Fall Contest 2016... An Honest Balance!

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sorce

Nonsense Rascal
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Welcome to The Official Fall 2016 Contest!

http://www.bonsainut.com/threads/fall-2016-contest-sponsors-prizes.24696/

Go thank those guys who are bringing you.....

An Honest Balance

I am asking both voters and entrants for honesty, and to balance many things.
I wish for Everyone to play by the theme.
There is nothing greater than the prize you will win just by participating.
Experience, Fun, and Good Friends!

Rules.

You may wow us with 1 tree.

Contest is open to any tree not displaying growth into the design intended by transformation work.

Work must be recent.

You may NOT use software to edit the tree in your photos, you are allowed to edit the photos themselves to make the tree look it's best.

You are encouraged to do ANYTHING to best represent your tree and it's intended future in the after photo.

You Must follow the sample entry format as provided, using full images.

Voters.
Please Vote responsibly.

Voting will commence as soon as we have an entry.
You may "unlike" an entry to favor a new one at any time.
Voting should be based on level of transformation and skill of work for years practicing.
More on voting here....

http://www.bonsainut.com/threads/fall-contest-2016-voter-guidelines.24713/

Entries and Voting will cease at 10P.M. CST. Friday, November 11th.

A tie breaker may take place.

Please only post entries in this thread!

Allow me to post a sample entry format to follow, and let the Contest begin!


Thank You and Good Skill!
 

Chris Swink

Yamadori
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Central Oregon Coast
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9a
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Chamaecyparis obtusa 'gracilis'
Slender Hinoki Cypress
12 Sept 2016

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13 Sept 2016

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14 Sept 2016
Killing trees since 1999

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14 Sept 2016
Future plans include reducing root mass, jin and pad refinement, and placing in a Lynn August bonsai pot over the next two years.

Chris
 

GSCarlson

Shohin
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Longmont, Colorado
USDA Zone
5b
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Sept. 7 $17.00 Cotoneaster

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Sept. 15

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I've been studying bonsai for one year.
Future development: Thicken and increase tapper on lower branches and trunk. Deepen the trunk hollow. Carve dead branches. Develop upper canopy from top branch. Reduce roots and plant in a red, round bonsai pot.
 

Giga

Masterpiece
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Virginia beach, VA
USDA Zone
7-8
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September 15 Tanyosho Japanese Red Pine
4' tall and 5$ at Home Depot

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September 16 - I call it Looped ( I had fun with this one)

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15 years I been torturing tree's - It has a long road ahead of it, It was hollowed out and wire placed inside then wraped and bent - It will need to be shortened - needle reduced - repotted - branch placement - But for now that is enough torture, Also I really shouldn't be wiring at 1am @Adair M won't be happy with me :p
 

defra

Masterpiece
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The netherlands Zone 8b
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8b
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taxus baccata € 4,99

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16/09/16

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detail roots

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practising bonsai since March 2016

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future plan :
develop the apex and the branches.
proper repot sort out the exposed roots (it is slipped in this bigger pot)
find a better rock and a flat oval pot
give it lots of love
 

wsteinhoff

Shohin
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Ohio
USDA Zone
6a
Shimpaku Juniper
$9.75
September 16th 2016:

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September 19th 2016:
Front:
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Back:
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Base:
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Interior:
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I started bonsai 3 months ago. My future plan for this juniper is to further develop the foliage pads by shaping them up and eventually shortening them. I'd like to let it grow some more foliage closer to the trunk. I also plan to smooth out the jin and bleach it. Then get it into better soil and a smaller pot.
 
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Starfox

Masterpiece
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Costa Blanca, Spain, zone 10b
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10b
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Callistemon Laevis on the ticket but I suspect it has been reclassified as a Melaleuca Rugulosa.
Lets keep it simple and call it a Bottlebrush.
Sept 13, 10 Euros

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Roots
Been into bonsai for 10 months and a bit.

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September 21 chop back.

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September 22 and 23 wiring.
I have never done any wiring before so this was new to me and compared to the pre-wired pic above it definitely go a bit of movement happening. Also wanted to try using a cage wire on a couple smaller shoots, if for no other reason than experience and observing how well that method may work.

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September 23
Done.
Decided to upgrade to a larger plain coloured pot for further growth development in all areas. This will back bud quite a bit I suspect and that will be important for imparting more movement in areas.
Future will be growing out a bit more and certainly keeping on top of the wires as it should grow quickly.
Next step would be to re-pot into a much smaller air pot, mesh or colander with better soil to then concentrate on root development and see if I can sort out that nebari as well in preparation for a better pot.
Other than that this will be a larger tree and would like better leader length and girth, keep styling as needed. It's natural growth is for a more weeping type foliage so I will try and respect that and hopefully just sit back and enjoy the eventual blooms.
 
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comp1.jpg


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Mallsai $125 Fuikien Tea 9-18-2016


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After Defoliation 9-20-2016


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Re-potted with new angle and Nebari exposed. Pot is a ceramic pot that I cut the top off with grinder, to create a deconstructed pot just for this tree. 9-21-2016



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Wire and Styling of tree


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Finished Product 9-23-2016

Been doing Bonsai for 12 years

Future Plans for tree - Make a stand for its display, and see about exhibiting it.

Good Luck, Fellow Contestants!
 

jcrossett

Chumono
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Location
Joppa Maryland.
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Mugo pine on the left $9.99 managers special. Originally $29.99.
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As deep as I could get for the nibari due to circling roots.

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Back you can see the reverse taper that I hid with the Jin in the front.
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Front

Sorce allowed us to edit photos just no apps so use my hand to block sacrifice branch in final photo.

I wired the new apex to bring it forward more at the top to give depth. Plucked all downward needles. Branch seletion. Cut paste and Jin. If you look close the lower left Jin was wired and screwed down as the 2 branches we vertical. Repotted in a train pot buy jcrossett.

Future plans are remove circling roots. Remove sacrifice branch once the base thickens more. And build better
ramification. Bring the top forward more and do more carving to fix reverse taper if the sacrifice branch doesn't do what is expected.

Been collecting trees for 2 years, actually practicing bonsai less then 18 months.
 

Sunwyrm

Mame
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Northern Virginia
USDA Zone
7a
My first sacrifice to the bonsai gods; azalea from Lowe's
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I liked the base
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First time wiring anything.
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Left some chunks of the branches I cut off near the base on the right... I thought that could be touched up later when I'm better at this. Another idea is to trim the left tree so it's shorter than the right, instead of all one canopy.

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My critic is skeptical
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tree4me

Shohin
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Orlando , Florida
USDA Zone
10
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$15.00
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09-10-16
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Cleaned up old needles and wired
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Jin, shari, and lime sulphured
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With great care it should survive. In the future I'm hoping to chase back the foliage or try grafting. Work on my deadwood skills. I've been practicing bonsai, 16 years in South Florida and 2 in North Carolina.
 

Soldano666

Omono
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central massachusetts
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5is
IMG_20160927_115004519.jpg Colorado blue spruce
9/27/16
$13 off the clearance rackIMG_20160927_115614727.jpgpiss poor nebari, some girdling roots, perhaps its better further down but that's as far as I dared dig. A lot of roots have colonized the added dirt they used when up potting. GrrrrrrIMG_20160928_103349.jpgran a Shari from the top half way down the trunk, the removed wood made it easier to bend and twist the trunk, wired and branches set. Future plans.... no work til next fall, this guys needs some rest then refine the branches, coumt.on some back budding, rewire and maybe somemore light branch removal/selection towards the bottom.. Won't see a pot til spring 2018. Practicing bonsai 4years the right way a bunch the wrong way.... I hope you like this difficult material
 

VAFisher

Masterpiece
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Maidens, VA
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7a
Juniperus communis for the local nursery looking not all that healthy. It was cheap.



Did a little chopping, thinning, wiring, potting and mossing. I will winter it in the garage so I figured I would go ahead and pot it up. Some of the wire is a little large but that's what I had on hand.


Finished for now. Potted in an Iker for extra points!


Future plans are to try to keep it alive and see what I can make out of it. It has no taper in the main trunk so I'll need to hide it or fix it at some point. Oh, practicing bonsai for 3 or 4 years. Can't exactly remember.
 

aml1014

Masterpiece
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Albuquerque new mexico
USDA Zone
7b
Typical 2 gl dwarf Alberta spruce, given to me for free at work.
Tree before work20160927_184818.jpg
The nebari, which is actually slightly buried ATM.20160927_184832.jpg
First pass finished20160927_185626.jpg
The next day I really went to work.
Here's the final product.20160930_081205.jpg
And a birds eye view.20160930_081311.jpg

My current plan for this tree is to give it good after care in a dappled shade spot with no wind. I'll allow it to grow freely next year to regain some vigour. I'll thin and rewire new branches next autumn. Then finally a repot into a deep bonsai pot in spring 2018.
Well that was fun!

Aaron
 

PiñonJ

Omono
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New Mexico, AHS heat zone 5
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6b
$16.99 at Lowe's September 24, 2016. Crepe Myrtle "Raspberry Dazzle" - (Lagerstroemia 'Gamad II')
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9/25/16 repotted in plastic bonsai pot, reducing height of root mass by half. Pruned the canopy and started wiring. Did some more wiring on 9/26 and 9/27. Had a hard time getting home from work in time to work the tree and take photos, but got some shots on 9/28! Done in Pierneef, or open umbrella style. 6 inches from trunk base to top of canopy.
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I played around with some dry moss to give the feel of the African savannah. What do you think, @fredman, remind you of the Bushveld?
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Practicing bonsai for 4 years. The plan is to develop ramification next year to better define the canopy, then get it into a nice shohin pot.
 

Jaberwky17

Shohin
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South Central MN
USDA Zone
4b
DSC_0048.JPG DSC_0047.JPG DSC_0046.JPG DSC_0043.JPG star power juniper receipt.jpg
As purchased - one of a pair of Star Power Junipers from a local garden center. I have been wanting some interesting material to do a single/pair/forest of foemina. Since foemina are tough to come by in my area, especially in this size, I jumped on these. $45 each. I've been practicing bonsai for about 4 years, this is the first full styling from scratch that I've attempted. This would look so much nicer in a large flat pot but I want it to live so potting will have to wait for spring. I forgot to include a scale object - the finished tree is about 40" tall from soil line.


After initial pruning and main branch wiring. Assumed front.


After pad wiring. Assumed front at that time.


Upon review, I think I like the "original" front best. The large scar at the base is exposed, but the small pad near the top of the tall jin looks nice in front of the jin, and the slight forward lean is more in line with formal style rules. I have found through this exercise that my skin is off the charts sensitive to needle junipers. I went through four sets of rubber gloves on this one.
 

Vance Wood

Lord Mugo
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Michigan
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Hinki2016New.jpg DSC_0023.JPG My entry: An Hinoki Cypress the species version. Not as refined as the Obtusa Obtusa Nana or Obtusa Gracilis Nana. However I was informed that it will back bud on old wood. I picked up the tree at the National Show in New York. The seller was not able to give me a printed out receipt but I paid $100.00 for the tree. I am looking forward to seeing how this tree develops over the next few years. I notice a lot of you have been going with similar trees. I love Hinokis but they are like trying to style smoke.
 

M. Frary

Bonsai Godzilla
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Mio Michigan
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20161007_161225.jpg 20161007_161010.jpg 20161007_161110.jpg A Nana procumbens juniper I bought for the contest the second week of September. It was under $15.00.
It's just a little over 6" tall with a trunk at 1".
I did all of this work in a day. I'm just now posting it because I wanted to be sure it would recover from what I did to it.
20160924_223248.jpg View attachment 119284 View attachment 119285 View attachment 119286 20161007_160918.jpg 20161007_161010.jpg
 

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