Vinny’s American Larch

[Vincent Tanner]

I purchased this American Larch last Fall. It was collected some years ago from a peat bog in Maine by the Black Dodge Bonsai duo, John Rough and Kris Springer.



I had been wanting a Larch for a while. It’s an awesome species for bonsai here in New England, and all the cool kids have them!

And they don’t mind the cold one bit!



The tree was overgrown, and the upper trunk was a bit too long without much taper. And the rectangle pot isn’t quite right for the tree.

I recently join a multi-year study group with Suthin Sukosolvisit, and this Larch is one of the trees I’ll be developing with him.



Suthin agreed with me about shortening the apex, so I chopped it and made a jin. Some other branches also got chopped and jin’d. I wired most of the remaining branches down.

We decided to look for a hexagonal pot for the future. So I’m on the lookout.



I’ll be working on maximizing health and promoting back budding and foliage density.

More updates to come has things move along.

 

[schoolpizza]

I grew up in coastal Maine, not knowing anything about bonsai, but larch are the really memorable species that takes me back to those times. Especially covered in lichen

That's a great start. I prefer look of this tree in the pics where the pot is at a slight angle, it keeps those roots pointing slightly aside and creates flow in the deadwood on either edge.

 

[Vincent Tanner]

Today I had the pleasure of studying with Will Baddeley.

Will is widely regarded for his expertise in creating realistic deadwood features on trees through advanced carving techniques.

His work has been exhibited in the European Ginko Awards, he won the UK New Talent contest in 2002, and two pieces of his work are on the register of Important British Bonsai. He has been teaching bonsai, both novices and advanced students alike, for the last fifteen years.

One of my goals was to try to reduce the reverse taper on this larch.



Under Will’s guidance, I removed some bark and did some carving.



It’s a much better silhouette. Hopefully the lower trunk continues to thicken and even everything out.

Also did some work on the apex jin.



We worked on a few other trees, and I learned a ton about deadwood carving.

Will is a class act and marvelous teacher. If you get the chance, work with him!

 

[Jorgens86]

Anyone trepotting larches in mid winter?? I heard its the safest for larch survival.