fredtruck
Omono
This is my Mi Nishiki cork bark Japanese Black Pine. It was 4 years old when I bought it from Evergreen Gardenworks. Its styling has evolved over the last 10 years. As a bonsai, this tree buds back ferociously. It is extremely vigorous. Most likely, the corking is not mature yet, so it is difficult to tell whether the wings will expand or not. or whether there will be lots of knobby ridges. This cultivar of the corking Japanese Black Pines is not a graft, but was grown from a cutting.
I’m identifying it here as a Mi Nishiki, but it might not be. I bought it as a Hachi-Gen, but the wings and the bark patterns don’t follow the Hachi-Gen model. Based on an interesting conversation with Brent at Evergreen Gardenworks, I decided to write an article on the identity issue with this tree.
At about the same time, I became aware that my styling of the tree was moving beyond the traditional formats like slant, or informal upright, into another territory. Part of this move was encouraged by the fact that cork bark pines are more conceptual in nature, due to their bark, than other pines because the cork plates make the tree look so different.
Another reason for my styling departure was that I wanted to explore other possibilities than the traditional Japanese modes offer. I was interested in making a tree that was a ferocious, even angry, expression of old age in a hostile environment rather than a passive opponent of the forces of nature. I gave this style the name of Brute Force Styling. I don’t expect others to pick up on this style, but I do think I’m offering a way to think about what the basic set of tools bonsai offers, and how they can be expanded.
I’ve written an essay about my 10-year adventure with this tree called A Case of Mistaken Identity. It is a very large .pdf file, almost 300 megabytes. It takes about an hour to download, but I think you’ll find it worth the trouble. You can find it here:
www.fredtruck.com/articles
There is only one menu option currently, so select that. Happy downloading.
I’m identifying it here as a Mi Nishiki, but it might not be. I bought it as a Hachi-Gen, but the wings and the bark patterns don’t follow the Hachi-Gen model. Based on an interesting conversation with Brent at Evergreen Gardenworks, I decided to write an article on the identity issue with this tree.
At about the same time, I became aware that my styling of the tree was moving beyond the traditional formats like slant, or informal upright, into another territory. Part of this move was encouraged by the fact that cork bark pines are more conceptual in nature, due to their bark, than other pines because the cork plates make the tree look so different.
Another reason for my styling departure was that I wanted to explore other possibilities than the traditional Japanese modes offer. I was interested in making a tree that was a ferocious, even angry, expression of old age in a hostile environment rather than a passive opponent of the forces of nature. I gave this style the name of Brute Force Styling. I don’t expect others to pick up on this style, but I do think I’m offering a way to think about what the basic set of tools bonsai offers, and how they can be expanded.
I’ve written an essay about my 10-year adventure with this tree called A Case of Mistaken Identity. It is a very large .pdf file, almost 300 megabytes. It takes about an hour to download, but I think you’ll find it worth the trouble. You can find it here:
www.fredtruck.com/articles
There is only one menu option currently, so select that. Happy downloading.
