Is Bonsai Mirai Live Worth $300/year?

[Smoke]

It just goes to show you: All that is necessary for the bonsai community to turn on it's own is for one of them approaching success above the level of everyone else. Just think; before there was Ryan there was ----- Books ?

Really...? You living in a cave?

 

[Smoke]

World is changing we used to buy a book now we buy a kindle. We spend time on youtube and some of us do pay for the premium youtube for few features. Some even make money out of uploading stupid videos.... and yes we are more and more into paying for apps on our phones, cable subscription, netflix? Do we benefit from that is a controversial question but it allows us to spend good time and look at things that are of interest. More and more our lives will shift to subscription models.
Watching youtube videos might be a beneficial thing but could also be counterproductive if u dont really know whose video you are watching and I have learned many flawed things that were pointed out here on BN.
The advantage of streams or videos like Boons or Ryan's is that u have an accountable and known person who has much more exposure and speaks from long experience. You also find a more structured layout set of videos to cover a set learning path.
Is there different schools of thoughts can some have a different approach or methodology? You bet yes as that's universal and even medical practice has different schools of though in different countries...
Going back to financials if goes back to whether one can afford it, and if one is in a "luxury" hobby he might afford 18 usd for couple times a year to check videos of interest or if one is more capable maybe go in a yearly subscription to spend quality time watching and learning and also to support people doing this. Going to workshops and classes is also a paid activity so some just prefer or only have the time to do it from the comfort of their homes at specific times of availability. So if the question is the learning value it's definitely there and much better than random non structured youtubes. Financial goes back to ones being able.tonafford or willingness to pay same like a netflix subscription where instead one can watch TV yet not have the luxury of watching the series he wants at the exact time he wants.
I'm far from showing a tree as if u saw any of my trees you'll be all pushing me to upgrade to tier 3 and subscribe to 10 more teachers to hopefully be able to pull a half decent tree in 20 years from now, this doesn't mean that I won't still make the effort to read and watch to hopefully get there.
I relate that to a commercial bonsai practitioner I met who isnt on any of those learning channels not even any forum, Instagram nor facebook. He has a crazy collection of trees hes growing since 35 years and every year styles then moves a few to bonsai bits and sells. Are his trees beautiful? Well most trees are or else we wouldn't be in this hobby. Are they beautiful considering bonsai "guidelines" heck NO. Do they make him and his customers proud? You bet they do. Is he willing to learn from mirai , BN,Boon for free? Highly unlikely is he willing to subscribe for 300 usd ? Definitely
It's all very personal choices and no one can convince or prove the others right or wrong and it's all about the perceived value and u have to try things and then objectively decide if they are worth ur money and time and if so you hit the renew subscription every month or year. I'm more into reeftanks where we dont really get paid streams or videos or channels but I see many monkeys around on youtube channels becoming influencers and cashing on stupid videos full of mistakes and bad info and believe it or not people also pay entrance fees to conventions to go and listen to presentations sometimes from those stupid monkeys VS authorities in the hobby who have a proven track record.

I have no idea if your talking about me in this expose or not but I do have a few words on the subject...

For some reason, and I have no idea how this is perpetuated, that I have some personal problem with Ryan. I don't. What I do have a problem with with Ryan is that a lot of people work with him, watch the video's and then talk about their experience about what a great teacher he is and how great the video's are. In my case all I want to SEE is the fruits of your labor. I know a guy like Adair will put to use what he saw, and I know he will come back here and show us how well it worked or that it did not live up to his expectation. That is all. I don't want to converse with him, he doesn;'t need my congratulatory post telling him he's rock star. Just post what you gleened from the video and how it helped in your life.

Now one is free to keep all the knowledge to your self and tell anyone that asks, go watch the video your self! You would be correct. But, I already know that if I learn something, I can't wait to share it with the community, I know how hard this stuff is to get. many people here don't even have a desk top computer and watch this shit on a frekin phone. I feel sorry for you guys while I watch it on a 24" monitor. This is a community site and it woks because people CONTRIBUTE to the site. If you don't want to contribute, fine, but don't keep tellin me how great someone is and then refuse to share how well it has contributed to your work. because if it didn't then your just a no talent with a big mouth. We have lots of those here.

If this was my site everyone would be required to use their real name and post their best tree in their avatar. Your first post would require a photo of you and the tree in your backyard. Sound like anyplace you remember? Of course not, you just barely got into bonsai and been on forums one year and have 200 wordy posts about nothing. Vance Wood will remember, he was there in the early years of Garden Web and the ASNF club of bonsai. And it was a list server!!

I don't care, really, who you study with, I just want to see how you have applied what you learned. This is a discussion forum....discuss, and start by posting the picture.

 

[Adair M]

...and I have no doubt that you will show us how it worked out for you in pictures, like what a good bonsai forum is for, not just talk.....

After I wire it, I will.

The cleaning of old needles doesn’t make for great pictures. And, I have been doing it little by little. I have the tree sitting by my pond, where I can put the umbrella up to shade it in the afternoon.

Here’s a picture:

 

[Smoke]

This is a perfect post in the work gleaned from a video. Now I can come in and ask how does this differ from cleaning needles from a juniper?

 

[Adair M]

This is a perfect post in the work gleaned from a video. Now I can come in and ask how does this differ from cleaning needles from a juniper?

It’s similar. The difference is often the old growth of a juniper is comprised of little tufts of foliage. The spruce is just old needles beginning to turn yellow closer to the trunk. Ryan’s video shows it well.

Here’s a pic of juniper foliage that needs cleaning:




Here’s that same section after I’ve cleaned it:



Looks like I might of missed a few! Lol!!

By the way, Smoke, I only use an iPhone to browse and post on BNut. I’ve never used an actual PC to do it.

 

[Adair M]

It’s similar. The difference is often the old growth of a juniper is comprised of little tufts of foliage. The spruce is just old needles beginning to turn yellow closer to the trunk. Ryan’s video shows it well.

Here’s a pic of juniper foliage that needs cleaning:


View attachment 307063

Here’s that same section after I’ve cleaned it:

View attachment 307064

Looks like I might of missed a few! Lol!!

By the way, Smoke, I only use an iPhone to browse and post on BNut. I’ve never used an actual PC to do it.

So, for completeness, I found a twig on my spruce that I hadn’t cleaned because I thought it really didn’t need it. But I did for the photo:

Before:




After;



As you can see, Ezo branches are really thin, the needles are very short. That shoot still has 5 year old needles on it, even after I cleaned it! Ryan says that if they’re healthy and firmly attached, leave them alone. The ones I removed were 6 and 7 year old needles. The 7 year old ones were easy to clean, they pretty much fell off on contact. The 6 year olds were still on there pretty good. They really didn’t need to be removed. But, removing them does show the little side shoot that grew this spring.

 

[Smoke]

Thanks for helping out on a discussion site for those that have no idea how this works. Thank you for inserting the paper in there to make it clear. This is the way you do it.

Stop talking about it and post up some pictures. This is THE way people learn.

By the way, Smoke, I only use an iPhone to browse and post on BNut. I’ve never used an actual PC to do it.

How 2020!
I really go thru a lot of work cleaning up photos, cropping them, adjusting clarity and so fourth, seems I'm just wasting my time. I try to leave my phone on a table somewhere so I'm not interrupted in my life. I had to carry a phone 24/7 for the last twenty years of my working life. It was a 24 hour company and I got called all hours of the night. To get away from the phone has been a God send. Of course I do put it on my blog so I want everything as best as I can make it. Just the way I roll.

 

[Smoke]

So on what Adair did, if I were to say Adair did the 1/8-1/4 rule, would people understand where that came from and who coined the term?

 

[maroun.c]

I have no idea if your talking about me in this expose or not but I do have a few words on the subject...

For some reason, and I have no idea how this is perpetuated, that I have some personal problem with Ryan. I don't. What I do have a problem with with Ryan is that a lot of people work with him, watch the video's and then talk about their experience about what a great teacher he is and how great the video's are. In my case all I want to SEE is the fruits of your labor. I know a guy like Adair will put to use what he saw, and I know he will come back here and show us how well it worked or that it did not live up to his expectation. That is all. I don't want to converse with him, he doesn;'t need my congratulatory post telling him he's rock star. Just post what you gleened from the video and how it helped in your life.

Now one is free to keep all the knowledge to your self and tell anyone that asks, go watch the video your self! You would be correct. But, I already know that if I learn something, I can't wait to share it with the community, I know how hard this stuff is to get. many people here don't even have a desk top computer and watch this shit on a frekin phone. I feel sorry for you guys while I watch it on a 24" monitor. This is a community site and it woks because people CONTRIBUTE to the site. If you don't want to contribute, fine, but don't keep tellin me how great someone is and then refuse to share how well it has contributed to your work. because if it didn't then your just a no talent with a big mouth. We have lots of those here.

If this was my site everyone would be required to use their real name and post their best tree in their avatar. Your first post would require a photo of you and the tree in your backyard. Sound like anyplace you remember? Of course not, you just barely got into bonsai and been on forums one year and have 200 wordy posts about nothing. Vance Wood will remember, he was there in the early years of Garden Web and the ASNF club of bonsai. And it was a list server!!

I don't care, really, who you study with, I just want to see how you have applied what you learned. This is a discussion forum....discuss, and start by posting the picture.

I wasn't really pointing at you or anyone in specific with my post, just sharing my own thoughts. I tend to avoid the drama in targeting people with posts especially people I respect as I do enjoy your posts and the hidden knowledge in them.
I'll answer your questions simply as you asked but this is not to argue or to prove anyone wrong as I'm only a newbie in bonsai and far from the knowledge or trees you guys have.
I'm only 2 months on Mirai and only watches the early spring, and half of the mid spring videos.
what I have learned and made a huge impact on my practice would be these:
-Ryan doesn't use root hook or root prong. I used to use those extensively during repot and the amount of damaged roots I get in a repot now is a fraction of what I used to get when I used the root prong.
-the type of care he gives to root and the "sandwiching method" he uses in repot, is very interesting and forces you to have great technique while de tangling, manipulating, and adding a layer of sand then a root then a layer of sand... amazing mastery and control which Im practicing now.
-his school of thought on the position of the tree in a pot and the way he manipulates the soil keeping in mind planting angle and tree stability is simply amazing. I have theoretically learned the technique and improving at it.
- i enjoy the tree and season specific info so I can watch videos that relate to current weather as well as trees I'm working on at any time frame.

Again is he the best I wouldn't know maybe not but he's at least 1000 times better than I am so By the time I exhaust his knowledge level and need someone better I'll just look for another stream or You tube series.
Totally agree about the share your trees concept, I moderate on a reefing forum and we do have a subforum for new joiners where they are encouraged to post to greet all, and introduce themselves and post a picture of their tanks as wella s a subforum for tank builds where they post details about their aquarium build and people chime in with opinions or suggestions to help.
I'm more than willing to show each of my trees on two conditions:
- I'm not liable for the Nausea you will get
- You will have to reply by a plan on how to go forward on each tree I post and it will have to be clear straightforward answers and not the typical answers you post where you get me more lost than I was before asking ))))

 

[Smoke]

hmm....interesting, what may these conditions be....

 

[Smoke]

- I'm not liable for the Nausea you will get

Oh come on, there just trees. I have my pots full of shit, I still post them and no one has said anything.

- You will have to reply by a plan on how to go forward on each tree I post and it will have to be clear straightforward answers and not the typical answers you post where you get me more lost than I was before asking ))))

I would do my best, as I always do. I can't guarantee you won't get mixed up but I will do my best to make something you can follow, as I am sure most anyone here would.

Let me just say also that many times on this forum people post pictures of their trees and say a few words about them. Then end the post with something like : Any critiques or advice will be gladly received.

But then when I give the advice they go off on the post like I am being too harsh or critical. If one does not want to hear the truth then maybe bonsai is not for you, or whomever. Do they really want to hear the truth or hope that the forum is not a place that people would speak their mind? My daddy always told me that "telling the truth is the best way, because you don;t have to remember which lie you told the person your talking to"

I live by that 100%

Post your tree, just one , maybe the most difficult case you have in a separate thread. I will give you my honest assessment of it, and allow other to chime in. I would really like to see if a thread can stay civil for a couple days. I don't know if it's possible, but I sure would love to give it a try. I can almost promise that you will have some avenues to pursue for the future of the tree.

 

[quietobserver]

So on what Adair did, if I were to say Adair did the 1/8-1/4 rule, would people understand where that came from and who coined the term?

Speaking for myself, no. Inquiring minds want to know..? (I think that’s cliche/term)

 

[Smoke]

Speaking for myself, no. Inquiring minds want to know..? (I think that’s cliche/term)

I expected people to jump on this like fly's to a dog turd.....

 

[Smoke]

-Ryan doesn't use root hook or root prong. I used to use those extensively during repot and the amount of damaged roots I get in a repot now is a fraction of what I used to get when I used the root prong.
-the type of care he gives to root and the "sandwiching method" he uses in repot, is very interesting and forces you to have great technique while de tangling, manipulating, and adding a layer of sand then a root then a layer of sand... amazing mastery and control which Im practicing now.

Thats why I make "Smoke Sticks" very heavy duty stick made from select hardwood used to de tangle a root ball in seconds. The stick is always parallel to the roots and allows one to get in and clean away soil quickly while not damaging roots. I make 40 or 50 a year and give them away to friends.

 

[maroun.c]

Oh come on, there just trees. I have my pots full of shit, I still post them and no one has said anything.



I would do my best, as I always do. I can't guarantee you won't get mixed up but I will do my best to make something you can follow, as I am sure most anyone here would.

Let me just say also that many times on this forum people post pictures of their trees and say a few words about them. Then end the post with something like : Any critiques or advice will be gladly received.

But then when I give the advice they go off on the post like I am being too harsh or critical. If one does not want to hear the truth then maybe bonsai is not for you, or whomever. Do they really want to hear the truth or hope that the forum is not a place that people would speak their mind? My daddy always told me that "telling the truth is the best way, because you don;t have to remember which lie you told the person your talking to"

I live by that 100%

Post your tree, just one , maybe the most difficult case you have in a separate thread. I will give you my honest assessment of it, and allow other to chime in. I would really like to see if a thread can stay civil for a couple days. I don't know if it's possible, but I sure would love to give it a try. I can almost promise that you will have some avenues to pursue for the future of the tree.

I'll be also practicing some tree photography with if I have time to pull my lights out some external lighting to try to see trees better. Once I have half decent results I'll take a pic of each of my trees and post them all. Guess we make a nice way to track the trees if I update once or twice a year.

 

[maroun.c]

Thats why I make "Smoke Sticks" very heavy duty stick made from select hardwood used to de tangle a root ball in seconds. The stick is always parallel to the roots and allows one to get in and clean away soil quickly while not damaging roots. I make 40 or 50 a year and give them away to friends.

He also has a nice way of holding the stick as he clears up the sand where the stick is somehow loose in his hand and if it catches on a root the upper part of the stick will move in hand before roots are damaged.
Not using the root racke except on olives and deciduous, made a difference on the unharmed roots in my repotting so far.

 

[leatherback]

Here’s a pic of juniper foliage that needs cleaning:

Thank you for showing. I have been doing a bit of work over winter on one of my ittoigawas and noticed a lot of yellow inside yesterday. Was concerned, but that has been resolved now.

 

[Smoke]

Speaking of yellow inside. This juniper was due for an overhaul, and it looked great this year going into Spring. All of a sudden the heat hit and this is the inside now. Now I really have to get busy!!

 

[leatherback]

All of a sudden the heat hit and this is the inside now. Now I really have to get busy!!

This is not fungal then? It really is the normal turnover of foliage no longer desired by the plant? (ooks like massive amount of dropped foliage)

 

[Smoke]

This is not fungal then? It really is the normal turnover of foliage no longer desired by the plant? (ooks like massive amount of dropped foliage)

Nope, just normal for a juniper not being taken care of on a timely basis and a wife dieing. It has taken me two years so far to get to some of these tree that have needed help but I am only one guy. Then I got into a relationship that required an all toe amputation that is taking up a lot of time back and fourth to doctors, and doing all the housework and doing all the cleaning and washing of clothes. I am taking it in stride the best I can, but I thought this part of my life was going to get easier...instead I feel like I'm starting all over again. This was the last time I worked on it...
This was in Feb of 2017, my wife died Aug of 2017 and the tree has just been sitting on the bench since then with no maintenance at all. Right now you can't see any of those jins and that big one on the left. Its totally covered with green and dead foliage.

I'll work a miracle tomorrow......Thats a pretty rare large Bigei pot. Not many in the USA.