Powerful Prunus mume

BobbyLane · Mar 3, 2019

New in my collection, it's a bit raw atm and undecided whether it will stay or not.
got this and two japanese maples for a very good price today.
this tree has so much potentiol

BobbyLane · Mar 3, 2019

coh · Mar 3, 2019

Wow, that is a nice trunk. I don't even want to think about what something like that would cost around here!

Maros · Mar 3, 2019

Good trunk mate. Curious to see how it will develop further.

Fishtank307 · Mar 3, 2019

What a beauty!

Dav4 · Mar 3, 2019

Stonker!! Love that muscled trunk and wide root spread!

Hyn Patty · Mar 3, 2019

Double thumbs up! It's going to be beautiful.

Brian Van Fleet · Mar 3, 2019

Nice! I’d be letting it stay in my garden for sure.

AlainK · Mar 3, 2019

Hi Bobby,

Prunus 'Mume' is one of the few deciduous where dead wood looks natural - at least in Japan. See many examples from Kokufu or other major exhibits.
The photo of the tree with crutches is not a Prunus, probably an old oak. A prunus never looks like that, I'd choose another tree for inspiration.

But that's a great specimen you've got, the scars are neatly sealed, the overall shape is interesting, I'm sure you can make it a superb tree.

BobbyLane · Mar 3, 2019

AlainK said:
Hi Bobby,

Prunus 'Mume' is one of the few deciduous where dead wood looks natural - at least in Japan. See many examples from Kokufu or other major exhibits.
The photo of the tree with crutches is not a Prunus, probably an old oak. A prunus never looks like that, I'd choose another tree for inspiration.

But that's a great specimen you've got, the scars are neatly sealed, the overall shape is interesting, I'm sure you can make it a superb tree.

Hi Alain, the prunus looks like an ancient deciduous tree to me, hence the veteran oak image. the first image that popped in my head when i saw this tree, was the Major oak.
this will be a fairy tale style tree. i will look at ancient deciduous trees for my inspiration. i have a vision for it regardless.
funnily enough, i have no plans for any major deadwood on this tree. maybe a uro here n there and tidy up some of the man made chops. thing is, even the chops have been blended in very well, so there is no need to over do anything on this material. maybe just a matter of concaving the flat cuts and staining.

BobbyLane · Mar 3, 2019

Dav4 said:
Stonker!! Love that muscled trunk and wide root spread!

thanks, the only thing that puts me off these is they dont ramify that well and can look a little course in the branches. the trunks can be impressive with the black warty bark

BobbyLane · Mar 3, 2019

in different light

20190303_141615 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

20190303_141915 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

Thanks for the comments folks

i went down to the nursery today with a mind to pick this one, do a little on it and sell it really, so will see how it turns out. it is an impressive piece of material though.
these are becoming harder to get even in the UK. this was picked up at the noelanders in belgium. apparently they can get them easier out there. i think it could be a show tree in 3-5 years in the right hands.

BobbyLane · Mar 3, 2019

here's one that usually pops up near the front of the search engine, i am sure many have seen this. a good example of an impressive Ume

it too, looks like an ancient deciduous tree and the deadwood looks how it would look on any other deciduous tree whether it be an old oak, a hornbeam or whatever, blah blah blah

i am pretty sure the wood rots faster on these, than it would on an oak or hornbeam. the reason they usually feature heavy deadwood is because the wood is highly prone to rot, not because it looks 'natural'. deadwood blends well on most trees overtime.

another veteran tree with similar characteristics

Brian Van Fleet · Mar 3, 2019

Ume deadwood is very persistent.

BobbyLane · Mar 3, 2019

Brian Van Fleet said:
Ume deadwood is very persistent.

Thanks Brian, thats helpful to know. i may do something on one side, the tree has a few good sides, so maybe something significant could be done on some of the cuts, maybe some shari. but looking at it again, i think one or two uro will suffice.

BobbyLane · Mar 8, 2019

i decided to reveal a bit of deadwood on what i see as the back of the tree
there were a few saw cuts that have been turned into uro.think that will be it

BackyardBonsai · Mar 8, 2019

Nice work! Do you have some type of OCD? Can't have anything sitting on the pot more than a few days without putting your signature on it.

BobbyLane · Mar 8, 2019

BackyardBonsai said:
Nice work! Do you have some type of OCD? Can't have anything sitting on the pot more than a few days without putting your signature on it.

i just love to work on trees mate. i dont buy them to twiddle my thumbs

Paulpash · Mar 8, 2019

Lovely material. I've put an omoi no mama in the ground a week back. Good luck with it

BobbyLane · Mar 8, 2019

Paulpash said:
Lovely material. I've put an omoi no mama in the ground a week back. Good luck with it

I'm no good with these exotic names Paul, you mean Ume?

Powerful Prunus mume

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