Creation of a Large Rock Planting

[johng]

Many of you know me as someone with a big interest in Bald Cypress, but if the truth is known, rock plantings are my first love when it comes to bonsai. I have a dozen or so in my collection.
The one thing that I have learned over the years is that patience is a really good thing when it comes to creating rock plantings.

It has taken several years for me to accumulate all the necessary parts and put together a plan for this composition. The stones are known as Lace Rock and I purchase them from aquarium stores. I believe you can also get some from Brussel's. Typically the stone sells for about $2.50-$3/pound. I think I have about $160 in the stones used in this planting. $160 may sound like a lot for some stones but how many nice containers could you buy for the same amount...not many!! IMO good stones are just as valuable as quality containers and often even more difficult to locate.

The plant material has been grown for several years as well. The junipers were previously in bonsai containers...however, all along I planned to potentially use them in a rock planting. The azaleas have been in preparation for about 3 years.

I created a video for this composition but let me begin by sharing a couple pics of the final product...

And now here is the video...
[video=youtube_share;cNmCPhsErsI]http://youtu.be/cNmCPhsErsI[/video]

 

[Vin]

That's just plain GORGEOUS! You won't need to shelter it on windy days for sure. I have all the fixin's to put one together - lace rock, junipers, etc. and now all I need is time. Thanks for the instruction and inspiration.

 

[Eric Group]

Looks great! That is a special piece of rock!

 

[sorce]

Looks like a man at the top holding it all together!

Love the rocks.

Great composition!

Sorce

 

[johng]

Thanks guys...

I forgot to mention how large it is... 2' to the top of the stone, 30" from right to left...maybe 16" front to back.

 

[Si Nguyen]

Wow! Love it! Thanks for the video instructions too. I have a bunch of large lace rocks, .. been collecting them from aquarium stores for years too. But I have never glued them together. Thanks for the ideas.

 

[johng]

Wow! Love it! Thanks for the video instructions too. I have a bunch of large lace rocks, .. been collecting them from aquarium stores for years too. But I have never glued them together. Thanks for the ideas.

Thanks Si!
Rodney Clemons should get the credit for demonstrating how to "build" these stones!
I watched him do something similar at the Carolina Bonsai Expo more than a decade ago.

John

 

[qwade]

Nice design. Great video . Inspires me to try one of these. Do you have any pics of smaller, beginner type plantings?

 

[Vin]

Thanks Si!
Rodney Clemons should get the credit for demonstrating how to "build" these stones!
I watched him do something similar at the Carolina Bonsai Expo more than a decade ago.

John

He just did a forest for our club last week. Great guy.

 

[tmmason10]

Very cool john! You might have inspired me to try one someday. Thanks for sharing.

 

[coh]

Very nice John, thanks for showing the process!

I'm wondering how much the whole thing weighs. If the rocks are $3/pound and you spent $160 on rocks, that would suggest over 50 pounds. Yet the rocks look "airy" (for lack of a better term).

Chris

 

[Waldo Street Pottery]

Thanks for sharing John G! Awesome as always.

 

[edprocoat]

Wow that is spectacular ! It looks like a mountain. What kind of rock is that, or did I miss that? lol I now will have to read all the posts to see if you mentioned that! Did you find the rock or find a place to buy it. I never see rocks like that, In Ohio the most interesting rocks are the river shale type flat ones with fossils in them and in Florida the Coquina or the limestone are neat looking but fall apart from watering when you use them to grow something on. I love this scene you created ! Great work.

EDIT ok I went back and seen that the third picture was actually a video ! Answered all my questions too . lol Cool idea cementing the separate rocks together like that ! The wire will give it the strength it needs to stay put. I would have never thought about joining rocks this way to make that mountain. Again thanks for sharing this beautiful creation, now I want a mountain scene! It would be just too hard to move with me and would probably walk away like my plants have been doing lately.

ed

 

[Eric Group]

How long did the process take you once you started working on this? I know it took you years to plan for it, accumulate the rocks, get the plants ready... Just curious how many man hours went into it once you got rolling...

How often does a rock planting like this need to be "repotted"? Do you need to frequently remove the trees and root prune often or do they stay pretty happy for the long term in this muck and soil mix?

Finally... How the heck do you move it? I would be terrified it would break apart on me, and it has to be Heavy!

Thanks for the great video John... Again- great job on this one!

 

[johng]

questions

How long did the process take you once you started working on this? I know it took you years to plan for it, accumulate the rocks, get the plants ready... Just curious how many man hours went into it once you got rolling...

Lots of time went into this planting before I ever started to plant anything...
3-4 hours choosing trees to use and playing with their placement on the stone
3-4 hours at least in prepping and wiring trees
2 hours attaching the stones with the hydraulic cement and adding wire ties to attach the trees
1 day just letting the stones completely cure...the cement dries in minutes but I always like to give it some extra time to cure well before I start moving it around.
30 minutes making muck
1 hour collecting moss

Once everything was prepared I took my time placing, securing, and mucking the trees to the stone...I spent at least 4 hours putting the trees and moss on the rock.



How often does a rock planting like this need to be "repotted"? Do you need to frequently remove the trees and root prune often or do they stay pretty happy for the long term in this muck and soil mix?

This is a hard question...about every 3-4 years I find that I need to freshen the muck...I do this by removing all the moss, scraping the top layer of muck off, and then replace with fresh muck and remoss...this really takes the place of repotting. I have in the past completely removed everything and started over but that always been an aesthetic choice as opposed to horticultural. I have a rock planting that is 18 years old now and never been removed.

Finally... How the heck do you move it? I would be terrified it would break apart on me, and it has to be Heavy!

carefully For this one, so far I have just been moving it on the board.


Thanks for the great video John... Again- great job on this one!

Thanks....
John

 

[Eric Group]

Thanks....
John

I assumed the time investment was significant! It really shows you took your time in the final arrangement! I was asking about the moving of this piece also because I assume you would consider showing this one at some point? It would be a real show stopper if you did John!

Really illustrates the difference between the standard pot and this lace rock composition... A standard pot takes about 5-10 minutes of prep normally for me- wire some screen over the holes, maybe wash it out if there was another tree in it previously or if it is particularly nasty inside... Add a layer of pumice or something free draining in the bottom and you are ready to go!

This type of composition takes hours/ days of active prep work not to mention the years you put into assimilating the necessary components, trees...

I guess this would be considered a penjing if we were going to try to classify it in some "group" or put a name on it's style more descriptive than just a "rock planting"? Or do penjing planting have to have a water tray of some sort?

What ever the name, it is cool as Hell!

 

[johng]

I guess this would be considered a penjing if we were going to try to classify it in some "group" or put a name on it's style more descriptive than just a "rock planting"? Or do penjing planting have to have a water tray of some sort?

What ever the name, it is cool as Hell!

I like rock planting or tray landscape... if I were Chinese then maybe penjing When I put it on the large marble slab that I have I am afraid it will look even more like a penjing

 

[DougB]

Thanks John as always EXCEPTIONAL. I understand the how, etc. But I don't ever remember (what little memory I have left) seeing a listing of plants/trees that are suitable for these types of plantings. And never seen a listing of compatible plants/trees. John have you, or other BNuter's ever seen such lists?

Again John, stay warm and always good to see you and secondarily your postings/videos.

 

[bruce m]

very nice composition.i have thought for years to do something with the pile of lacerock i collected in the hills.have lots of satsuki and trident maples i thought would look good together. living in california with our dry summers may be a problem for me . once again very nice and thanks for posting.

 

[DhD47]

Great post. Thank you for sharing with us. You really show how good planning can really make a legs project like this turn into a piece of art.

Well do e and would love to see other post if you have them.

D