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.

 

[Ininaatigoons]

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

Have you gotten any reasons? I'm always on the lookout for the safest way to do things. I actually think the safest is when you see that bud change color. I heard that during the winter those roots are filled with a natural anti-freeze and can even be mushy like a root rot consistency. And could be mistaken as unhealthy?

 

[Jorgens86]

I know that Harry Harrington repotting in winter. Hes thinking that repotting in mid winter are safest way for larches

 

[Ininaatigoons]

It could also very well be a location thing. Some places are super mild especially for larix. I'm located in Minnesota and mid continent cold mid winter for me is -20 f

 

[Vincent Tanner]

If you look at older pictures, you’ll notice that the lowest branches were not the thickest. To correct that, I let shoots grow on thin branches and pinched shoots on thick branches. Some shoots grew 12-18”. Today I trimmed everything back and applied wire.

 

[Ininaatigoons]

Looking good! That's a really good one!

 

[Jorgens86]

In round pot i think it will look nutts.

 

[Deleted member 47471]

If you look at older pictures, you’ll notice that the lowest branches were not the thickest. To correct that, I let shoots grow on thin branches and pinched shoots on thick branches. Some shoots grew 12-18”. Today I trimmed everything back and applied wire.

View attachment 564488

View attachment 564480

Okay, hear me out on this. I kind of like the inverse taper and the place it occurs, and for two reasons: 1) it occurs in the middle of the tree and along a lovely bend / curve and upward into the apex; and 2) to me, it complements the base of the tree where there is the initial swelling and then tapering off as it ascends. It feels and looks like a "book end" or conclusion to the trunk before you reach the foliage. Visually and aesthetically, if the base of the tree had no initial swelling, it might still work to have that upper inverse taper, but I think that it does in light of it. I have only been in this art and practice for a year, but I have heard and am beginning to understand that inverse taper can work. It looks natural and feels like it "works," and especially since there is a lateral branch emanating from it and to the left. I think the branching and foliage also complements and assists the taper. It is all occurring at the right places.

If you end up "correcting the taper" or simply leave it, in either case, it is a stellar tree.

 

[Deleted member 47471]

In round pot i think it will look nutts.

fully agree, a round pot will "round it out" and compliment the slender curvy nature of the trunk and overall tree

 

[stubmle]

In round pot i think it will look nutts.

Me too! It does have that powerful lower trunk that works well with rectangular pots like the current one, but the tree also feels very graceful to me.

Maybe some combination of traits could work? Like a pot with a rectangular shape but rounded corners or a visually heavy round shape like a drum-style pot?

Really nice tree Vinny! Can't wait to see what you do with it!

 

[Vincent Tanner]

I’m looking for a hexagon pot! Round-ish but some angular geometry!