Literati Tosho

[LanceMac10]

Calligraphy in Horticulture.
Photography not too shabby, either.
Great image.

 

[Shima]

View attachment 139015

Mine is redder. Is that a word? I love this stuff. And the name.

 

[Cadillactaste]

I played around with placement: setting it off-center in a round pot just looked like a mistake; and to balance the left movement with right placement made the whole composition look like a rookie error. Centering it left/right supports the visual tension of the unbalanced foliage. I did place it slightly forward to make the pot appear smaller.


Older!

Planting slightly forward...interesting concept there.

 

[sorce]

I like this phase o

Me too....

Something always felt "off" with this tree to me....

The curvy and jagged sections are "difficult to take in"....?

What I like even more than the foliage...

Is how the curvy section.....


When lighter...

Is much easier to make sense of...

It feels way more connected to the rest.

The subtleties of the pot thought....
The subtleties of the foliage....

I would guess there's about 100 subtleties you have to conquer to get this RIGHT THERE....

An excellent challenge of attention to minute details...

Like Vance says...

"It's in the right hands"!

I've found a new love for this tree with that one change in lighting.

This is a key lesson IMO.

Thanks for the.....

ENLIGHTENMENT!

Sorce

 

[Shima]

Mine is redder. Is that a word?View attachment 140238 I love this stuff. And the name.

Was the name ever mentioned? British Soldier Lichen.

 

[just.wing.it]

Man, this tree is just great, inspiration for my upcoming juniper project...

You've done a nice job with this one BVF!
Thanks for sharing!

 

[Shima]

The subtleties of the pot thought....
The subtleties of the foliage....

I would guess there's about 100 subtleties you have to conquer to get this RIGHT THERE....

An excellent challenge of attention to minute details...

YESYESYES!

 

[LeonardB]

Repotted in March, and pruned back in May when it was growing strongly:
View attachment 112341

Brian,
Just came across this thread and found it very interesting. Would be great to see its progression today.
I did have a design question about cutting off the original apex. Did you consider bending it to continue the movement, or was it just a decision to reduce the tree overall?
I have a similar literati that I want Bjorn to help me with as well.
Regards,
Leonard

 

[LeonardB]

Repotted into a nanban-style container. Not special, but definitely more fitting. @thams see the British soldiers?
View attachment 138925

Brian, The pot is exceptional.
Leonard

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Brian,
Just came across this thread and found it very interesting. Would be great to see its progression today.
I did have a design question about cutting off the original apex. Did you consider bending it to continue the movement, or was it just a decision to reduce the tree overall?

The original apex you may be referring to was never intended to be part of the design. It was an escape branch that was allowed to grow to strengthen the tree after it was collected in Japan. Once the tree was growing strongly, I cut it back to encourage growth closer to the trunk that could be used in the final design. I never want the foliage to be higher than the ribbon deadwood feature...that is the star of the show. Here is a recent shot after I pruned it back last week.

 

[LeonardB]

The original apex you may be referring to was never intended to be part of the design. It was an escape branch that was allowed to grow to strengthen the tree after it was collected in Japan. Once the tree was growing strongly, I cut it back to encourage growth closer to the trunk that could be used in the final design. I never want the foliage to be higher than the ribbon deadwood feature...that is the star of the show. Here is a recent shot after I pruned it back last week.
View attachment 190369

Brian, That makes even more sense ( knowing your work, I knew it would ). The way the live vein meanders around, how do you trim it down to keep it from looking too rough ( I have a few areas on mine that I am afraid to trim for fear of leaving scars that could take years to clean up )?
Leonard

 

[fredtruck]

Great tree, Brian.

 

[Shima]

Repotted into a nanban-style container. Not special, but definitely more fitting. @thams see the British soldiers?
View attachment 138925

Oh it was mentioned. Missed it. I miss a lot of things.

 

[LeonardB]

Brian,
Just came across this thread and found it very interesting. Would be great to see its progression today.
I did have a design question about cutting off the original apex. Did you consider bending it to continue the movement, or was it just a decision to reduce the tree overall?
I have a similar literati that I want Bjorn to help me with as well.
Regards,
Leonard

Just finished spring pruning ( preparing for fall workshop with Bjorn).

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Just finished spring pruning ( preparing for fall workshop with Bjorn).

You will have a great time working on your tree with Bjorn. Please be sure to start a new thread so you can share it’s progress on it.
The tosho is going to show next weekend, so I’m trying to get a few trees mossed up. Rough without rain in a while.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Kind of a cool shot in a moment of solitude at show setup:

 

[Smoke]

Kind of a cool shot in a moment of solitude at show setup:
View attachment 192747

The epitome of MA

 

[LeonardB]

Kind of a cool shot in a moment of solitude at show setup:
View attachment 192747

Brian,
What is your thought process when choosing an accent plant?
Leonard

 

[Jake]

Beautiful tree, love the progression. Thanks for sharing, Brian.

 

[chicago1980]

I'll always appreciate this tree, Owen has a good eye for trees. Glad it is in good hands today.