Literati/ Bunjin American Beech

[JohnnyUtah]

I just repotted this American Beech that I dug last year. I wasn’t planning on repotting but it put out vigorous growth last summer and it had a ton of new feeder roots. I wired it late fall. I like the wispiness of the whole thing. I would be interested to hear what you all have to say.

 

[Gabler]

Bunjin Part I—What IS This Weird Thing?

Bunjin get a bad rap or a badass rap. There’s also those who will pass it by on the bench without comment. I figure the no comment is the most interesting reaction. I thought it would be fun to exp…

crataegus.com

This is a four-part series that should give you a good idea of what to aim for in the bunjin style. It's incredibly difficult to do it well. I certainly haven't managed it yet myself.

 

[JohnnyUtah]

Bunjin Part I—What IS This Weird Thing?

Bunjin get a bad rap or a badass rap. There’s also those who will pass it by on the bench without comment. I figure the no comment is the most interesting reaction. I thought it would be fun to exp…

crataegus.com

This is a four-part series that should give you a good idea of what to aim for in the bunjin style. It's incredibly difficult to do it well. I certainly haven't managed it yet myself.

Yeah I’ve read that, and it is difficult. I was thinking about swinging the upper branch out towards the right instead of over the tree.

 

[JohnnyUtah]

Update on the same tree. Working to compact the branching also removal of branches aren’t doing anything for it. Will change the planing angle in the spring.

 

[Potawatomi13]

I'm a literati fan and developing several. Overall I like your tree with all the branches and it can be a great elegant non literati that way. Maybe a shame to cut back so far as needed for Literati. If doing that your best thing would be only keeping the very top branches after the right angle bend. Maybe consider adding just a bit more wiggle in the thinner trunk section all the way to the uppermost branches. I think you have a good eye. And one more thing: before picking the planting angle you should see what surface roots you have.

 

[Gabler]

I'm a literati fan and developing several. Overall I like your tree with all the branches and it can be a great elegant non literati that way. Maybe a shame to cut back so far as needed for Literati. If doing that your best thing would be only keeping the very top branches after the right angle bend. Maybe consider adding just a bit more wiggle in the thinner trunk section all the way to the uppermost branches.

I strongly disagree. Johnny is taking this in a nice direction, and he does not need to remove even more branches for the tree to count as a literati. Plenty of literati trees, especially deciduous trees, have a few sparse low branches. In this case, the lower branches work. The only branch I would think twice about is the branch that crosses the trunk line in the upper middle part of the trunk. I'm not saying Johnny should cut it off, but it does stand out, so he may want to decide whether to highlight the crossing branch as a key feature or get rid of it. Given the way the topmost branches form a loop, it seems Johnny is in the latter camp. The looping apex echoes the crossing branch, which helps to "lampshade" it.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Always remember - when designing, styling or evaluating a tree, start with the roots, and then the trunk. The branches do not define a tree - even though they draw the eye, they are the easiest things to change.

We don't know what the roots look like, and the trunk is quite straight from the soil almost all the way to the apex. The only part of this tree that is even partially literati is the very apex, where you have wired the apex to move in a direction opposite the direction of the rest of the tree. Otherwise it would be considered a slant style or perhaps wind-blown if you removed or rewired the apex that is moving into the direction of the wind.

Don't get hung up on a name - it is still a nice tree. I would just embrace what this tree is giving you, instead of forcing into something it is not.

 

[JohnnyUtah]

I'm a literati fan and developing several. Overall I like your tree with all the branches and it can be a great elegant non literati that way. Maybe a shame to cut back so far as needed for Literati. If doing that your best thing would be only keeping the very top branches after the right angle bend. Maybe consider adding just a bit more wiggle in the thinner trunk section all the way to the uppermost branches. I think you have a good eye. And one more thing: before picking the planting angle you should see what surface roots you have.

I have been looking at that thinner trunk line for a while now that I have this photo of it. I do think it needs more movement. I may also still cut back over the next few years. This is a very fun tree I didn’t have much hope for it a year or so ago. So I never really invested my hopes into it. I just used it for wire practice and to give myself more of a developmental challenge. American Beech being a pretty poor choice for a bunjin, it has been a good tree to work on. The branches are surprisingly forgiving to wire. I have done some bud pinching on a different AB and it responded very well, I will do the same with this come push and see how it progresses over the next growing season. Oh, and I haven’t forgot about the surface roots. Good call.

 

[JohnnyUtah]

I strongly disagree. Johnny is taking this in a nice direction, and he does not need to remove even more branches for the tree to count as a literati. Plenty of literati trees, especially deciduous trees, have a few sparse low branches. In this case, the lower branches work. The only branch I would think twice about is the branch that crosses the trunk line in the upper middle part of the trunk. I'm not saying Johnny should cut it off, but it does stand out, so he may want to decide whether to highlight the crossing branch as a key feature or get rid of it. Given the way the topmost branches form a loop, it seems Johnny is in the latter camp. The looping apex echoes the crossing branch, which helps to "lampshade" it.

I was thinking about removing that branch. I'll have to post some additional photos at different angles where the branching does not cross the trunk line.

 

[JohnnyUtah]

Always remember - when designing, styling or evaluating a tree, start with the roots, and then the trunk. The branches do not define a tree - even though they draw the eye, they are the easiest things to change.

We don't know what the roots look like, and the trunk is quite straight from the soil almost all the way to the apex. The only part of this tree that is even partially literati is the very apex, where you have wired the apex to move in a direction opposite the direction of the rest of the tree. Otherwise it would be considered a slant style or perhaps wind-blown if you removed or rewired the apex that is moving into the direction of the wind.

Don't get hung up on a name - it is still a nice tree. I would just embrace what this tree is giving you, instead of forcing into something it is not.

Totally understand that. My career is as a very traditional glassmaker I always get hung up on working within defined parameters at least for me it helps with pushing those parameters and finding creativity in that.
With that said this has been a very fun tree to work with and I will continue to work with what it has given me.

 

[JohnnyUtah]

I just want to say thank you to everyone who as shared advice or took the time to just share words about this tree. Thank you.

 

[Gabler]

Always remember - when designing, styling or evaluating a tree, start with the roots, and then the trunk. The branches do not define a tree - even though they draw the eye, they are the easiest things to change.

We don't know what the roots look like, and the trunk is quite straight from the soil almost all the way to the apex. The only part of this tree that is even partially literati is the very apex, where you have wired the apex to move in a direction opposite the direction of the rest of the tree. Otherwise it would be considered a slant style or perhaps wind-blown if you removed or rewired the apex that is moving into the direction of the wind.

Don't get hung up on a name - it is still a nice tree. I would just embrace what this tree is giving you, instead of forcing into something it is not.

I suppose I have a looser definition of literati. If it's a sparse tree with an abstract design and a wabi-sabi sense of aesthetics, I consider it literati.