fredtruck
Omono
Yes, I did, Don. 2009. It was 8 or 9 years old when I got it. The graft is virtually invisible.
From Semi to Full Cascade with a Cork Bark Japanese Black Pine
- Thread starter fredtruck
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drew33998
Masterpiece
Nice to see trees sometimes that aren't so contrived. I can see this growing in the wild on the side of a cliff.
fredtruck
Omono
This is the other side of the Ondae. The foliage looks better, I think, from this angle. Some of the cork is better, too. I like this view because of the all-or-nothing rush over the edge of the cliff. There are a couple different types of corking: river water cork and obi sash cork.
Don Blackmond
Omono
Dave is a great horticulturalist, a genuine person, and a hard worker. He has developed some great stock over the years. Its truly a shame that the bonsai community/hobby could not/would not support a source like that.
fredtruck
Omono
I agree. I have another Ondae that Dave grafted. Just perfect work. Those who complain about grafts on cork bark black pines should see what he does.
fredtruck
Omono
The summer has gone by. The Ondae's needles have grown out some, but the most amazing thing has happened to the cork. It now has a rust color. Dave deWire mentions this in his descriptions of Ondae. The trunk and the cascading branches also seem to have thickened up a bit.
There are other parts of the bark that have become very dark. You an see those on the underside of the cascade.
There are other parts of the bark that have become very dark. You an see those on the underside of the cascade.
armetisius
Chumono
I will be honest about this and hope it does not bring offense.
Man where in heck did you pull that one outta your a$$? To
begin with I opened the message and started to move on. [But
it is Fred he tends to come up with some good solutions to, well
less than stupendous stock, lets see.] So I scroll on down and
bam right between the eyes. Good save man. And I am surprised
to see how you found that tree outta THAT stock. Always good
to learn some more. Thanks again Fred; you never disappoint.
Man where in heck did you pull that one outta your a$$? To
begin with I opened the message and started to move on. [But
it is Fred he tends to come up with some good solutions to, well
less than stupendous stock, lets see.] So I scroll on down and
bam right between the eyes. Good save man. And I am surprised
to see how you found that tree outta THAT stock. Always good
to learn some more. Thanks again Fred; you never disappoint.
fredtruck
Omono
Questions like this are hard to answer. One part of the answer is I refuse to give up. Maintaining this attitude is difficult in itself, but as someone said at my father-in-law's funeral: Often wrong, but never in doubt.
Another part of the answer is I frequently ask advice of others that I know have more experience than I do. People who helped me with this tree include Brian Van Fleet, Matt Ouwinga, and Jerry Meislik. I didn't always follow their advice, but every one of them had alternatives to my predicament with the tree at the time.
Finally, I don't rush things. I'm patient. I don't really care if the tree is finished today or never finished. I take hundreds of photographs of the tree, and note each small change. I rearrange the tree in Photoshop, to see if a better way can be found. I collect photographs other people have taken of other trees. Often a similar tree can be found. In the case of the Ondae, there really wasn't anything similar, but I saw a cork bark JBP cascade in Japan, at Omiya. That tree went straight down after the trunk went past the pot edge. It didn't look manipulated. It just rocketed straight down. I liked that plunge. I looked at my Ondae, and saw the possibilities.
TBT, Jerry Meislik and Matt Ouwinga had both told me that I might have to take the top off, but that I would then have a fairly interesting cascade. About 4 years later, that's just what I did.
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Fred Truck, you are as tenacious as anyone I have ever known. God bless ya! You don't ever give up and right or wrong you follow your path. That is inspiration to me more so that you can possibly imagine.
And oh yes, very nice pine!
And oh yes, very nice pine!
fredtruck
Omono
I've been working on the foliage this spring & summer. From the side, I want the foliage to look like a comma on its side, like a wave curling down.
fredtruck
Omono
Both sides of this cascade have served as front now and then. I hadn't looked at the "back" for a long time, but when I did, I realized the bark had clarified itself into a recognizable pattern, like a couple of intertwined snakes.
just.wing.it
Deadwood Head
How big is this tree? Very cool, very nice image.
Any pics with a size reference?
Any pics with a size reference?
fredtruck
Omono
It's about 28" from the tip of the roots to the leading edge of the canopy. I'll take a size reference picture in the next few days, thanks!
just.wing.it
Deadwood Head
Oh wow! Much larger than I thought!
Cool! Can't wait to see a pic, thanks!
fredtruck
Omono
Here's the pic. The yardstick isn't in quite the right place--it's about half an inch too far to the left, and the stick slants down. However, even given those inaccuracies, it's clear I was wrong. The tree is about 3 feet from the tip of the roots to the edge of the canopy.
0soyoung
Imperial Masterpiece
Its YUGE! 
Never would have guessed. It is the image of a smaller tree to me.
Never would have guessed. It is the image of a smaller tree to me.
fredtruck
Omono
Things have been moving along. I noticed that a small cork wing was actually resting on the pot lip. Some people don't like this, but I've seen trees in the Kokofu books that rest directly on the pot. What really concerned me was that the little wing would break off. You can see it in the previous picture. At the same time, I've been using this pot for over 7 years, and I was ready for a change. I had another pot that was slightly larger, so I decided to slip pot it.
The new pot was actually one I had been using for my Mi Nishiki. It was seriously cracked during a terrible wind storm we had last May. I repaired the pot using an epoxy used in building jet fighter aircraft, and then went over the cracks and chips with gold leaf paint.
Getting the Ondae out of the old pot was a tremendous struggle. It took about an hour. I cut around the edges of the pot with a knife, and used various flat thin objects to try to loosen soil around the edges. Finally, I was able to easily lift the Ondae out of its old container and drop it into the new. I did no root work at all, but I did make the angle of the cascade a little more severe. Here is how it looks today.
The new pot was actually one I had been using for my Mi Nishiki. It was seriously cracked during a terrible wind storm we had last May. I repaired the pot using an epoxy used in building jet fighter aircraft, and then went over the cracks and chips with gold leaf paint.
Getting the Ondae out of the old pot was a tremendous struggle. It took about an hour. I cut around the edges of the pot with a knife, and used various flat thin objects to try to loosen soil around the edges. Finally, I was able to easily lift the Ondae out of its old container and drop it into the new. I did no root work at all, but I did make the angle of the cascade a little more severe. Here is how it looks today.
0soyoung
Imperial Masterpiece
I've had some similar troubles and recently found that whacking the sides of the pot with a rubber mallet to releases the root 'ball'.
Giga
Masterpiece
Take all your pictures like this please! so much better to see the detail then the blurry side shots
fredtruck
Omono
That's interesting, @Osoyoung. I have a rubber mallet, but never thought of using it in that way. Next time...
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