This was given to me for free

[tismeisthatu]

This larch was recently given to me for free. It had been badly neglected by the previous owner who had just fallen out of love with the tree & bonsai!!! It was very badly pot bound & was in normal potting compost. The roots went around & around the pot & some were very thick. I was hoping I hadn't done to much harm to it & it seems to be coming on nicely now. According to the previous owner this is a Peter Chan (Heron bonsai nursery UK) larch & is over 60 years old. Now I can't confirm either of these facts so I don't know how true they are, but he had already given me the tree for free before he mentioned this. I am a little stuck on what direction to take this tree on so any guidance would be appreciated. Thank for looking.

 

[tismeisthatu]

Sorry about the third picture it was supposed show the cracked bark but it hasn't come out at all.

 

[Poink88]

I will probably go this route...then pull the branch on the right down.

View attachment 34858

 

[mcpesq817]

Not sure I'd angle it that way - from the pictures, it looks like you would lose a lot of the nice nebari. I sorta like the long meandering trunk slanting up and out. I'd also think about jinning that low thick branch.

Very nice tree - I love larch, too bad I can't really grow them down here.

 

[JudyB]

You are very lucky to have gotten hold of this tree! It's got some unusual characteristics for a larch, as most of them are beanpoles. I would go with image two. All that is really needed for this to be a stunning piece is to grow the branching and refine, refine, refine. Let it rest for this year, and grow wild, as you had to do such a lot of root work.
If you get bored with it, let me know!

 

[Klytus]

Get it out of that pot and into a larger one via the slip pot method,pinch or snip new shoots as they lengthen throughout the growing season never allow more than two buds per shoot to make it through to the next growing season,vigorously thin the apex when you see fit and get rid of vertical pointing shoots before bud break by cutting them to a single bud.

There it's done.

Watch for green cocoon weaving caterpillars.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Get it out of that pot and into a larger one via the slip pot method,pinch or snip new shoots as they lengthen throughout the growing season never allow more than two buds per shoot to make it through to the next growing season,vigorously thin the apex when you see fit and get rid of vertical pointing shoots before bud break by cutting them to a single bud.

There it's done.

Watch for green cocoon weaving caterpillars.

Klytus giving actual advice?!


*nice tree *

 

[Klytus]

I'll check back to examine the fruits of yer labors.

 

[Martin Sweeney]

tismeisthatu,

JudyB's advice to give it some time to grow undisturbed seems reasonable to me. Keeping the tree healthy and well fed should reward you with strong growth and a tree ready to work on in 2014.

JudyB's advice to use picture 2 will allow you to make the most use of the tree as it exists. This is also sound advice as the tree, if the background information from the previous owner is correct, has legitimate age, which is the hardest thing to create in bonsai. That said, I like image 1 with the tree eventually reduced to just the first branch on the right. It is hard to tell from the picture if this is workable advice, but it appears that a small powerful tree with good taper and movement could emerge.

Please take my contribution with a grain of salt as I killed the only larch I ever touched, although that appears to be less about me and more about climate...

Anyway, enjoy that tree. It was a very generous gift, even if you had to save it from past neglect.

Regards,
Martin

 

[Nybonsai12]

Wow. I can't even find stock like this to buy and you get it for free! Congrats and good luck with it.

 

[tismeisthatu]

refine!

You are very lucky to have gotten hold of this tree! It's got some unusual characteristics for a larch, as most of thm are beanpoles. I would go with image two. All that is really needed for this to be a stunning piece is to grow the branching and refine, refine, refine. Let it rest for this year, and grow wild, as you had to do such a lot of root work.
If you get bored with it, let me know!

Judy, I know this going to sound stupid, but what exactly do you mean by, refine,refine, refine. What are the techniques for refining larch? As you can see by the photo there are lots to sort out. I'm asking this as to make sure I don't make silly mistakes & end up having wasted precious time on this tree. Thanks

 

[JudyB]

By refining, I mean to work on getting the branch structure worked and wired. After it has a chance to recover this year, you should work on wiring each and every single branch. I do mine in the late winter. I've heard some say this is bad, but I've never had any issues, and Crust, our forum larch expert does so as well. In order to get refined growth on larch once your trunk is grown, keeping your fert program minimal is an important step. An overfed larch can run rampant, and destroy all the fine growth that you'll need. Please do get at least that Colin Lewis BT issue, it has step by step pruning with good illustrations. But if you can get the Lenz book as well, you'll probably have about the best 2 larch sources out there.

 

[crust]

What Juds say is inline and wise. What you have is unique. My strategy would be similar. Design and style would be put off until I assess the roots to see how the soil is and see how developed the root pad is BUT the design would have to be envisioned. I would work off the cool arthritic attributes it has, visualize under-cutting large branches if necessary, try to retain as much tree, contemplate positions. Sometime trees like this have gross ancient soil or extensive mud. If it does this must be your mission to remedy(next spring). Without the root rework strengthening will be tough plus new roots will be misguided. When repotting try to divine style direction and get it angled right. Once this is assured I would have a season to strengthen, if it responses I would plan styling. The whole while control the tree and don't over-stimulate it. keep it fine, as wise Miss lovely says. I would not over-pot it. During the process do spring branch wiring no matter what. Major branch cranking, under-cuts and other more stressful styling should wait until you are happy with health and soil.

 

[crust]

I looked more closely at this tree and see it is quite small and in pretty coarse new soil--what is its repotting history? The pics are not the best but I must say there is a mental temptation to behead this little thing to its lowest branch. And get that straggle moss off the lower trunk--it will become a problem. The branches look like they were under overhead water and got gloppy and moss infused--which is neat and all but probably wont last. Neat little tree.