Neo_Rokkenjima
Yamadori
Good afternoon, my brothers and sisters in the art of bonsai. I am making my first thread on this forum, in need of advice regarding which direction I ought to take my newly-acquired "Wintergreen" Boxwood tree.
I recently acquired this tree, along with a Serissa Japonica (which is doing splendid in my office,) as one of my first ever serious attempts at bonsai. Together, they are my first trees (or rather, shrubs) which I've ever purchased.
I first bought this tree about two months ago, from a wonderful nearby bonsai shop for a mere $55.00. The tree had been a bit neglected at the time, which is why its owner had discounted the price so heavily discounted. Despite being new to bonsai, I know a good deal when I see one. The tree was (and is still) in perfectly good health, aside from needing to be repotted, and has the most lovely gnarled bark, as well as many other interesting features-- including an enormous nebari, some deadwood, and a beautiful distribution of knots and lichens. Needless to say, I couldn't resist the offer. Excited about my first "real" bonsai, as well as marking my first time starting a bonsai project from an older specimen, I took some time to ponder how I ought to develop the tree: As an informal upright, or as a serious windswept/ semi-cascade.
Semi-Cascade: This was my original idea for the tree. This approach would involve me slanting the tree very slightly, to highlight one of the two upper "arms" of the tree which have developed around the center, and sacrificing the other (or else converting it into deadwood, which would be my preferred option if it were to make sense.) Most likely, I would keep the "left" arm, seeing as it already has a bit of a curve, better padding, plenty of new growth, and less deadwood. I would probably take off the deadwood spike that protrudes towards the viewer, for the sake of improving the tree's overall aesthetic. That all being said, I see a serious con of this approach being that the trunk is just too "upright" to warrant doing something like this. I do not want any "slant" to appear intentional.
Below: The "front" of the tree. The front has superior trunk/ branch visibility over the back, as well as many interesting features in the wood itself which the rear does not possess. Personally, I think the visual interest of the bark is higher in the front.
Incidentally, you can tell from the picture that, at some point in this tree's development, what would have become the apex became deadwood, causing the tree to develop in two completely opposite directions. This vaguely causes the tree to take the appearance of a man raising his arms, as if praising the sun. In this case, the "head" would be the deadwood occupying the center of the tree. If you're confused about my uses of the terms "head" and "arms," this is what I'm referring to.
Informal Upright: I would display the tree "from behind," working on developing the two excellent base pads in the back, and shaping the upper foliage into pads where applicable. Where impossible, I would create additional deadwood towards the top of the tree, leaving long, white spikes to complement the round, green foliage. This would likely include pruning a certain shoot back to about where my fingers are clamping the branch in my picture, in order to improve the ramification. At this point in time, I think I am leaning towards this strategy.
Below: The "rear" of the tree, or perhaps the "new front" if I were to develop it as an informal upright. The rear, in my opinion, has vastly more interesting trunk direction, as well as a superior visibility of the most interesting parts of the nebari. Where things become difficult is that the developing base pads cloud out everything behind them. Alas, considering the situation with the center of the tree being occupied by a "head" of deadwood, I feel the next step in developing the tree this way is not obvious.
Below: Better visibility of the "pads" developing in the back of the tree.
???: I think there is a possible third idea in chopping back both of the large "arms" towering above the center of the tree, possibly eliminating one or both of them, and favoring the two base-level "pads" while trying to develop the tree more formally. This was the approach that the local bonsai shop owner recommended to me, and I think it is a good one as it would give me the freedom to display the tree from the front, highlighting the trunk, while strengthening interest in the back. That said, for this to really work, I would also need to cut off the entire "head" of the tree, in addition to its arms, and hope that a new apex is produced where that once stood. I see this as being a frightening idea, considering as I am a beginner and would be worried about killing the tree by making suck an enormous cut into its trunk. Further, in addition to taking a very long time to yield results, the end result would not be guaranteed to have been worth the time invested. This is my biggest fear, as I'd really like to enjoy the tree little by little without waiting for some big payoff. Nevertheless I am open to doing whatever I must in order to turn this into an excellent bonsai.
Please let me know your thoughts and opinions on what I ought to be doing in order to improve this bonsai; I especially need help deciding which stylistic direction I ought to take it in, as well as which viewing angle to utilize, but all suggestions are welcome. Additionally, if you have any as-of-yet unmentioned ideas, I am certainly open to doing something other than that which I've already suggested for the tree. I have no experience keeping boxwoods, and had actually been intending to buy a ficus at its time of purchase, so general advice from people who do have experience with boxwoods is also very much welcome.
I recently acquired this tree, along with a Serissa Japonica (which is doing splendid in my office,) as one of my first ever serious attempts at bonsai. Together, they are my first trees (or rather, shrubs) which I've ever purchased.
I first bought this tree about two months ago, from a wonderful nearby bonsai shop for a mere $55.00. The tree had been a bit neglected at the time, which is why its owner had discounted the price so heavily discounted. Despite being new to bonsai, I know a good deal when I see one. The tree was (and is still) in perfectly good health, aside from needing to be repotted, and has the most lovely gnarled bark, as well as many other interesting features-- including an enormous nebari, some deadwood, and a beautiful distribution of knots and lichens. Needless to say, I couldn't resist the offer. Excited about my first "real" bonsai, as well as marking my first time starting a bonsai project from an older specimen, I took some time to ponder how I ought to develop the tree: As an informal upright, or as a serious windswept/ semi-cascade.
Semi-Cascade: This was my original idea for the tree. This approach would involve me slanting the tree very slightly, to highlight one of the two upper "arms" of the tree which have developed around the center, and sacrificing the other (or else converting it into deadwood, which would be my preferred option if it were to make sense.) Most likely, I would keep the "left" arm, seeing as it already has a bit of a curve, better padding, plenty of new growth, and less deadwood. I would probably take off the deadwood spike that protrudes towards the viewer, for the sake of improving the tree's overall aesthetic. That all being said, I see a serious con of this approach being that the trunk is just too "upright" to warrant doing something like this. I do not want any "slant" to appear intentional.
Below: The "front" of the tree. The front has superior trunk/ branch visibility over the back, as well as many interesting features in the wood itself which the rear does not possess. Personally, I think the visual interest of the bark is higher in the front.
Incidentally, you can tell from the picture that, at some point in this tree's development, what would have become the apex became deadwood, causing the tree to develop in two completely opposite directions. This vaguely causes the tree to take the appearance of a man raising his arms, as if praising the sun. In this case, the "head" would be the deadwood occupying the center of the tree. If you're confused about my uses of the terms "head" and "arms," this is what I'm referring to.
Informal Upright: I would display the tree "from behind," working on developing the two excellent base pads in the back, and shaping the upper foliage into pads where applicable. Where impossible, I would create additional deadwood towards the top of the tree, leaving long, white spikes to complement the round, green foliage. This would likely include pruning a certain shoot back to about where my fingers are clamping the branch in my picture, in order to improve the ramification. At this point in time, I think I am leaning towards this strategy.
Below: The "rear" of the tree, or perhaps the "new front" if I were to develop it as an informal upright. The rear, in my opinion, has vastly more interesting trunk direction, as well as a superior visibility of the most interesting parts of the nebari. Where things become difficult is that the developing base pads cloud out everything behind them. Alas, considering the situation with the center of the tree being occupied by a "head" of deadwood, I feel the next step in developing the tree this way is not obvious.
Below: Better visibility of the "pads" developing in the back of the tree.
???: I think there is a possible third idea in chopping back both of the large "arms" towering above the center of the tree, possibly eliminating one or both of them, and favoring the two base-level "pads" while trying to develop the tree more formally. This was the approach that the local bonsai shop owner recommended to me, and I think it is a good one as it would give me the freedom to display the tree from the front, highlighting the trunk, while strengthening interest in the back. That said, for this to really work, I would also need to cut off the entire "head" of the tree, in addition to its arms, and hope that a new apex is produced where that once stood. I see this as being a frightening idea, considering as I am a beginner and would be worried about killing the tree by making suck an enormous cut into its trunk. Further, in addition to taking a very long time to yield results, the end result would not be guaranteed to have been worth the time invested. This is my biggest fear, as I'd really like to enjoy the tree little by little without waiting for some big payoff. Nevertheless I am open to doing whatever I must in order to turn this into an excellent bonsai.
Please let me know your thoughts and opinions on what I ought to be doing in order to improve this bonsai; I especially need help deciding which stylistic direction I ought to take it in, as well as which viewing angle to utilize, but all suggestions are welcome. Additionally, if you have any as-of-yet unmentioned ideas, I am certainly open to doing something other than that which I've already suggested for the tree. I have no experience keeping boxwoods, and had actually been intending to buy a ficus at its time of purchase, so general advice from people who do have experience with boxwoods is also very much welcome.
Doesn't really have to be the last bit of green, but ALL of those branches require drastic shortening, half AT LEAST.
