Japanese Black Pine Winter Work

[Brian Van Fleet]

I have the full history of this tree on my website, which I'll be updating soon, but thought I'd share the latest and greatest here this evening. Kind of cool to see how things change from one year to the next. These shots are:

1. 3/07, As purchased
2. 12/08
3. 11/09
4. 12/10

I have found a new front for this, and I may be turning the tree so that the front would be what is currently off the back-left corner of the pot, and the top 1/3 is removed. It would be a major style change, but address a lot of the defects in the upper part of the tree...we'll see

Enjoy!

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Beautiful. Hope you don't mind me asking, but how much was the tree when you bought it?

 

[bonsai barry]

Great progression in the course of three years. In the first photo there is a hint of a troublesome root. Did you remove that root?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Ryan: wanna make me an offer?

Barry: I have corrected several surface roots while its been in this, it's first, bonsai pot. You might be referring to what looks like a bald cypress knee at the back right in the '08 photo. I'll be repotting this next spring, and look forward to getting it into a more appropriately sized pot.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Ryan: wanna make me an offer?

Being in high school still, I couldn't give you a fair enough offer

 

[bonsai barry]

Being in high school still, I couldn't give you a fair enough offer

Ryan, You've got one of the greatest assets for a bonsai enthusiast and it can't be purchased... Youth! Keep your trees alive and well trained and you'll have a remarkable collection at an age when most of us weren't even thinking bonsai.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Ryan, You've got one of the greatest assets for a bonsai enthusiast and it can't be purchased... Youth! Keep your trees alive and well trained and you'll have a remarkable collection at an age when most of us weren't even thinking bonsai.

Definitely! Not to mention the value youth can bring to a local bonsai club...keep the old guys on their toes, moving bags of soil, heavy trees...

Keep at it!

 

[garywood]

Good work Brian! How many did you look through to pick this one What are your plans for the upper third left side? How can anyone not love pines
Wood

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Good work Brian! How many did you look through to pick this one What are your plans for the upper third left side? How can anyone not love pines
Wood

Quite a few...although I don't know if I would pick it now. It did have branches on the outside of curves, and something that would pass for a tapering trunkline. Other than that, it was probably the fattest trunk of the bunch at that time! I have a couple better ones still in nursery cans just waiting in the wings; one is earmarked for Peter Warren to demo at the April workshop.

On changing the front, I'll have to reshoot it against a dark background so I can do a virt of my idea, but I'm considering removing what's covered by the towel. Everything that is left "works" without the need for grafts or radical bends, and the base is better from this side as well.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Here is where the "chop" would be made from the present front. Show you later what it could look like..

 

[garywood]

Hard to tell in pics but it looks like a better choice.
Wood
http://thingsofwood-gary.blogspot.com/

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

yeah...we'll see if I can steel myself to do it. Currently it's pretty "textbook", and I think it could be more interesting with a change...

 

[wahoo172]

Do it!!!!
That new front looks much better

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

A quick virt of the proposed front, with just a little airbrushing. I think this could be done pretty easily.

 

[TonysTrees]

Don't do it. Tree is very nice the way it is now, and you never know about the "chop" presenting problems.

 

[gibmeister]

I don't think you should chop this tree either. I really like the way you have developed it to this point.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Thanks...problem is that the tree is very photogenic from the front...turning it around exposes three other sides that would probably make you question if it was the same tree. I may shoot a few to show; it's almost laughable.

I think that if I don't do it now, I'll kick myself every year that I don't, because in total, it is a better tree from the back-left corner...better base, better branch layout, better trunk ratio, and I can eliminate a bunch of problems that you don't see looking head-on at it.

Add to it the fact that it really needs to be repotted in the spring means that if I don't do it by then, I'm stuck for the next 3 years or so looking at the inferior front or a weird angle...OR...it goes in a round pot

 

[Mike Westervelt]

Brian
I think you are on the right track with your new plan, the "virtual" with the towel shows a way more interesting tree to me. That being said, you've done an amazing job getting it to where it is now, in such a short time. Thanks for documenting your work so well, it's very informative and helpful.
Mike

 

[discusmike]

I like it the way it is,dont chop.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Just a little more tweaking and we're there...