JudyB
Queen of the Nuts
Good photography makes such a huge difference. Beautiful...beyond beautiful.
Japanese Beech Forest
- Thread starter MACH5
- Start date
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Have the edges been worked to be translucent? Polished or what have you. Earlier photos seemed to show a distinct contrast....the edges looked opaque.....or something like that.
Really swank!! But myself, I like a classic table.
Is that a wood prop underneath the slab?
Honestly, it could be on a picnic table propped up on paper plates and it would still look fab!!! Pass the sauerkraut!!!
Best of show is always a nice addition to your palmares!!!
Too funny Lance! Well not sure about that picnic table and paper plates idea.
The edges of the table have not been worked. It is just the set up and lighting. Underneath the slab there are three clear acrylic 4"x 4" spacers. In the photo it does look like a piece of wood funny enough.I understand well that the acrylic table is not for everyone. In fact, you and most others did not prefer it. There is something about the idea of the cold artificiality of the acrylic sharply contrasting with the more natural aspect of the granite slab and trees that held a special fascination with me. Also is fun poking people and make them a little uneasy at times!
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MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Thanks Judy! Yes it makes a huge difference. Actually the difference between your tree looking right and not at all. Joe Noga just does a fantastic job every time. I believe he has done most if not all of the photography for Bill's books and his International Bonsai publication. A super nice guy to boot with a great collection of trees of his own. The exhibitors all got their photos for free!
Giga
Masterpiece
so true, so true!
justBonsai
Omono
What kind of azalea did you use in the planting and where did you find it?
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
The forest as pictured in the 5th US National book. A little late here but wanted to thank Bill and his team for yet again producing an exceptional exhibition book. The photography was of course top notch from Mr. Joe Noga.
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Sharing some recent photos of this bonsai. Currently changing the position or angle of some trunks with guy wires. Keep working carefully but patiently in increasing the ramification while keeping the interior areas healthy. This is rather tough to do with beech. Next spring I anticipate doing quite a bit of wiring on it.
0soyoung
Imperial Masterpiece
Can you really do that - wait?
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
Looking good Serg! Beech are so much fun to wire, very compliant and the buds naturally lay out well. But if the wire even thinks about biting in a little, the scars won’t heal in our lifetimes.
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
0soyoung
Imperial Masterpiece
Not exactly. I mean wouldn't you/it be better off if you did much of that wiring soon, rather than waiting until next spring? If you can already see that it needs a major wiring next spring, it seems like those things are only going to get worse with the remainder of this season and could potentially not be addressable next spring (but maybe take even more time to address). I am just asking, about the merits of 'an ounce of prevention versus a pound of cure'. You've only indicated concerns about the interior of the grouping. I'm maybe erroneously assuming this is what is driving the need for lots of wiring.
Maybe I should just rephrase my question to, "what are you going to address with 'quite a bit of wiring' next spring and why are you sure it can wait until then?"
I guess I'm unintentionally being nosy. I just want to know about things that maybe give me some insight into advancing my enjoyment of this inane hobby. Nothin' deep or personal.
papymandarin
Shohin
wonderful forest, congratulation for your amazing work (i must say that i'm also a "fan" of your maples threads since its my "main species" too). If i can ask how do you manage it trimming-wise (how/when/why) if you have some time detailing it? thanks
JudyB
Queen of the Nuts
I've actually found winter the best time for beech wiring. No leaves (if the tree is old enough to loose them) and the buds haven't started to swell to be easy to knock off... And since they are not actively putting on wood, you don't risk wire biting in.
SilverioSan
Mame
What an amazing transformation Sergio, thanks for sharing and very well done.
cockroach
Chumono
Fantastic planting. Love the work you do.
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Oso, all design changes needed can wait. Beech does not develop that quickly. I wish!
Late winter/early spring with all leaves down, or in this case cut off, is best time simply because you see the entire structure. I cannot effectly judge the position of branches with a desired degree of accuracy in relation to the entire composition with a full canopy of leaves. I do some wiring now but not anything significant. All changes can easily wait until next spring.
The concerns with the interior areas will be forever going. This is always a big challenge in particular with forests and always need to be kept open enough for the interior branches to get enough light.
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Thanks Papy! The response to this could be a bit long and complex. Based on what I have read, heard, seen and experienced, I am putting together sort of a "manual" for beech. But they are challenging and just when I think I have something figured out, Mother Nature tells me otherwise. Slowly however I am compiling a list of my observations.
Short answer for now. I trim back late winter, early spring before bud brake. Tips on all (or most) of the tree are strong on beech and MUST be managed back. Apex is also quite strong and can easily take over and severely weaken lower areas. In early summer, I cut leaves in half to allow light and air to the interior areas. DO NOT ever do a full defoliation on beech like some of us do on maples.
Thay are also difficult to air layer. Even speaking with the likes of Michael Hagedorn will tell you the same. I have currently two large pieces of stock that I am air layering. Yesterday I saw a few roots on one poking through the sphagnum moss. That is great to see! But... now we'll see if I get them developing all around the trunk. Cross fingers!
