Before & After

cascade · Sep 1, 2013

The last pic I posted in the Tree thread gave me the idea to start this one. One of the biggest learning opportunities for me were and still are "before& after" pics of trees. I learned a lot by "reengeneering" progressed trees: Gave me lots of perspective and solutions for otherwise difficult material. And sometimes it would just spark my interest in the techniques used to accomplish the task.

When you post a before and after pic, try to provide some info about the challenges you experienced, the drawbacks or lessons learned maybe.

I chose this Parsoni juniper because a. the unusual long branch and b. because it came with already collapsed liveveins. Saves me time and headaches due to my climate, SW Florida. High summer night temperatures, no real winter break etc.

Parsoni juniper cascading branch 9+1+13 front.jpg

More views of the tree on p 43 of the "Tree thread".

Best,
Dorothy

october · Sep 1, 2013

Masterpiece work! Great choices. I love how the main cascade branch is 2 branches wired to make one beautiful composition. At least, that's how it looks in the pics. Beautiful tree.

Rob

jkd2572 · Sep 1, 2013

Not as nice as yours, but here goes. This was the first styling of this Scott's pine. I did this this summer with the help of Peter Tea. Not all of it is wired to the tips, so the detail is not there. I still think its a good start. My goal was to get the basic structure established. I learned so much from Peter while doing this. The things I learned from him for me were priceless. I'm keeping this one as my Peter tea tree. I'm not going to do any more detail to it until two years from now when I will have another workshop with him. I did this in two hours. A interesting note that you can't see in pic. The roots have been exposed for along time as the have old flakey bark on them.

Smoke · Sep 1, 2013

Jeremy,

Thats a fantastic start. I think where it is even now is well above average.

jkd2572 · Sep 1, 2013

Thanks a compliment from you means a lot to me.

Redwood Ryan · Sep 1, 2013

Ugh, seeing the work from great artists like you all really makes me want to switch to non-tropicals.

Absolutely stunning work.

Smoke · Sep 1, 2013

Dorothy,
Very nice tree. Really a makeover and a testament to your expertise.

Just one question. Do you ever have to provide a cradle for this to keep the apex strong? These damn junipers are so weak down low, these tails seem to whither.

amkhalid · Sep 1, 2013

This Thuja occidentalis was one of this summer's projects. Nobody wanted this tree at the club sale but it was 100% ready for work so I grabbed it. Thuja are an insane amount of wiring, like junipers. Figuring out the top of this tree was a challenge. It still is a bit too "left centric" but I ran out of foliage.

I posted this somewhere on this forum a couple of months ago.

october · Sep 1, 2013

jkd2572 said:
Not as nice as yours, but here goes. This was the first styling of this Scott's pine. I did this this summer with the help of Peter Tea. Not all of it is wired to the tips, so the detail is not there. I still think its a good start. My goal was to get the basic structure established. I learned so much from Peter while doing this. The things I learned from him for me were priceless. I'm keeping this one as my Peter tea tree. I'm not going to do any more detail to it until two years from now when I will have another workshop with him.
View attachment 40919 View attachment 40920

Beautiful tree. It has great essence to it. Old, rugged but refined.

Rob

october · Sep 1, 2013

Here is a juniper I reworked a few months back. Since then, the tree was put into a more suitable bonsai pot.

Rob

jkd2572 · Sep 1, 2013

The work you did and the new planting angle transformed this into a wonderful tree. Thanks for the before pic I had never seen it.

jkd2572 · Sep 1, 2013

Redwood Ryan said:
Ugh, seeing the work from great artists like you all really makes me want to switch to non-tropicals.

Absolutely stunning work.

Here is a tropical which I thought was a great before and after. I was told this before and after was 5 years. I find that amazing. Unfortunately I can't take credit. I recently bought the tree in the after pic. Brazilian rain tree. It's the most " finished" tree I own. The thing I learned most about this one is that the work, passion, love, and patience it took to make such a thing is a valuable lesson to me. When I unpacked it I was humbled without words.....must see in person to understand. Pics don't do justice. .

and at night when the leaves close.

october · Sep 2, 2013

jkd2572 said:
The work you did and the new planting angle transformed this into a wonderful tree. Thanks for the before pic I had never seen it.

Thank you very much. This is a very enjoyable thread. Befores and afters are some of my favorite things to look at in bonsai. I hope many people post their work here.

Rob

Dav4 · Sep 2, 2013

Shimpaku juniper. I posted 3 pictures: before, after, and a year after. This tree had its old back become its new front. It was a hard decision to make because the before picture shows a tree with pretty descent potential...but the year after photo clearly shows why it was such a good idea.

lordy · Sep 2, 2013

I dug this kingsville boxwood from a yard in full sun about 10+ years ago. After figuring out that it didnt like full sun at all, it began to gain vigor. A few years after that I took it to a club meeting where a west-coast traveling pro proceeded to cut away a lot of the foliage and gave it a pom pom look. Not happy with that look. The first photo is about 2 years after the major pruning. The 2nd and 3rd were Sept. 01, 2013, probably 5 years after the major pruning. Still recovering but heading in the right direction.

Tona · Sep 2, 2013

Just a lowly Procumbens that I have changed from a cascade to it's current stage. Not one of my better trees but I do have progression pics.
Started out as a staked Home Depot tree. Then it became a cascade. I never really was happy with it so........... off came the tail. It needs a little cleanup at this point but here it is:

october · Sep 2, 2013

Tona said:
Just a lowly Procumbens that I have changed from a cascade to it's current stage. Not one of my better trees but I do have progression pics.
Started out as a staked Home Depot tree. Then it became a cascade. I never really was happy with it so........... off came the tail. It needs a little cleanup at this point but here it is:
View attachment 40983 View attachment 40984 View attachment 40985 View attachment 40986 View attachment 40987

I really like this tree. It reminds me of the old, large yamadori trees. The ones that are too large to collect. I think this tree is different but natural and quite stunning.

Rob

Tona · Sep 2, 2013

october said:
I really like this tree. It reminds me of the old, large yamadori trees. The ones that are too large to collect. I think this tree is different but natural and quite stunning.

Rob

Thanks Rob,
I'm kind of a juniper junkie and don't always stick to a lot of the rules. My trees are styled kind of in my own way I guess. My teacher Roy N. likes to say: "Uh Oh, Another tree done in Steve style". lol
Tona (Steve)

Smoke · Sep 2, 2013

This was a nasty ugly old elm I picked up.

....and so far

Tona · Sep 2, 2013

Smoke said:
This was a nasty ugly old elm I picked up.

....and so far

Not so nasty now! Nice work Al.
Tona

Before & After

Shohin

Masterpiece

Masterpiece

Ignore-Amus

Masterpiece

Masterpiece

Ignore-Amus

Chumono

Masterpiece

Masterpiece

Masterpiece

Masterpiece

Masterpiece

Drop Branch Murphy

Attachments

Omono

Shohin

Masterpiece

Shohin

Ignore-Amus

Attachments

Shohin

Similar threads