Chris Johnston
Omono
I have been playing with this tree for quite some time. It's the tree I have been documenting the longest of any. I purchased this tree May 30, 1999 at Brussel's Rendezvous for a class taught by Roy Nagatoshi. I drew a high number and so took what I got. At that time I knew almost nothing about Japanese black pines except what I had been able to glean from Bonsai Today magazines, in about as coherent a conglomeration as those articles gave. Nevertheless, I liked this tree enough to keep it all this time.
At that time the tree was in a nursery pot. I potted it in the rectangular plastic pot in May of 2000. My plan was to pinch to induce back budding over the next 2-3 years.
June of 2001, Boon Manakitivipart made his first visit to Kansas City and immediately told me the tree was weak. I do not have photos of it then, but the needles were yellow and weak. As soon as he said it, I knew it to be true. He gave me a plan of action to make it stronger.
In April of 2002 I repotted the tree, bare-rooting half the root ball, and planted it in akadama and haydite.
This was the tree in 2002 before doing any major work on it. I was candling it for the first time at the direction of Boon when he came for a "master weekend." By that time, the repotting had given it a great deal of recovery, and feeding had made it strong. The next photo was the following spring, March of 2003, ready for a major initial styling, which is chronicled here.
At that time the tree was in a nursery pot. I potted it in the rectangular plastic pot in May of 2000. My plan was to pinch to induce back budding over the next 2-3 years.
June of 2001, Boon Manakitivipart made his first visit to Kansas City and immediately told me the tree was weak. I do not have photos of it then, but the needles were yellow and weak. As soon as he said it, I knew it to be true. He gave me a plan of action to make it stronger.
In April of 2002 I repotted the tree, bare-rooting half the root ball, and planted it in akadama and haydite.
This was the tree in 2002 before doing any major work on it. I was candling it for the first time at the direction of Boon when he came for a "master weekend." By that time, the repotting had given it a great deal of recovery, and feeding had made it strong. The next photo was the following spring, March of 2003, ready for a major initial styling, which is chronicled here.
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