Five favorite trees of all time.

[Poink88]

Thanks, Dario. I realized that after I posted. I went to look at a few of his threads again on IBC. He's an incredible artist. There's a recent thread he posted about the Philippine National 2014 exhibit if you haven't seen it yet (http://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t16150-philippine-national-exhibition-2014).

Thanks for sharing. I prefer the previous show they did...so much more 1st rate trees.

I did miss it since I stopped visiting IBC (again). Thanks to a wonderful moderator there (member here--yes you jkl) who seems to be intimidated by newbies. I do not need the aggravation so I will let him run it to the ground (w/o me). He almost ran jun out of IBC as well FYI. Good that jun decided to dismiss/ignore him instead.

Jun is a really talented artist, to think he is also a newbie. He will go places...if not already.

 

[drew33998]

One of my top 5

This five needle pine of Brussels is pretty impressive.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

I feel like a space brain because I can't remember the name of the tree or the artist.
It was a famous or infamous tree created as an informal upright during a workshop. The bark was removed in a spiral pattern the entire trunk length top to bottom.
I enjoy looking at that tree because his colleages told him he overworked it and it would die.
I don't have a photo but I know someone here will recognize the description and post a pic for me.

 

[thumblessprimate1]

Could that be Dan Barton's Corkscrew?

 

[JudyB]

I did miss it since I stopped visiting IBC (again). Thanks to a wonderful moderator there (member here--yes you jkl) who seems to be intimidated by newbies. I do not need the aggravation so I will let him run it to the ground (w/o me). He almost ran jun out of IBC as well FYI.

Why would you bring this unhappiness into this wonderful (up to this point) thread? Shame on you.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

Could that be Dan Barton's Corkscrew?

Yes thank you

 

[fredtruck]

One of my favorite trees is this Flowering Japanese Apricot by Peter Adams, I think. While this tree has lots of arguable faults, it has character and it has simplicity--basically only one branch. There is elegance and a feeling of grace to this venerable tree.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Hinoki Cypress, Chamaecyparis obtusa now in collection of Chicago Botanic Garden

I could never limit myself to just 5. And my top 5 evolves.

But this one, while not necessarily in my top 5 every year, it has been a tree that has inspired me since I was in my teens. I first saw it at a Bonsai show back when the Chicago group (Midwest Bonsai Society) held its shows at the Platt-Hill Nursery in Dundee IL. That was sometime in the late 1970's. It was initially owned and styled by Peter Voynovich (spelling?). When he gave up bonsai, he donated it to the Chicago Botanic Garden, where it is an important piece in their permanent collection. I have had the good fortune to see this tree in person, at least once a year, often more for over 40 years. Each time I see it, it is subtly different, it is fascinating to watch it evolve. Yet if you put an old photo next to current photo, you would say it has never been altered to a different style. Wonderful, well done tree.

Hinoki Cypress at the Chicago Botanic Garden

 

[JoeR]

Well Im unsure about five all time favorites, but I want to share one of my top five. I am unsure of author or anything, but I just absolutely love it and its presentation with the moss and rocks and roots.

 

[M. Frary]

Well Im unsure about five all time favorites, but I want to share one of my top five. I am unsure of author or anything, but I just absolutely love it and its presentation with the moss and rocks and roots.

I've seen this one before too. Very cool root down planting?

 

[M. Frary]

Just going back through all of the pictures of everyone's favorite trees. I see a trend here. It seems the majority of the picures posted are of upright trees of some sort. Interesting.

 

[KennedyMarx]

I've never seen a cascading or semicascading tree. I'm not sure if that's why I'm not a big fan of those styles of bonsai. I've never seen a banyan tree in person either, but as a bonsai style I love it.

 

[Eric Group]

Duplicate post... See below...

 

[Eric Group]

Just going back through all of the pictures of everyone's favorite trees. I see a trend here. It seems the majority of the picures posted are of upright trees of some sort. Interesting.

Probably the primary reason for that is that people just think of the informal upright "tree looking" bonsai form when thinking of what is the "best" or their "favorite"... The cascade or more "alternative" styled trees do not generally jump to people's minds I guess when they try to conjure up an image of what their favorite trees are... That and then there is the fact that a well done cascade is VERY hard to pull off, and thus very rare. As is a good windswept or Literati...

So, the rarity of great examples, people's lack of "comfort" and understanding of the styles are probably contributors to the lack of good examples coming up in this thread so far.

With that said... I feel compelled now to share a nice cascade. Perhaps this would make my list of top five, just because it is one of the better "formal" cascades I have seen... And I hate to say I have lost/ forgotten any information as to the type of juniper or the Artist's name... I think it was shared through a link on this very forum one day and I liked it so much I saved an image of it...

 

[M. Frary]

Probably the primary reason for that is that people just think of the informal upright "tree looking" bonsai form when thinking of what is the "best" or their "favorite"... The cascade or more "alternative" styled trees do not generally jump to people's minds I guess when they try to conjure up an image of what their favorite trees are... That and then there is the fact that a well done cascade is VERY hard to pull off, and thus very rare. As is a good windswept or Literati...

So, the rarity of great examples, people's lack of "comfort" and understanding of the styles are probably contributors to the lack of good examples coming up in this thread so far.

With that said... I feel compelled now to share a nice cascade. Perhaps this would make my list of top five, just because it is one of the better "formal" cascades I have seen... And I hate to say I have lost/ forgotten any information as to the type of juniper or the Artist's name... I think it was shared through a link on this very forum one day and I liked it so much I saved an image of it...

Very nice Eric. I've started a few but always end changing them for various reasons. The main one is its hard to get proper taper in the cascading branch. They are very hard to do right. Windswept is the other one that gives me fits.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

I have always liked this tree also.

 

[Adair M]

Eric, that style of cascade is now "out of style", especially that type of pot. It's extremely hard to repot a tree that's in one of those. How do you loosen the roots off the sides of the pot down near the bottom? And how do you keep an even soil moisture consistency? The top could be dry but the bottom is still wet. Or vice versa.

And finally, would a cascade branch curl back under? If the idea us the cascade is growing on the edge of a cliff, the forces that caused it to grow down are unlikely to allow it to curl back under.

I'm not saying that the tree isn't well done, it is extremely well done. I'm just saying that current cascade styling has moved away from that image. Here's one that I've worked on at Boon's:

Sorry it posted sideways

 

[JudyB]

A mountain hemlock by Will Hiltz:

I have always liked this tree also.

Beg your pardon, this is Paul J Katich's tree, and it's Ulmus Parvafolia.
Link to his thread.

http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?6845-Ulmus-parvafolia

And yes it is a lovely tree, that I've long admired. But a far cry from Mt. Hemlock!

 

[amcoffeegirl]

I am so sorry I copied that from post #23
Explaining the tree below it.
I have this image saved on my cell phone and knew it belonged to someone here.

This tree just draws me into it. I can see this tree growing in real life in a field or by a stream.
I would love to see it in full leaf.

Thank you for correcting my error
And I'm sorry for my mis-quote.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

Eric, that style of cascade is now "out of style", especially that type of pot. It's extremely hard to repot a tree that's in one of those. How do you loosen the roots off the sides of the pot down near the bottom? And how do you keep an even soil moisture consistency? The top could be dry but the bottom is still wet. Or vice versa.

And finally, would a cascade branch curl back under? If the idea us the cascade is growing on the edge of a cliff, the forces that caused it to grow down are unlikely to allow it to curl back under.

I'm not saying that the tree isn't well done, it is extremely well done. =QUOTE]

Let's say that my father who has passed away left me a cascade that he collected and left in my care. If it had been styled by him and potted in this manner. I would not change a tree to meet current trends or to be fashionable. I would keep it just as it is. As long as the tree is happy I would be as well. It would remind me everyday that beauty comes in many forms.

I understand you would rather have it presented like this photo - for example but I would not change it unless the tree asked me to.