One more landscape yew

Dav4

Drop Branch Murphy
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Well, sort of;) . This is a tree I picked up on a landscape nursery crawl 5-6 years ago. It was basically a bush, 2' by 2', planted in a 10 gal can. I didn't really have a solid plan for it, so I started reducing the foliage and the rootball to make it more compact. Then, one thing or another happened...I think I killed 2 of my favorite trees...and I stopped really caring for it. For 2-3 years, it sat neglected, no fertilizer, sporadic water, no pruning to speak of. One spring maybe 3 years ago, the foliage was a sickly yellow and the tree had absolutely no new spring growth at all. I asummed that it was going to die, but of course, that was when I started to take care of it again. It seems to have recovered quite well. Anyway, it has undergone loads of pruning/wiring over the last year and was placed in a bonsai pot this spring. Next spring will be carving time, and I'll be doing alot of pinching to encourage the canopy to fill out. I included a pic of the front slightly rotated to the left as a possible new front. Please pardon the weeds. Advice, criticism, and words of praise are all welcome. The tree is 12" tall and has a 4.5" spread at the nebari. Thanks,

Dave
 

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Tachigi

Omono
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Va-Va-Va Voom.......now that is going to be a sexy yew. Nice Dav! I would suggest you forget carving the other yew and juniper and concentrate on this. By next year this time you will have a really nice looking piece. The canopy should fill very quickly. I'm not sure your rotation has improved it. Hard to say until you have done your carving. My one and only suggestion based on your pictures is be meticulous about defining the the life lines. That will make the difference between a good bonsai or a bonsai thats da bomb :)
 

Dav4

Drop Branch Murphy
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Chris and Tom, thanks for the replies. I'm pleased that you both like the tree. Tom, thanks for the advice about carving. I think I will be purchasing a set of carving handtools in the near future, as I have come to realize you can only do so much with power tools and a leatherman utility knife (but thats for another thread :eek: ). By the way, I have always been a big fan of the larger bonsai (like the other yew, and the juniper :) ), but I'm beginning to see the appeal of smaller trees such as this.

Dave
 

Dav4

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update

Just finished needle plucking, rewiring, and re-potting. I raised the nebari up just a bit and lowered the apex as well. The tree now stands at 11 and 1/2" tall with a 5" spread at soil level. Did most of the deadwood work last year. I included a shot from the right side...I think another possible front...the pic doesn't show it very well.

Dave
 

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Dav4

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better pics?

I uploaded 2 pics from this AM...the pics from yesterday were taken in the rain:eek:
 

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grog

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Nothing constructive but I like your yew. I had to look quite a few times to decide if I'd like it better without one or both of the jin but I think I like it best just the way it is.
 

Dav4

Drop Branch Murphy
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update/ apex change

I thought I'd post an update for this tree. This past summer, I opted to change the flow of the apex, and I severely shortened the lowest right branch...I didn't like the way it looked and didn't see any alternative other then chopping it short and growing it out again. I think I'm on the right track now. The plan is to let the foliage on the right side of the canopy grow out/catch up to the left side to balance things out. Comments are, as always, welcome.

Dave
 

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Martin Sweeney

Chumono
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Dav4,

Merry Christmas!

I know you asked for comments, but I am going to ask a question instead. How did this tree cope with your move from MA to GA?

Do you have concerns for it's survival in the new warmer climate?

Regards,
Martin
 

Brian Van Fleet

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Nice Yew! I wish we could grow them here. Looking at your most recent photo, you could make the tree quite dramatic if you removed the rest of the foliage on the right side of the tree, converting it to jins and concentrate on refining the 3 foliage pads over the trunk on the left side. It would really complete the "story" of the tree.

Additionally, it may help you avert a losing battle: it looks like the right side is weaker anyway, maybe from siting or carving through the live veins. Yew are particularly sensitive to this...and I think the live veins in yews are concave; opposite to junipers which are convex.

My $.02...even as it sits, it's a nice tree!
 

Dav4

Drop Branch Murphy
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Dav4,

Merry Christmas!

I know you asked for comments, but I am going to ask a question instead. How did this tree cope with your move from MA to GA?

Do you have concerns for it's survival in the new warmer climate?

Regards,
Martin

Merry Christmas to you, Martin! As far as health goes, I would say the three yews I brought with me have done as well or better then any of the junipers and pines that came with them. The foliage is bright green, lots of buds on the branches, etc.. I won't really know until I see them grow for a few years, but I'm optomistic.

Dave
 

Dav4

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Nice Yew! I wish we could grow them here. Looking at your most recent photo, you could make the tree quite dramatic if you removed the rest of the foliage on the right side of the tree, converting it to jins and concentrate on refining the 3 foliage pads over the trunk on the left side. It would really complete the "story" of the tree.

Additionally, it may help you avert a losing battle: it looks like the right side is weaker anyway, maybe from siting or carving through the live veins. Yew are particularly sensitive to this...and I think the live veins in yews are concave; opposite to junipers which are convex.

My $.02...even as it sits, it's a nice tree!

Thanks for the thoughts, Brian. You may be on to something...I have considered removing the foliage on the right side. I think that the foliage on the right isn't so weak per se but more "undeveloped":D. I'm going to see how the tree foliage grows this year before making any decisions. Thanks again,

Dave
 

Martin Sweeney

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Dav4,

Thanks for the reply. It is interesting that you found the yews enjoying the move south more that the pines and juniper. We had a bonsaiist from Minnesota move to Charlotte a few years back (hi Randy!) and he raved about how much better his pines and juniper did in their very first summer compared to up north. I do not recall him having yew however.

I am glad to hear that you yews are doing well. I hope it continues and look forward to further updates.

Regards,
Martin
 

Dav4

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Hey Martin, I'm a bit surprised, too. I should preface my comments by saying that all my trees except one ( a collected lodgepole pine that was re-potted this past spring and probably had too much root pruning:() have survived the trip and subseqent 6 months in GA. I suspect the record rains we've had have stressed out the pines and Junipers a bit...all my JBP and my one Ponderosa all have fungal issues, as does my 3 Rocky Mountain Junipers. Anyway, I'll be doing a fair amount of prophilactic fungicidal spraying next spring and summer.

Dvae
 

cquinn

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Thanks for the thoughts, Brian. You may be on to something...I have considered removing the foliage on the right side. I think that the foliage on the right isn't so weak per se but more "undeveloped":D. I'm going to see how the tree foliage grows this year before making any decisions. Thanks again,

Dave
\

I would just shorten the right side. You obviously are designing a Shakan, so with that in mind in order for the tree to be in balance at its current design, the right side would need to be shortened with the left side counter balancing the left to right movement of the trunk and apex. Take a look in Naka's books for examples on balancing such a design. For taking off all the growth on the right side to work you would need to bring the apex back to the left for a Shakan reversed apex design. This will also bring balance.
 

Dav4

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\

I would just shorten the right side. You obviously are designing a Shakan, so with that in mind in order for the tree to be in balance at its current design, the right side would need to be shortened with the left side counter balancing the left to right movement of the trunk and apex.

After the initial styling, I considered it to be an informal upright. Since the summer's change in apex direction, the tree is much more of a classic slanting form, I agree. As I stated earlier, the lowest right branch has already been shortened...I just need it and the other branches on the right to gain some strength to develop some ramification and density, then wire the foliage in closer to the trunk. If I opt to remove all the folage from the right of the canopy, I would either jin the existing apex or re-direct it back to the left.

Dave
 
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Dav4

Drop Branch Murphy
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My friend Rob (October here at Bnut) asked me to show me a recent pic of this tree, as he saw this one in its infancy as a bonsai and liked it alot. I initially was reluctant to post a new picture because of the current condition of the tree. Since the last post in this thread, this tree has; 1) had portions of its apex and branches removed or pruned back hard in a half hearted attempt to restyle it, and 2) been relatively neglected left to its own devices as I've focused my efforts on other material. It continues to be very forgiving, and is growing well this year. Anyway, I'm posting this picture because I'm sure many of us have trees that will periodically take a backseat to other trees for a time and, I suppose, it's ok to have a tree that you have had for more then a few years that looks like this on your bench. Also, I'm thinking it might have some work done to it later this spring. Comments are always welcome. Thanks,

Dave
 

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october

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Thanks Dave.. This tree is beautiful.. Don't know why you would have contemplated whether you should show it or not.. It looks like it actually has more potential than ever, especially the apex.. it looks like you already have a nice apex in there that just needs a little wiring.

Rob
 

Brian Van Fleet

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Looking good! Seems to like being down south...
 

Ron Dennis

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My friend Rob (October here at Bnut) asked me to show me a recent pic of this tree, as he saw this one in its infancy as a bonsai and liked it alot. I initially was reluctant to post a new picture because of the current condition of the tree. Since the last post in this thread, this tree has; 1) had portions of its apex and branches removed or pruned back hard in a half hearted attempt to restyle it, and 2) been relatively neglected left to its own devices as I've focused my efforts on other material. It continues to be very forgiving, and is growing well this year. Anyway, I'm posting this picture because I'm sure many of us have trees that will periodically take a backseat to other trees for a time and, I suppose, it's ok to have a tree that you have had for more then a few years that looks like this on your bench. Also, I'm thinking it might have some work done to it later this spring. Comments are always welcome. Thanks,

Dave

Would really enjoy spending a day enjoying your trees--particularly since you think this one is not up to par. I think it is beautiful!!!
 
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