9-year progression, large JBP

[Eric Schrader]

I got this JBP from an former club member in the San Francisco club in October of 2004. When I got it it had been sitting on the ground for a few years and the roots had escaped into the soil. The tree was strong and growing a large wide canopy. I only have one photo of it from the side as it looked when I got it.

Then after the initial styling work which I did in a workshop with Marco Invernizzi. We wired all the major branches and cranked them down to create a more bonsai-shaped canopy. Note the bent up top which will go on to become the center of the canopy:

April 2005:

Jan 2006:

 

[Eric Schrader]

BIB show in 2009. I think I had wired the entire tree three times at this point, the third in November of 2008, right before the show:



After that show in 2009 the tree didn't grow as strongly as I wanted so I skipped candle cutting for the year. The needles got pretty long! This was taken in January of 2010 (and yes that's a Coast live Oak to the left)


BIB show in January 2011, the tree had no wire on it for this show and had not been wired since the wiring in 2008.



BIB 2013 show. I wired the entire tree again in November 2011 so this is the ideal timing for a show in my opinion; one growing season after a full wiring allows the tree to look more natural but not wild.



At the show during the critique Daisaku Nomoto noted that the top would be improved with a stronger flow to the right and that overall the canopy was too large for the elegant trunk. I agreed and a couple weeks later I worked with him in a workshop to do some pruning and repositioning of branches.

 

[Eric Schrader]

Sorry not to have a better photo from after the workshop but this is how the tree looks today:



The canopy feels much lighter despite only reducing a few branches. Looking forward to nine more years.

Cheers.

 

[Poink88]

Very good looking tree!!! Love the bark & trunk movement the most.

It sure came along nicely.

 

[Don Blackmond]

that's a great progression. I really like the trunk and how you utilized the dead and wounded to make it look natural yet elegant. Well done.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Awesome! This is a beautiful trunk...bark, movement, all. Very nice work developing the crown. This one will age gracefully.

 

[JudyB]

That's quite a distance from point A to point B. What a wonderful progression, thank you for posting it. Terrific tree all round.

 

[AuBonsai]

Thank you that is great to see and what a beautiful specimen

 

[catfish chapstick]

nice progression. That is a sweet trunk.

it looks super healthy but do you ever think it looks a bit better when the canopy is more sparse? I like some of the earlier photos that show the branches and the spaces between them. wouldn't this lend itself to a literati form? just a thought..

 

[Vance Wood]

I love this tree and what you have done with it.

This image you have created is where the tree was at it's best. If I were you I would hang this picture on the wall as a reminder of how really great this tree is. I don't mean to offend you If I have, but personally I think over time you have allowed your tree to go beyond where it should be. By letting the crown grow out too much the proportions you now have, have diminished the impact of that magnificent trunk which is the absolute best part of this bonsai. The growth is compact and the branching is visible, creating the image of a centurion tree. Allowing the growth to go wildish has removed that element from this magnificent composition.

We all have the tendency to let our trees develop beyond our original vision, I know I have and I am now having to deal with the result of that.

 

[mcpesq817]

nice progression. That is a sweet trunk.

it looks super healthy but do you ever think it looks a bit better when the canopy is more sparse? I like some of the earlier photos that show the branches and the spaces between them. wouldn't this lend itself to a literati form? just a thought..

I was thinking the same thing. I like the BIB 2009 show version the best. Still, a fantastic tree and very well done. Thanks for sharing.

*EDIT* Looks like Vance and I posted at the same time and have the same preference.

 

[Poink88]

I agree with Vance.

 

[Vance Wood]

This tree demonstrates the major problem I have with JBP, if you don't ride herd on them constantly they escape. Then, even with the proper care as this one has had they tend to do their own thing. Very frustrating.

 

[Adair M]

This tree demonstrates the major problem I have with JBP, if you don't ride herd on them constantly they escape. Then, even with the proper care as this one has had they tend to do their own thing. Very frustrating.

With this attitude, Vance, I suggest you stay far, far away from trident maples!

 

[Poink88]

With this attitude, Vance, I suggest you stay far, far away from trident maples!

LOL....I was about to say all trees tend to do that and pines are so much slower than broad leaf.

That said...I agree with the message Vance is delivering 100%.

 

[Vance Wood]

With this attitude, Vance, I suggest you stay far, far away from trident maples!

I do stay away from Trident Maples, they are very difficult to get through the winters here unless you put them in the ground. As to JBP, I do have some so I do know a little of what I speak. But thanks for the attitude check as unnecessary as it was.

 

[Adair M]

I think one of the reasons the 2009 photo is popular is the tree has very short needles at that time. And the owner felt that the needles were perhaps TOO short, so he's letting them grow out more. He's also showing the tree every other year at BIB. BIB will not let you show a tree two years in a row, so "every other year" is as often as possible. In Japan, trees are usually shown on 4 year cycles.

The tree in 2011 shows fairly long internodes having not been decandled in the summer of 2009. It also was not wired, so the internodes show fairly prominantly. Had the tree been appropriately wired in 2010, the internodes would not show as much and the tree would have had a much more refined appearance, even given the lack of decandling the previous year.

The picture of the most recent styling shows a refined tree, unfortunately, the shadows do not do it justice.

Personally, I think the tree is getting decandled a little too early in the summer, thus causing the tree to produce longer than necessary needles. If decandling were to be delayed for 3 to 4 weeks, the resultant needles would be shorter and more of the structure of the tree would be evident.

Vance, JBP require attention 3 times per year: Spring (potting and some needle management), Summer (decandling), and Fall (needle pulling, wiring).

 

[Vance Wood]

I

Vance, JBP require attention 3 times per year: Spring (potting and some needle management), Summer (decandling), and Fall (needle pulling, wiring).

Thanks for letting me know as if I was unaware?

 

[october]

This tree is absolutely beautiful. I agree with Vance about the image. I have always been partial to the stage after the initial styling. There is something about that in between stage right before a tree fills out that is just "perfect". Usually, with many species, we can strip it down again and start over..lol.. Not so easy with pine.

Rob

 

[lordy]

you have done a great job of making this tree flourish. Well done.