panda's collection

[snowman04]

Went back and read the whole thread! Great stuff... I really liked the opening "I've only been at this about a year, and my trees reflect that, but I've certainly started seeing some results, or at least responses to my actions--good and bad!"

I used to use a similar line (only been at this about a year) when I needed to make some fast cash at the pool halls in Detroit and Dearborn...

 

[pandacular]

Juniperus procumbens
Another classroom tree! This time for my repotting class this April. potted in a blue green glazed production pot
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a few weeks later, I noticed that it was wildly wobbly. I recalled that I had only wired in one half of the root mass. I took drastic measures to wire in the rest by just sorta shoving a wire up through the soil... it was a great success! View attachment 502962View attachment 502963
this time, I waited for fresh growth before insulting the tree further. By the end of May, it was booming with growth, so I shaped it a bit more
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do you see the elephant?
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as it today, with some small progressive prunes, particularly around the back, bald head. View attachment 502968View attachment 502969View attachment 502970
The Future
design wise, I'm thinking of this tree as something of a mother-daughter semi cascade. The front low branch that is shaped like a New Zealand silver fern has beautiful structure that will fill out into pads quite nicely. I haven't put any wire on this, but I plan to wire it this fall. I will compress the trunk and give it some 3d movement. I think I can fill in much of the bald spot by raising some wires, but I still have something of a whorl back there. I also have a branch to the right that will likely become a jin.

This tree got a new pot and angle. It’s a no-name Yixing pot, but I think it matches with the tree well. Clearly I still need to work on my photography, and per usual I got too excited to take photos during repot.



Next for this tree will be building some secondary branching and jinning back most of the right side.

 

[Deleted member 47471]

This tree got a new pot and angle. It’s a no-name Yixing pot, but I think it matches with the tree well. Clearly I still need to work on my photography, and per usual I got too excited to take photos during repot.


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Next for this tree will be building some secondary branching and jinning back most of the right side.

I love JPN. This one is very nice

 

[pandacular]

I gotta make some more updates to this thread, but here is one:

panda’s satsuki azalea whips

 

[snowman04]

These are all nicely done!

 

[pandacular]

I made some decisive cuts on my largest Japanese maple yesterday. I really hated the direction it was going in, and was considering a chop back to that shoot right above the low bends. After making these cuts, I think I’m going to continue with this vision. Plan going forward is to work on improving the roots and thread graft a branch in the long straight section in the middle. I have a reminder for the fall to post a progression thread for this one.

a video with the 360

 

[Colorado]

Nice! I like the little video, I watched it a couple times

 

[pandacular]

let me know if you see a better front than the one I showed! It’s a bit early to make large decisions based on a front, but its always helpful to see.

 

[snowman04]

I like the one 2 seconds into the video...

 

[pandacular]

Today, I volunteered as a docent at the Pacific Bonsai Museum and found myself answering a ton of questions about deadwood on junipers. I came back home like I usually do stoked to work on my trees, and in particular create some deadwood! The more I learn, the more it seems that this should be done earlier in the path to being a bonsai rather than later. I started with one of my house money junipers, which is a tree that I got in a class and have no idea what the heck I’m going to do with it. Well, for now I’m gonna learn and practice on it!

It turned out to be quite straightforward, though I unintentionally pulled the bark on this first quite low to the soil. Oh well, the roots are growing strongly in it’s root pouch in my pumice bed, so I have no concerns here. Besides, if half of it dies, it will make my choices a lot easier.

More to come in pt 2, after a brief diversion.

 

[RoadManDenDron]

In my experience if you make another thin shari at the opposite side of the trunk (back) will really help your live veins swell in a nice round fashion

 

[pandacular]

This big twisted juniper is one I posted another thread about previously that is linked above. I don’t believe I’ve started a proper thread for it yet, but maybe it will get that treatment in the fall.

I repotted this the first week of April, from a nursery can into an oversized bonsai pot. This was the first time this trees roots have been worked in a number of years, about 5 or so if I had to guess. This tree was grown from a cutting by a well known grower in the Seattle area who has since retired. It has been in my care about a year now.

I had little real concern for the front at this initial repot, as I view this as a very early step for this tree.

 

[pandacular]

It’s so hard to notice new growth on shimpaku. I didn’t realize how much this tree had grown this season so far until I compared pictures prior to working the deadwood. I didn’t take a particularly clear picture of the whole tree today, but you can see some of it in these photos.

Made shari all the way up the trunk with encouragement from some friends. I love the way it twists in and out of view. The line was pretty perfectly between major branches all the way to the very top of the plant. Now, just to let it grow and recover.

 

[pandacular]

Alright, photo dump time cause I’ve not done a great job of keeping up with this thread.

Here’s my big tall hawthorn (C. phaenpyrum, I’m pretty sure).

Most my deciduous have been slow to get going this year, this one included. I noticed that the spots that I didn’t cut back as hard or cut back to tiny side branches have not grown well. I believe that some of these tiny side branches are actually spurs, but I’m not sure how those work, much less how they work in bonsai cultivation.

An excellent escambron from @Colorado . Very happy now that it’s outside.

And then several trees I got at the club auction.

Mountain hemlock designed by Carmen Leskoviansky. VERY excited about this one, as I have a place to go to study proper wiring in my garden now.


Kingsville boxwood penjing/saikei. I have big plans for this—think Zhao, white suiban and all.

and finally, a funky azalea raft, ‘Chinzan’. Currently it’s an air-layer and rebuild project.


Come to think of it, this really isn’t exhaustive, as I’ve got several starts kicking around, mostly young whips of various deciduous, a batch of Curtis’ JBP, a bunch of ponderosas from a club member…

 

[snowman04]

Love the Hemlock and the boxwood...

 

[Cajunrider]

Great progress for the trees in your collection. Yours are certainly more artistic than mine.