Put up or Shut up

[A Random User]

Sadly I lost this tree... which really hurt ! I really liked where it was heading and had done
a lot of work on it, and really thought it had a great future... I entered it into the Ryuga 2014
competition and everything was going great, until I went out of town for the week right
before the end of the competition, and my Buttonwood that sat in the full sun and loves,
loves, loves water sadly didn't get any and was allowed to dry out !!! Been wanting to
show this one here at B-Nut for a while, and what had been done on the tree, seeing that
I carved the whole front of the tree, but was not allowed due to the contest rules.

 

[larlamonde]

Hey Saw nice work on all the trees. I kinda pamper all my trees. You are inspiring me to do some work. Like you said no pain no gain. I am interested as to how you are going to re-position the roots on the ones you changed the angle. Thanks for the posts. Larry.

 

[Vance Wood]

May 30,2014
Sometimes the $10 Home Depot trees don't turn out so bad...
Foemina Juniper, second styling.
View attachment 55842View attachment 55843

What's the matter with you????? Don't you know you cannot make a decent bonsai from a nursery tree, especially a Home Depot tree? You should be taken out behind the barn and shot for bonsai blasphemy.

 

[A Random User]

Some various pics of the dead wood from my B-wood that I carved in the Ryuga 2104
competition.

 

[A Random User]

What a lot of interesting work. Congrats on the first place and the grand. That's a good day!

Thanks, I appreciate it !
I have done a couple of these and one of the most import things
I have learned is to try and keep the design pretty simple and very
easily readable at first glance. Then concentrate on fine details,
and make it as show quality presentable as possible.

 

[A Random User]

I think I see a theme.... which is actually hard to do for most practitioners.... cept I think it might be a wee bit over applied...lol

I'm very happy for your victory... was it the Joshua Roth?

Warmly,

Victrinia

Thanks very much, this was not the Joshua Roth competition, but
our annual convention competition. Having said this was some very
strong competition, quite a few of the guys have trees that have been
excepted to the national that Bill puts on.

 

[A Random User]

No disgrace...but...I always assumed you were older. Is this you in the photo? (A bit off topic...sorry)

Your Chinese Elm, styled in a weeping willow Fashion will always make me stop and pause.

No disgrace at all... although for being 42 going on 43, I am told I look younger.
Perhaps, it's because I don't act my age as my mother use to say when I was a
kid ???

 

[A Random User]

Congrats on the styling competition. I wish I was there to bid on that one. You've got a keen eye for styling no doubt. Maybe you could impart some knowledge on us. I can't be the only one struggling with the design side of bonsai. Curious to know why you said people in Florida hate working on Junipers? I know Fiduccia works on them along with several other notables. I'm a nobody but I really like them as well. You've been at this a lot longer than I so I was just wondering why you threw that in your post? Is it the heat, the care, the bugs?

By the way, I seen your Buttonwood for sale and almost PM'd you on it. I'm a hard head though and don't want to be the caretaker of someone else's work.

Thanks for the nice comments !!!
I will work on putting a thread up regarding design, so keep an eye open for it !
As far a Juni's, yes there are some who do work on these here in Florida, they are mostly
the folks that also do pines as well... A lot of this has to do with exposure to them, seeing
that most here in Florida are exposed to tropicals and prefer working on them, mainly
because of their growth. Tropicals grow so fast, and one is able to leap big hurdles in a
short amount of time. There also for some is the care issue... I have never had any
problems, but some say they do... personally I think this is just an excuse for not wanting
to work on them.

 

[A Random User]

Okay, there's a topic that should have its own thread; v-notching. I've seen it on YouTube but I'm a little unsure about using it on my Juni's. Will they reattach and will they be noticeable?

It's all about how the job is done. I would suggest if you are interested, that you first
obviously try on material that is not important to you and see how it goes. I usually,
try and critique the work that I do, and ask myself what I did wrong and how can I do
it better next time. Each time I do something, I then get a little better at it!

Junipers, will often heal over some wounds such as this, but might take a while, and
might be noticeable even when healed. I would suggest first that you try it on a ficus
if you have one, because they can and will heal over pretty easily a mistake.

Perhaps I will try and throw up a thread discussing this as well.

 

[Vin]

Thanks for the nice comments !!!
I will work on putting a thread up regarding design, so keep an eye open for it !
As far a Juni's, yes there are some who do work on these here in Florida, they are mostly
the folks that also do pines as well... A lot of this has to do with exposure to them, seeing
that most here in Florida are exposed to tropicals and prefer working on them, mainly
because of their growth. Tropicals grow so fast, and one is able to leap big hurdles in a
short amount of time. There also for some is the care issue... I have never had any
problems, but some say they do... personally I think this is just an excuse for not wanting
to work on them.

You know, I've lived here (Panama City) for 26 years. One of these days I'm going to consider the fact that we're not only in a different time zone but we're really more like south Alabama than Florida when it comes to Hardiness Zones...

 

[A Random User]

Hey Saw nice work on all the trees. I kinda pamper all my trees. You are inspiring me to do some work. Like you said no pain no gain. I am interested as to how you are going to re-position the roots on the ones you changed the angle. Thanks for the posts. Larry.

Appreciate it !!!
With the Bougie... it will not be a problem, since they can root from cuttings with just
some sphagnum moss... I have not gone this far with the tree however, I just bare
rooted it and removed some of the bigger roots heading in the wrong direction, and bent
the others down into the pot. then added sphagnum moss around the base, to help promote
new roots, going in the right direction. Will try and get some pics up of it in it's transition
pot that it is in.

With the Black Pine, it is a little more complex, because you can't just start chopping to
many roots. Sometimes you when repotting can just comb out some of the roots, and
repot in the direction you wish to go... Other times what I have done is actually leave it
in it's current pot, at it's current angle and then just brace it up with blocks in it's new
position, and allow it to grow like this for a couple of years... Logic is that it with the aid
of gravity will send newer roots growing in the direction you need. Then at a later time,
the one's not growing in this direction can be little by little removed. Obviously you will
need to be careful when watering, so that you soil doesn't just wash out.

 

[A Random User]

What's the matter with you????? Don't you know you cannot make a decent bonsai from a nursery tree, especially a Home Depot tree? You should be taken out behind the barn and shot for bonsai blasphemy.

I feel as though I have been taken to this barn way to many times !!! Thanks for the post !!!

 

[Kodama16]

Update on my Chinese Elm, styled in a weeping willow Fashion
that was reduced earlier this year and is now filling in.

View attachment 55846View attachment 55847View attachment 55848View attachment 55849View attachment 55850

Man I love this tree. Love your post on this one. I like seeing all your projects. If you ever sell that elm let me know.

 

[A Random User]

Thanks everyone who posted !!! I have tons more I have been working on,
will take some photos and get more up as soon as I am able.

 

[A Random User]

Man I love this tree. Love your post on this one. I like seeing all your projects. If you ever sell that elm let me know.

Sorry, I think we were posting at the same time, and I missed you post.
Thanks for the compliments !!! I did have the elm up last week for sale
at the Bonsai Classifieds. I really like it, though and did have a higher
price on it. These are just my personal trees, I don't own or belong to
a nursery.

 

[A Random User]

March 31,2014
Repotted this juniper into this smaller pot. Did quite a bit of rewiring and
repositioning and tightening up of branches and foliage. I am pretty happy
with the positioning of the main branches, now just foliage work.


UPDATE: This tree on the 24th of June, somehow in the middle
of the night took a dive off one of my benches. I think thanks to some feline
individuals... Luckily it was at night so it didn't sit with it's roots exposed to the
sun. I repotted it, and is currently in the shade for the next day or two, and
getting extra water.

 

[Kodama16]

Sorry, I think we were posting at the same time, and I missed you post.
Thanks for the compliments !!! I did have the elm up last week for sale
at the Bonsai Classifieds. I really like it, though and did have a higher
price on it. These are just my personal trees, I don't own or belong to
a nursery.

Pm sent. Check box

 

[carp]

Stacey, what you're doing with the Buttonwood and separating the live wood from the deadwood is kind of what I've got going on with a Buttonwood I collected. The branch acting as the apex had been split in half and the two halves form an L shape right now, but it's flexible. So I've had the idea to slowly bring the horizontal half down slowly like you've done, but it has only been out of the ground for about 9 months and I'm not ready to major work to it yet. Good to see positive results of this idea though. That Fukien Tea is probably the only one I've ever seen that looks nice lol. Just don't see many that are show quality and to see a nice one is a rarity. I'm jealous that you're local Lowe's carries Black Pine too.

 

[A Random User]

Pm sent. Check box

I will check

 

[A Random User]

Stacey, what you're doing with the Buttonwood and separating the live wood from the deadwood is kind of what I've got going on with a Buttonwood I collected. The branch acting as the apex had been split in half and the two halves form an L shape right now, but it's flexible. So I've had the idea to slowly bring the horizontal half down slowly like you've done, but it has only been out of the ground for about 9 months and I'm not ready to major work to it yet. Good to see positive results of this idea though. That Fukien Tea is probably the only one I've ever seen that looks nice lol. Just don't see many that are show quality and to see a nice one is a rarity. I'm jealous that you're local Lowe's carries Black Pine too.

The Buttonwood experiment was mainly due to the fact that I had been inquiring into the
matter for quite some time... and from everyone I asked I was told it couldn't be done.
That no one had ever done it, and that they were not flexible like junipers, and would break.

I just kinda thought this was nonsense... That if done slow... and if properly protected, it should
not be a problem. I then decided to take a gamble on one of my trees that I had some money
tied into, not a lot, but enough... and went for it !!! Mainly, because I thought it would be silly
not to know if this could work, and then think of the potential future work that can be done on
B-woods.

Thanks for the compliments regarding the Tea... I actually love them, they are awesome trees
to work with , very easy going down where we live. Sadly, though, because they are very slow
to put on any sort of real growth on the trunk, you pretty much have to only pick from import
trees.

My Lowe's one year had small and large Black pines... They word somehow got out, and they
were snatched up within the day... I just happened to be waiting for paint to be made for a
job I was doing, and walk out there and found them... I bought 3 small ones and they had 2
large, with 3" trunks going for $125 a piece... Never seen them back again, and out of the 5,
I only have 2 left.