River's Edge
Masterpiece
Absolutely, sort of suits the Pacific Northwest. Hope to work more with this species as time goes on.Wild and crazy.
Absolutely, sort of suits the Pacific Northwest. Hope to work more with this species as time goes on.Wild and crazy.
For those who like a challenge and are willing to share! Which front appeals to you the most? Please realise that branches and foliage are yet to be developed beyond some basic bending and cutback to create new opportunities.
I have given seven options and they are 1-7 in descending order.
Thanks for your response. I love many aspects of front number one. The drawback for me is the vertical in the centre portion. It goes have some movement from bending last year, but it is slight! That is the dead trunk portion that connects the rest of the curving deadwood to the live vein portion. Perhaps changing the planting angle to address that and raise the head at the same time? The strong suit is the view of the upper deadwood form. Tomorrow i may make a series of photos with adjusted planting angle. Always a good thing to do before finalizing the front.At first I was thinking six. Then I saw the eagle. So one. View attachment 199057
Good point, in that it has nothing to do with the original title intent, except it is the same tree that started the thread and follows the progress. My apologies if it was disconcerting for you! I can see how it might have been difficult for you to see the connection.I think 2 - 5 shows a nice nebari. 7 is the best nebari but not so good for what @wireme saw being a feature.
So what has this 'pick a front' exercise to do with 'foliage management'?
... go on ....
Thanks for your response. I agree that the nebari in this case will not be the primary deciding factor, fortunately the nebari is suitable from several points of view.I'd say 2-3 or 7. You need to highlight the dragon head and give the foliage a role to play, and I think those fit best. The nebari, to me, would be a secondary consideration here, given the uniqueness of the deadwood.
Oh, ouch!Good point, in that it has nothing to do with the original title intent, except it is the same tree that started the thread and follows the progress. My apologies if it was disconcerting for you! I can see how it might have been difficult for you to see the connection.
Perhaps i should have started another thread for the same tree.
Have you ever looked at Lakeshore Bonsai's blog? Lots of low, squatty thuja that are absolutely stunning - looks like normal thuja foliage, but maybe even the green is fine wired for show. @amkhalid used to hang out here on BNut. but you can probably better get in touch with him via the blog - clearly THE master of thuja, IMHO.The foliage management remains the biggest part of the puzzle. Normally this species is developed as a larger upright form that suits the frond type foliage.
Cupressus not Thuja!Oh, ouch!
Not at all what I was saying, but ouch! anyway.
Have you ever looked at Lakeshore Bonsai's blog? Lots of low, squatty thuja that are absolutely stunning - looks like normal thuja foliage, but maybe even the green is fine wired for show. @amkhalid used to hang out here on BNut. but you can probably better get in touch with him via the blog - clearly THE master of thuja, IMHO.
For those who like a challenge and are willing to share! Which front appeals to you the most? Please realise that branches and foliage are yet to be developed beyond some basic bending and cutback to create new opportunities.
I have given seven options and they are 1-7 in descending order.
It is commonly thought that the Eastern White Cedar and the Alaskan Yellow Cedar are in this same genus thuja. That is not true. Yellow CedarCupressus not Thuja!
Right on! I have considered the planting angle and like the suggestion of the head and tail to be a small part of the overall rather than the focus! I prefer to work towards a unified feel rather than a specific feature. Although i worked with the head portion and tail portion it was only with the intent to add interest not create focal points. That is why the features remain suggestive and not detailed to a specific species of bird,serpent or animal.I’m leaning towards #6 as well. The deadwood is more compact, my eye doesn’t return to the carved head quite as much. You can see the root spread, the forked tail is peek a booing which adds some interest without being out front too much. How you set those branches will be pretty important. Have you considered leaning it more to the left in #6 to get that top deadwood off straight horizontal? I’ll say you pick some interesting stuff to critique.
Right on! I have considered the planting angle and like the suggestion of the head and tail to be a small part of the overall rather than the focus! I prefer to work towards a unified feel rather than a specific feature. Although i worked with the head portion and tail portion it was only with the intent to add interest not create focal points. That is why the features remain suggestive and not detailed to a specific species of bird,serpent or animal.
The photo may not do the deadwood angle justice. it is on a slope with the change in taper and width throughout.
With this tree in particular i have received some very thoughtful responses from some very talented people who have seen it in person. And the responses vary, all for good reasons.
Thanks for your insight.
Interesting and special meaning, it does seem to call out for wings. There are days when it bugs me enough to think Magpie as well!I see that you intentionally kept the creaturely details vague. Front 1 struck me as eagle like, at the least suggestive of a bird. Now I’m wondering if we can call it a Raven with three cedars growing on a mountainside above it. That vertical bit of deadwood a waterfall coming down from the mountainside, forget about bonsai and consider it a work of art full of symbolism using a tree as the medium. ??
View attachment 199319
It’s great that you have this tree to work with and are sharing it here, pretty special trees those yellow cedar.
@grouper52 You know a bit about these right?