Show and Tell?

[John Hill]

Nice trees Vance but may I ask you a honest question? No disrespect what so ever but they both to me have that classic high root syndrome that are frequently found in the normal nursery stock.
How long have these been in bonsai pots? Are the roots so far out of whack that you were not able to correct them? The second one looks like the roots are still growing in that famous pot circle. I know this is very hard to correct but I know that you can do it in the future for sure.
Non the less Vance nice trees from nursery stock for sure.
Respectable bonsai can and do come from normal nursery stock. It is just that high root thing that bothers me about trees not grown with bonsai in mind.

A Friend in bonsai
John

 

[Tachigi]

Yes that's true---if you can find good collected material; and there is the rub. I must have said this a half a dozen times in this post but I'll say it again: Most collected material I have been exposed to here in Michigan and at some conventions I have attended are not marginally better than the material I can find in any nursery.

Vance, I'm making a large assumption that you don't collect. Your statement that, there is little good collected material in your parts, would make me think that you don't go out in the wild after your prize. Instead you rely on vendors.

I have family and friends in the Mackinaw area as well as Alpena and Marquette. All of these places have trees that would be more than suitable for bonsai. I have even seen them from the ski lifts in the Iron mountains. Made me want to pull a James Bond and jump from the lift to get a closer look. So I know that Michigan has great trees. I would venture to say even better than here in the Mid-Atlantic.

I like your mugos, you definitely have the eastern symmetric thing going. I think the difference between yours and collected, which is as we all know primarily a European thing, is the way a Mugo is represented in nature. Very rarely is it seen as an up right tree, but more of a twisted gnarled and contorted tree. The difference being what mother nature does as an artist vs. what you do to your trees lends itself to a representation of a nursery tree. So, when you said "I believe if I had told every one I dug this tree out of the mountains I might be believed." Well, you might have fooled some newer people, however I doubt anyone that has been doing this for a while would have been fooled. Its domestic appearance will bring out its true origin almost every time.

 

[Chris Johnston]

Well this has been an entertaining and enlightening thread. It's good to see so many among us willing to put their money where their mouths are. Without going through the thread and taking names, thanks Vance, Andy, Al, and all the others who actually put up.

 

[Vance Wood]

Nice trees Vance but may I ask you a honest question? No disrespect what so ever but they both to me have that classic high root syndrome that are frequently found in the normal nursery stock.
How long have these been in bonsai pots? Are the roots so far out of whack that you were not able to correct them? The second one looks like the roots are still growing in that famous pot circle. I know this is very hard to correct but I know that you can do it in the future for sure.
Non the less Vance nice trees from nursery stock for sure.
Respectable bonsai can and do come from normal nursery stock. It is just that high root thing that bothers me about trees not grown with bonsai in mind.

A Friend in bonsai
John

This is the first cycle through a bonsai pot for the two trees in question. Most of the high root thing, as you call it, will be resolved the next re-pot. Both of these trees spent a good deal of time in the training planter, and then there was last year's shoulder injury and subsequent surgery where I was able to do nothing with them.

As to collecting I now do not personally collect, I don't have the time because of work and my vacation time is spent seeing family, all of which are way out of state.

 

[No it's not...]

what makes you believe you might not find something of equal value in a nursery? Is it the trunk, the bark, or the mystique of it being an old tree?

Below is one of my Mugos. It has a nice bark and an interesting trunk, I believe if I had told every one I dug this tree out of the mountains I might be believed. No you are not making a fool of yourself, if anything I am on the edge of doing that but that's never stoped me before.

Might as well add another Mugo, same old nursery junk.

Well, first of all it was free. THAT'S hard to find in a nursery. Second, it's a sylvestris, wich are never sold at nurserys around here. Most of all it's the mature bark and the second trunk and third (dead) trunk. Decent twin trunk sylvestris are hard to come by where I live. I wouldn't pay much for "the mystique of an old tree", because I don't necessarily consider that a quality. Like you say there are some poor yamadori out there. I should know, I've dug some poor ones myself unfortunatly...

I would believe you, but I would thought you had made a bad choice.

 

[No it's not...]

I just wanted to add some pics of typical bark on the trees I collect. The first one is P sylvestris and the other one is a spruce (Picea abies). I don't believe I could find bark like this on "regular nursery stock" nor grow it in a pot within a reasonable amount of time.

 

[Chris Johnston]

While this tree is not the best shape in the world for yamadori, and had I known then what I know now....nevertheless its obvious age and plated bark are something that cannot be found outside of very old collected trees.

Colorado Blue Spruce

 

[sorce]

More old stuff. Only got to one page and found some Vance lines that may need to be added to the Vance thread!

Some prequel Vance.

Sorce