunity to do the final touch which was explained by Lindsay. We can make a cascade or eliminate the two bottom trunks for a more upright tree. The long branches are to allow the grow, and later cut shorter as the branches get bigger. The basic styling is done but the luck winner can develop the tree to their own taste….
I think bonsai and food go very good together. Thanks Diane!
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June 17th,2010
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For years I’ve been hesitant on trusting my gut feelings regarding making bonsai decision. I decided this year will be different. I’m starting with this buttonwood I purchased from Mary Madison in Sept of 2006 (see below).
When purchased most of the trunk was burried deeply. So I was pleasantly surprised on how nice the trunk was for a small plant. Even though it turned out to be a nice tree I was never quite satisfied with the the 1st large branch on the right (see below).
To me it always seemed to be 2 trees that merged together, particularly from the back. I always thought about seperating the 2 portions but was reluctant. So on May 16th I took it to the Mary Mardison demo/workshop to get opinions.
I first show it to Mike R. and he agreed with me to make 2 trees out of it. Then I got Mary’s opinion and she said not to separtate them. She said the 1st branch was too thick and to make it thinner.
Afterwards I decided to make 2 trees out of it. Even though it’s small, it’s a buttonwood and it was hard separating the 2 portions. However, I did it and now have 2 trees. I will only be keeping one of them. Can you guess which one?
Tree one
Tree two still needs some carving done on the back to get rid of the saw mark and I will probably make the 1st jin on the left shorter, but will wait until it recovers. So what do you think? Was this the correct decision?
Tree two
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May 31st,2010
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The nerafolia is about 3-1/2 ft high and the bougie is 14″
It was a beautiful day to be out in the sun and did I get sun…. my bold spot is red.
No matter how many times I go, each time is a wonder so if you have not yet taken the trip
do it you will not regret it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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May 24th,2010
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Diane submitted 7 trees for consideration in the upcoming State Convention. All 7 were approved by the Exhibit Committee. Whooppee! Now you are forewarned. If you show up at the workshop you may be handed a bottle of lysol and a toothbrush. Good job Diane…………………rj
PS…….If you haven’t visited Paul’s OrlandoBonsai.com site lately, you should. Paul is really, really good and Mike Rogers is Great!
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May 14th,2010
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