First Big Attempt

[goosetown]

Alright, so this is my first attempt at transforming a tree - and I mean really going after it, at least for me. Of COURSE, I neglected to take even a single before picture - or I at least can't find any that I took. Which is a shame because the transformation - good, bad or ugly - was drastic.

Oh well.

A bit of background on this one: bought it a few months ago for $70; I was told it was a shimpaku, but I don't think it is. The foliage is scaled but the bark doesn't look right. However, the bark DOES weathered and old, which is great, because I think it's only about 15 years or so. It's roughly 20" from root to tip. It was FULL when I bought it. I did some digging at the nursery, really liked the root structure, and thought the branch structure looked right for something of a tiered informal upright.

Got it home, let it sit a few weeks, blah blah blah, and then went at it really carefully one day. I did a little cleaning up and a lot of looking and pondering. What I found was that it wasn't quite what I thought it was; the branches were not in optimal positions, even for wiring. The only reasonable front featured nice lower branches that were, unfortunately, almost perpendicular. Also, it was FAR more upright than I'd hoped; it leaned a little, but the trunk was likely too thick to manipulate further. I was bummed. So rather than slice it up more, I decided to back away for a couple months until I "saw" it.

Driving back from Palm Springs a couple of weeks ago, I saw it. It was a desert tree - wish I could tell you which kind - that was old as all hell, 75% deadwood and windblown to roughly the same angle as the tree that had perplexed me. What struck me was that what little foliage was left was bright and thriving.

Today, taking a break from work, I decided I'd finally tackle the job of getting my tree on the road to bonsai. Worked for a couple hours to wire, then to take off just the right amount of greenery; it was most of the foliage, obviously, but it looked right, just as it did in my mind. Then I wired some more, trimmed a little more, and eventually...ended up with this guy:



The plan is now to leave it alone for a year, let it set in position, and then start to deadwood. I'm going to start with the majority of the left side of the tree and see how that looks. Eventually, I want it to appear both healthy and seeming as though it's fighting to hang on. But we'll see what happens.

Any comments/advice/thoughts are appreciated. I have no earthly idea if this is "right" or not by typical standards, but I look at it and I'm really thrilled I could get out what was in my head. I suppose that's a step in the right direction.

 

[Shimpaku]

Well, it's beanpole straight. I do believe it is a Shimpaku. I see the direction you are going with it, but I would do something different. To make it more interesting, you could do a chop above the first branch and then Jin part of the remainder. The branch shooting to the left and up would become the leader and it would make for an interesting trunk line. Problem is that you will severely weaken the tree, and probably already have. Shimps take a longgggg time to recover. Also, do what you want to the foliage, but leave the rootball in tact. The quickest way to kill a shimp, is to mess with the roots and the foliage without giving it time to recover. Ask me how I know.

 

[Sekibonsai]

Aaaah the enthusiasm of beginners. Congrads on your bravery. Chop or not chop= your perogative. You can wait and chop later but you can never un-chop. Trees that looked pretty hokey to start actually develop into unique trees later with the right care.

BTW any branches can be jinned now.

A sketchpad is your friend. Sketch out all the possibilities in your tree, different angles, draw some existing branches as deadwood... this will train your eye and your mind. If you can get a hold of Bonsai Focus magazines see what Peter Adams does...

 

[goosetown]

That's actually an extremely interesting idea. However, it would detract from what I saw in my mind and what I'm going after now.

I actually trimmed this one slowly over the period of a few months before hacking the bulk off to achieve the composition I ultimately saw for it, and the good news is that I'm not looking for much "recovery" - I want to keep the foliage sparse in comparison to the size of the tree, but hopefully develop some nice pads over time. We'll see how much of my "vision", as it were, ultimately comes to fruition. But I figured for a $50 stock plant it was worth it to take a shot to see how far I could go and how it would react to the work. As far as the root ball, it's not getting touched anytime soon - won't need a repot until Spring '14.

Well, it's beanpole straight. I do believe it is a Shimpaku. I see the direction you are going with it, but I would do something different. To make it more interesting, you could do a chop above the first branch and then Jin part of the remainder. The branch shooting to the left and up would become the leader and it would make for an interesting trunk line. Problem is that you will severely weaken the tree, and probably already have. Shimps take a longgggg time to recover. Also, do what you want to the foliage, but leave the rootball in tact. The quickest way to kill a shimp, is to mess with the roots and the foliage without giving it time to recover. Ask me how I know.

 

[goosetown]

Believe it or not, this one was sketched out four different times.

The issue I ultimately ran into was twofold: 1) I had a particular concept that I wanted to execute that fit this tree's profile and 2) I have two (slightly smaller) very similar shimps that are informal uprights but have a better branch structure for that full, multi-pad layered look. This one...just didn't. It was wonky and awkward, which is probably why it was (as I said above) only $50 for such a large, thick stock.

To start I cleaned it up a little bit and then sketched out an idea based on the major branch structure. Didn't like it. Stepped away. Took another long look, trimmed a little more...hated what I had to work with, stepped away. Did some very rough wiring to see what I could get away with. Loathed the structure. Couldn't find that right thing. Stepped away altogether. Then, having seen the tree I talked about earlier, the form took shape and I figured the hack was worth the risk.

Is this a tree that will ever be a show-stopping award winner? Almost definitely not...but that's not really what I'm focused on right now, either. The challenge for me was taking a tree that I was frustrated with and turning it into something I really liked. So far, I'm on that road, and if I can keep it alive, this is something I can see myself being very happy with for years and years and years. If I can't, I learn a big lesson about how much you can do to a tree at one time and how far you can force a design. I'll take either or both.

But like I said...I look at it now and it makes me happy. I'm content with that and I'm excited to move forward with it late next Spring. As I keep learning and gaining confidence I can worry about working with specimen trees and what's "right" as per traditional philosophy. Right now I'm just hoping to use this particular tree as a stepping stone to more knowledge. In that, I very much appreciate your thoughts

Aaaah the enthusiasm of beginners. Congrads on your bravery. Chop or not chop= your perogative. You can wait and chop later but you can never un-chop. Trees that looked pretty hokey to start actually develop into unique trees later with the right care.

BTW any branches can be jinned now.

A sketchpad is your friend. Sketch out all the possibilities in your tree, different angles, draw some existing branches as deadwood... this will train your eye and your mind. If you can get a hold of Bonsai Focus magazines see what Peter Adams does...

 

[Shimpaku]

I also wanted to add that I don't think there is any such thing as a bad Shimpaku. I can't say the same for other plants. They have a mystical quality about them that I really like. Could just do the easiest thing.....nothing at all. The shimp will love you for it too. Maybe get to know it over a couple years. I know, I know. Sounds wierd. But my biggest problem that is a life long malody is my propensity for impatience.

Short story- I had this amazing shimpaku a couple years ago. I was new and didn't know what I was doing. This thing spent 10 years developing the most POWERFUL root base before I came along and bought it. The base looked like it held earth like an eagle talon. I destroyed it in less than 2 months. I cut here and there and here and there again. Then I repotted, then repotted again trimming more root. It wintered, came into spring. I noticed some cuttings from the previous season from it that were still green on the ground. I put two and two together and realized it died a slow death, but still rewarded me with green foliage. I learned to leave a new tree alone and admire it for a while. I am my worst enemy and this hobby teaches me that about myself. Ho hum.