Beech wired and ready...

[JudyB]

Rob,
As you may well know, although I can grow and develop nice trees, this is my weak point. I have struggled with pot choices and pairings, at great expense.

I think alas that you are right dead on the nose. That this is too narrow and the choice of a longer oval pot would have been better. I have reached out numerous times to try to learn this blind spot of mine, but have not figured it out yet. I wish there was a better resource out there to do this. I do think the glaze and color is the correct thing, perhaps chuck will build me a shallower oval next year in the same vein. Thank you for the instruction, I wish I had your eye for this pairing discipline.

 

[Smoke]

Had a few minutes to kill so I destroyed your NICE tree. You have a very nice tree already...I just think it could be better in the long run if you are daring enough to proceed...OR I am mistaken.

Note that this is a foundation...not the finished product.

I am curious about this as a foundation since what you have done is reduce it to the foundation it already has minus all the beautiful ramification. I see no reason to cut away as much ramification as you have without asthetically changing the nature of the foundation.

 

[Poink88]

I am curious about this as a foundation since what you have done is reduce it to the foundation it already has minus all the beautiful ramification. I see no reason to cut away as much ramification as you have without asthetically changing the nature of the foundation.

We see things differently then. I'll leave it at that.

 

[Cypress]

We see things differently then. I'll leave it at that.

Honestly, I was just curious where you wanted to take the tree from the 'new foundation' in your virt... were you thinking of developing an apex without a singular trunkline all the way to the top, like more of a broom? I guess that's the only thing I see that would require the chop.

 

[Poink88]

A more compact wider than taller tree that mimics a more mature tree. Every inch matters in bonsai...

 

[october]

Rob,
As you may well know, although I can grow and develop nice trees, this is my weak point. I have struggled with pot choices and pairings, at great expense.

I think alas that you are right dead on the nose. That this is too narrow and the choice of a longer oval pot would have been better. I have reached out numerous times to try to learn this blind spot of mine, but have not figured it out yet. I wish there was a better resource out there to do this. I do think the glaze and color is the correct thing, perhaps chuck will build me a shallower oval next year in the same vein. Thank you for the instruction, I wish I had your eye for this pairing discipline.

The color is very nice and does match the tree. On another note. The way I see it, one can study the guidelines and rules all day long. However, it is in looking at hundreds, if not thousands of bonsai/pot combinations where all of it starts to make sense. After a while, your mind recognizes what seems to look right within the context of bonsai. Of course, there are always exceptions. Sometimes pots that you normally wouldn't use, work out very well. The main thing here is the awesome job you have done with this tree. It is quite the beautiful specimen.

Rob

 

[Neli]

Job well done Judy. Another nice tree!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I will thanks for doing it.

I do know that the apex will have to be brought back in the next few years, but may actually show it this year so may have a year or two of limbo before re-building. Would be the first tree I've shown...so am unsure about that too.

This tree is absolutely ready to show. I like the pot's shape and the color of the glaze, but I don't think the pot effectively compliments this tree. I'm still with Rob on shallow ovals. It will add more grace and stability to the composition. Al made a good point once on color; light pots to show in spring and summer, darker pots to compliment fall colors.

As as someone who took a beech back to the "foundation", I can tell you that it was the right move for my tree, but even 10 years later, it's still 5 years away from the level of ramification it had before the work. In your case, the foundation is there; it's very natural, well-balanced, and without the fundamental flaws mine had. Sometimes the best course of action is to simply enjoy the tree. If you rework the apex, go slow and remove one coarse/strong branch at a time...when you have sufficiently grown it's replacement.

 

[Dav4]

Rob,
As you may well know, although I can grow and develop nice trees, this is my weak point. I have struggled with pot choices and pairings, at great expense.

QUOTE]

Like everything in bonsai, developing a sense for what pot works with what tree takes time. There are guidelines to fall back on, but ultimately, your best resource is study images of tree and pot combos that speak to you, or just feel right when you see them together. Whether it's from a Bill Valavanis text or from the gallery in one of the older Bonsai Today mags, the pictures of those beautiful old trees can teach you a lot. Without being able to explain it in more detail, after staring at these images for a decade or two, I've found that I've developed a sense for what works and what doesn't.

 

[JudyB]

If you rework the apex, go slow and remove one coarse/strong branch at a time...when you have sufficiently grown it's replacement.

This is the ultimate plan that I have in my mind. There are really only two branches at this time in the apex that I have issue with, and only from certain angles. I think that beech have to be approached differently as they have singular issues, and also should have a singular look. I probably won't start on this until I do show it, and that will either be this year or next.

Thanks everyone for the kind words, and the virts and pictures of pot combos. I do look at pot combos frequently and read what I can find. I just have not been able to apply it to my trees in practice apparently. We will see what this pairing looks like, but I may be looking for a pot, if anyone has something suitable in the vein of the other pots shown. Maybe the Iker for the stewartia...down the road if I do wind up with something else for the beech.

 

[MACH5]

Hi Judy. I think you've done a superb job growing this beech!! However I must be honest here and agree with Dario. When I look at this tree is looks to me that it has gotten away from you. I see the first part with a nice, thick trunk and then a long, straight and rather "uneventful" trunk segment going to the right until it finishes off bending to the left. The branches to me look a bit long that give the impression of a relatively young-ish tree.

I have no experience at all with beech and just basing my comments purely from a design POV. I'd love to see this tree brought back tighter to its core, cut shorter and made more compact. In my view this will make it look older, with a more mature silhoutte and will enhance the lower trunk exponentially.

I realize again that it's all very subjective in this business so this is just one man's opinion here. As Rob had mentioned earlier this may all come down to taste? Regardless it is a beautiful tree and as Brian mention could easlily be shown anywhere!


BTW this tree reminds a little bit of my Kashima maple before the redesign. I felt I had the same challenges with the tree "getting away from me". In my case nature herself helped me "see the light".

 

[JudyB]

Thanks for the thoughts M5. I do like the feel of Darios tree. It is a stronger version of the current tree, and could be a better tree in the end, after re-growing the top. (a long process for a beech!)
This tree does need to be tall, it just wouldn't feel right to me to have a koto hime type shape. (not that that is the suggestion, I only use that for an example of feel.)

There are some branches that could be better in this upper tree. If I do wind up showing it, I may do some renovating afterwards of the overall tree, and will certainly think on these ideas to guide it.

 

[JudyB]

In the new pot

I think this Iker pot is just PERFECT for this tree. I'm so happy with it. I did a bit of pruning and shaping, did do some moving of the straight branching. Will take care of some of the rest of the straighter stuff after leaf out, will prune back to inner buds. BTW the Lang pot it was in will be up for sale - if interested, PM me please.
J

 

[coh]

Hi Judy. I think you've done a superb job growing this beech!! However I must be honest here and agree with Dario. When I look at this tree is looks to me that it has gotten away from you. I see the first part with a nice, thick trunk and then a long, straight and rather "uneventful" trunk segment going to the right until it finishes off bending to the left. The branches to me look a bit long that give the impression of a relatively young-ish tree.

This (the underlined section) is exactly the comment I was going to make...that's what jumps out to me in the design. The question is, is it worth setting things back many years by cutting back into that region to make the trunk line more interesting? Can it be improved by letting a couple of "sacrifice" branches run a little wild to introduce more taper into that section? Can the appearance be improved by slightly rotating the tree...perhaps a slightly different view would add some movement?

Ultimately I think the current height will work well (not every tree needs to be as short as possible), it's just that trunk segment that is problematic to my eye.

I bet the tree looks really good in leaf...the overall shape is very nice and the foliage would partly obscure that trunk section.

Chris

 

[JudyB]

I appreciate the comments, and agree that the tree overall has a few flaws easier to see on a photo than in person. But to regrow the section in question would basically mean butchering the whole. Beech are a bit more problematic to solve than maples, and to get one to this stage is a challenge in itself. The tree does need an overall wiring, I only did the largest issues this year as it was a repot year. I will do some cutting back and more wire later this year, and see what it brings me to at that point. I don't see a need for any drastic measures with this one, I think it's pretty much what it is going to be with some minor adjustments.
As you know seeing something in person is a different thing, and I wish you could see it as I see it.

 

[Dan W.]

Looking great Judy! I love the combination.

 

[William N. Valavanis]

Your Beech looks good.

A tip, remove each terminal bud now, before they open, as they swell. Then carefully open the other buds, in a few days, and remove the center growth. This will stop elongation, develop small foliage AND you will not need to trim your Beech for the rest of this season. This technique is used for developed bonsai like yours, not trees which still need development.

Please note that you will need to do this several times a day, because they open at different rates, and it may take several days or a week to complete.

Yes, it takes time, but is well worth the efforts as you can see in my European Beech.'

Another tip Judy, move the tree to a location where you pass by it several times daily to make it easier to bud pinch.

Good luck!

Bill

 

[JudyB]

Thanks for that set of tips Bill, you don't see much about beech out there so this is very welcome information. One question, if the branch is wanting more energy, I'm assuming that I would leave the terminal bud?
I've always admired your beech forest, it's beautiful.

 

[William N. Valavanis]

Yes Judy, if you want to ONLY lengthen the branch, do not remove the terminal bud and just let it run. It will probably overgrow and take energy from the rest of the bonsai.

But, looking at your Beech bonsai, I would not recommend that. The shape is good and only needs ramification, in my opinion.

Good luck!

Bill

 

[JudyB]

Bill, thanks for the response, I was referring to inner (weaker) branches that I'm working on developing. Thanks again!