Porky's Progress, another Mugo

[Vance Wood]

My wife and I moved to Michigan in 1970 so I could attend school and utilize my GI bill benefits. As we were unpacking all of her and my junk she noticed all of my bonsai pots. We mutually decided it might be a good idea if I started growing bonsai again. This is the first tree.


I obtained in 1971 a Mugo Pine. It had a really big trunk and not much else. At this time I at least knew that. As you can see my artistic ability was just about as rough as the tree. This is the earliest Photo of this tree I can find. I didn't have a clue what I was going to do with it but even then I realized the tree was conflicted

This is the way the tree looked in 2001 the last time I displayed it in is current form, a form I realized was still conflicted and was going no where. In 2008 I decided to make the change which in my mind was a big gamble as far as ruining what many considered a good tree and in my opinion was a risk to the trees health because of the large amount of material that was going to be removed.

 

[VAFisher]

Wow. Dont think I've seen that one before. Great tree!

 

[Vance Wood]

Wow. Dont think I've seen that one before. Great tree!

Thanks, but I'm nmot done it gets worse or better depending on your point of view.

 

[Vance Wood]

In 2008 the major reduction took place. Here are two views of the tree because now instead of having the tree conflicted (the potential of two trees) as it once was it now has the potential of two fronts. The last image here is the tree as it was used in our clubs poster for 2012. Any time you go through something like this it takes time to iron out the defects but I am pleased with the future of a tree now, that as it best before, had no future. It had reached maturity as a forever 2nd rate bonsai, it was good and it was beautiful but it would never be the masterpiece I wanted it to be.

If you take note of where the first large knuckle was located over the period of many years some major branches were removed culminating in the major removal of the second trunk.

 

[Vance Wood]

Now we have reached 2016 and the form and style of the tree is starting to reach maturity, and I realize I do not have a photo that does the tree justice at the moment, so that will have to wait till tomorrow. You will have to settle with this one take before I did a bit more detail wiring and cleaning up of the foliage not to mention how it up this season under an aggressive fertilization program. You might notice the dead wood that has appeared on the trunk and one root. This was unintentional and natural due the massive removal of material a couple of years earlier. Fortunately Mugos are the best of the Pines to deal with dead wood issues.

 

[Vance Wood]

I posted this little story in response to the post Good or Trash. The tree demonstrates the principle of building down I have been preaching about for years. I am glad I have been around long enough and have had enough patience to not give up on this tree. I hope when I get the best of the current photos up you can see where this tree has come from and where it is going. In the beginning the tree was trash, now I think I can say it is at the not getting kicked out of bed for eating crackers stage, --- maybe that means it might be good.

 

[Paradox]

Sorry but this tree, with that trunk was not trash, just unrefined.

 

[Vance Wood]

At the time many would have disagreed with you. I was told many times I was wasting my time with it. Perhaps those detractors were right but what choice did I have. I did not have the money to buy expensive pre-bonsai, and if I did where does one find good quality pre-bonsai anyway while trying to support two children? When we first moved to Michigan we literally slept on the floor. We moved up here without jobs or knowing where we were going to stay. Thinking back on it if I had been my father I would have kicked my own ass for coming up here. It's amazing what we will do when we are young. I am so thankful to my wife for sticking with me through all of this, I have been blessed. In case you haven't noticed I really do take bonsai seriously, perhaps more seriously than someone who does not do this for a living should, but bonsai is part of me.

This tree has become a friend of sorts. It has been with me through good times bad times and times in between. It has been with me through several jobs the birth of two children and 12 grandchildren. Together we have changed and together we have grown. In the beginning I kept this tree in the nursery pot outside the step at a couple of the apartments we lived in. At the time the tree was pretty ugly and nobody knew what it was becoming, sometimes I think I was one of them. but I kept at it and I learned always hoping one day to get hold of some Japanese White Pine. Oddly enough now, I prefer the Mugo over the Japanese White Pine. The tree may not have the history the mountains can give it but it has a history that reflects my life in a way.

 

[Vin]

It has had quite a life since 1971. Looking forward to seeing it in its current state.

 

[VAFisher]

The "conflicted" image was great to me. It must have been nerve wracking pondering removing that big branch. But it was definitely the right decision. The tree is even better now. Awesome tree.

Oh and nice pot too. Is it Sara Rayner? I love her work.

 

[Vance Wood]

I am glad and thankful that you appreciate the agony I felt doing what I did. Yes the pot is by Sara Rayner, She does great work.

 

[aml1014]

My teacher tells me that the younger crowd practicing bonsai nowadays are impatient. They want the best of the best from the start so they can have a nicer tree faster. You remind me a lot of my teacher in the way that she never had much money, yet, bonsai has and always will be part of her. She's got trees she started this year from seed and she's 87! She has many trees that are gorgeous and refined and have all the signs of age and after going threw her garden two weeks ago while thinking about this, I noticed out of her MASSIVE collection I only found 4 trees with major reductions. So I asked her about it, she told me " oh I bought most of them when they were babys, I didn't have the money to buy expensive stuff" and yet I admire her trees more then many of the modern professionals, I can just sense her pressence within the trees.they weren't just a quickid demo tree. The fact people are always saying to forget starting seeds because they'll never see them be bonsai, so what! Somebody else will take over hopefully and continue what you've begun and you'll always be part of that tree. Patience is quite amazing, great things can come from it.

Aaron

 

[Vance Wood]

My teacher tells me that the younger crowd practicing bonsai nowadays are impatient. They want the best of the best from the start so they can have a nicer tree faster. You remind me a lot of my teacher in the way that she never had much money, yet, bonsai has and always will be part of her. She's got trees she started this year from seed and she's 87! She has many trees that are gorgeous and refined and have all the signs of age and after going threw her garden two weeks ago while thinking about this, I noticed out of her MASSIVE collection I only found 4 trees with major reductions. So I asked her about it, she told me " oh I bought most of them when they were babys, I didn't have the money to buy expensive stuff" and yet I admire her trees more then many of the modern professionals, I can just sense her pressence within the trees.they weren't just a quickid demo tree. The fact people are always saying to forget starting seeds because they'll never see them be bonsai, so what! Somebody else will take over hopefully and continue what you've begun and you'll always be part of that tree. Patience is quite amazing, great things can come from it.

Aaron

You are absolutely correct. We don't want to wait for anything even in politics. We make some sort of pronouncement that we need to do this and those who oppose such an idea say yes but it will take ten years before that would help. So the something suggested never gets done and time passes. Ten years down the road we have the same problem where no one has come up with a better idea, that would solve the problem quickly, as that pronouncement made ten years ago where if we had done it ten years ago we would not be talking about it now and still looking for a solution. Then here comes the kicker: Someone suggest the same thing suggested ten years ago and the whole process repeats itself and nothing gets done.

Sometimes the best and quickest way to get something done is to just go ahead and get the ball rolling. You cannot save time neither can you stop it, the only thing you can do is utilize it. You can say I don't want to wait on a project that will take ten years, I want it quicker than that. So---what are you going to do? Spend the next ten years thinking about something that you could have started but didn't because it was too slow, so now you are ten years older and have nothing but unfulfilled dreams and you are living in the world of "What If's". For better or worse unless you have no desires, dreams, goals or plans to one degree or another we suffer from What if.

 

[aml1014]

You are absolutely correct. We don't want to wait for anything even in politics. We make some sort of pronouncement that we need to do this and those who oppose such an idea say yes but it will take ten years before that would help. So the something suggested never gets done and time passes. Ten years down the road we have the same problem where no one has come up with a better idea, that would solve the problem quickly, as that pronouncement made ten years ago where if we had done it ten years ago we would not be talking about it now and still looking for a solution. Then here comes the kicker: Someone suggest the same thing suggested ten years ago and the whole process repeats itself and nothing gets done.

Sometimes the best and quickest way to get something done is to just go ahead and get the ball rolling. You cannot save time neither can you stop it, the only thing you can do is utilize it. You can say I don't want to wait on a project that will take ten years, I want it quicker than that. So---what are you going to do? Spend the next ten years thinking about something that you could have started but didn't because it was too slow, so now you are ten years older and have nothing but unfulfilled dreams and you are living in the world of "What If's". For better or worse unless you have no desires, dreams, goals or plans to one degree or another we suffer from What if.

That's why I personally don't care what others say about seed grown. In another thread @sorce asked who the next Gen growing prebonsai will be? Hopefully I'll be part of that group, I'm going to be applying for a growers license in septemeber, thats me getting my ball rolling. Then in 10 years I can laugh at the impatient people who told me it wouldnt be worth the time.

Aaron

 

[Vance Wood]

That's why I personally don't care what others say about seed grown. In another thread @sorce asked who the next Gen growing preordained will be? Hopefully I'll be part of that group, I'm going to be applying for a growers license in septemeber, thats me getting my ball rolling. Then in 10 years I can laugh at the impatient people who told me it wouldnt be worth the time.

Aaron

If you are going to do that please do all of us a favor and make sure that you work with some of the really great Native species like the Bristle cones, Limber Pine, Pinion Pine and of course I am sure you will search this stuff out. I am very glad for you. Now you get to understand the wonderful world of govt. regulations and bureaucrats that do not know dog doo from shoe polish.

 

[Vance Wood]

Go figure: We have been starving all summer for some rain. I get out and start to get things set up for taking some pictures and it starts raining. I did get one picture that I can share but I want to get better. Never the less this will give you an idea of where I am going with the design.

 

[LanceMac10]

Love it!!

 

[Vin]

Vance, I love this tree! Really!

 

[Vance Wood]

Trash to treasure in 47+ years. Had I trashed 1971 as taking too much time we would have never had 2016 as a result. Had I trashed 1971 I wouldn't be any younger and I would not now have a tree I thoroughly enjoy. I would still be wishing I had done this or done that.

 

[Adair M]

Very nice, Vance!

On that key branch on the right, is there foliage on the back side you could elevate a little? To give the pad more height?