Here are 5 of them from last summer.
Your most nonconformist Bonsai?
- Thread starter JoeH
- Start date
Cable
Omono
This bald cypress. Everyone hates the roots but I love them.
Cadillactaste
Neagari Gal
If you had any idea of how often and hard my husband tries to kill the stuff in and around our properties...its crazy!
He used to give the creeper an evil dirty look when it woke from it's dormant period and leafed out. See we used to think it was poison oak. (Somewhere along the lines...with my mom allergic...I must have gotten confused.)
That said...Some guests think I am ballsy for growing POISON OAK...so yeah, I wasn't the only one confused. So I enlighten them...as to the correct name. I am not the first...nor the last to have one...If you find some decent interesting material...I say go for it. It's natural weeping form...Makes it easy to keep in a pot...They are hard as nails to kill. Need LOTS of fertilizer or will drop leaves early before a lovely fall show.
just.wing.it
Deadwood Head
Maybe my 2 trunk azalea is mine...
Finally gonna see some flowers this year!!!
Finally gonna see some flowers this year!!!
JoeH
Omono
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That will be neat when its blooming
atlarsenal
Omono
The way I see it, if you like the tree, BONSAI IT’S ASS!!!
JoeH
Omono
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me too, but I've seen elsewhere people saying that's not suitable for bonsai or whatever. I find odd stuff a challenge and won't shy away from something off the wall.
atlarsenal
Omono
Maybe it’s not suitable for them but it’s not their tree. If you like it, keep on it. If you stop liking it, set it aside and come back to it again later.
JoeH
Omono
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Like half the stuff Nigel Saunders tries most naysayers would shoot down.
JoeH
Omono
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Well, those looks a lot different than the one I have. no red to the leaf stems and at each leaf there is a leaflet at the base of the stem.
Joe Dupre'
Omono
Hibiscus. Leaves are never going to reduce to any degree and there's not much in the way of nebari. I'll just smile when the flowers bloom and they're half the size of the tree.
I have potted them up before too. Looked like crap, but nice to have a few blooms in the winter.
Dorky_gearhead
Shohin
I have plans to bonsai Tribulus terrestris (goatheads). Yeah, im a mad man lol.
Hack Yeah!
Omono
Any chance something like this was your inspiration?
M. Frary
Bonsai Godzilla
I'm going to airlayer a section from a lilac out front. If it works I'll have a nice literati white flowered lilac for sale.
BillsBayou
Chumono
Sweet Baby Jesus! I can see why people have problems with this tree. The important thing is that you know why people have problems with this tree. Keep going and see where this takes you.
I endorse non-conformist bonsai. As long as the person styling the trees understands why their tree does not conform to standard bonsai aesthetics, there should be no problem.
Where the problem comes in (IMHO) is when the non-conforming artist gets into a rant about how the bonsai community doesn't like their tree. This is art, people. It has genre-defining elements which constrain what does and what does not fit. If someone hears "That tree has problems as a bonsai" and pushes forward with a non-conformist approach, there is no room to complain later on when no one likes the tree.
Not following convention is a great way to explore the art form and see what qualities will bend or be reshaped. I've done non-conformist trees. Ugly non-bonsai trees that I loved. When a friend insulted the tree to my face "Bill, you do know this looks like shit, right?" I accepted the assessment. I had tried to push boundaries and the art form would not budge. That's okay by me. I'll push somewhere else. One long-time artist, whose opinion I value greatly, looked at one of my trees and said "It's too tall. You should have started your apex earlier." I knew it was too tall and I have my reasons for keeping it that way. If I ever enter the tree in a show or exhibition and it is criticized for being too tall, I have no right to complain. If my reason for making it tall is not apparent, then the failure is mine. It is not the fault of the art form.
Joe Dupre'
Omono
"Bill, you do know this looks like shit, right?"
To which I'd answer. "To you maybe, but you have horrible taste." Hey, sometimes ya gotta give like ya get!
To which I'd answer. "To you maybe, but you have horrible taste." Hey, sometimes ya gotta give like ya get!
BillsBayou
Chumono
This guy and I have a very big give and take relationship.
JoeH
Omono
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Mine's doing something like that, just not as extreme.
