Porky's Progress, another Mugo

Adair M said:
Very nice, Vance!

On that key branch on the right, is there foliage on the back side you could elevate a little? To give the pad more height?
Click to expand...
Actually there is and you are right, the ramification as it is now makes the pad look weak.
 
That's a really nice thing to say. I appreciate it more than you can know and I can say.
 
Vin said:
That tree just makes me feel good about bonsai and really pushes me to excel. Thanks!
Click to expand...
If anything you should realize this tree was developed from crappy old nursery material. So the next time someone tells you that you can't make a bonsai of a nursery tree just remember.
 
Adair M said:
Wow! You've been working on that pine for 45 years!

Just keeping one alive that long is a remarkable achievement!
Click to expand...
Actually you're right. It's a long time but you have to take into consideration that when I started on this tree I had no idea what I was doing. Many would say today I still don't, but there you go. I think I have proved at least one thing; it is possible to make a tolerable bonsai out of a nursery grown Mugo Pine.
 
Vance Wood said:
Actually you're right. It's a long time but you have to take into consideration that when I started on this tree I had no idea what I was doing. Many would say today I still don't, but there you go. I think I have proved at least one thing; it is possible to make a tolerable bonsai out of a nursery grown Mugo Pine.
Click to expand...

actually most nursery material can be made great when that amount of time is considered
 
You have not been around here as long as I have when the cause celeb was pre-bonsai or die and you cannot make good bonsai out of nursery material because there just too many faults with the material and it takes too long.
 
To be fair, Vance, most people are not willing to wait 45 years!

The problem is not the species, it's the pruning it received by the growers before it hit the retailer. They grew it to be a shrub. They wanted maximum foliage around the circumference. They did not care about trunk, nebari, or retaining inner foliage. All of which are of primary importance to developing quality bonsai, as you know.

It's taken you a long time to reverse that handicap. It is a tribute to your patience, foresight, perseverance, and stubbornness that you were able to do it!

Personally, I don't think I'll live another 45 years, so I can't envision myself completing something like that.

However, starting with something like this:

image.jpeg

Is certainly doable. That's Telperion Farms material.

In fact, here's a tree I'm working on:

image.jpeg

It was dug out of the ground from Lone Pine farm two years ago. That lower trunk is as big as my forearm.

I do have another project tree:

image.jpeg

I bought this one from Telperion several years ago. You won't find a trunk like that at Home Depot!
 
That's true but you know what the down side is. Cost. To you and perhaps many on this forum a couple of hundred dollars is nothing, to me and may others on this forum it is a investment hard to justify when one is faced with putting kids through school and keeping food on the table.
 
I understand about cost. It's also possible to buy younger material from the bonsai growers to get stock at a lower price that at least doesn't have the faults you had to overcome.

Then again, it's possible to start from seed, and do everything yourself. Eric Schraeder's thread "A few pine seeds 6 years later" journals his experience growing from seed to bonsai.

I'm hoping people will buy from the guys trying to grow bonsai stock. In addition to the ones I've mentioned in my last post, Mark Comstock grows nice starter material. Supporting these guys will give us better stock to work with. Buying the crap from HD will only encourage them to keep making crap! But, selling to bonsai people is not their market.

All that said, there will be the occasional pearl in the oyster at HD. If that's what you enjoy, have fun!
 
At the end of the day if it gives you enjoyment and takes some stress away from your life then you're golden.
 
Adair: When I started growing bonsai in 1957 we did not have pre-bonsai, we did not have bonsai tools, we did not have bonsai soil, and what pots we could find were pretty bad. Yoshimura's book had just come out and we did not even know of John Naka. The only good trees were Yamadori but no one knew how to collect them successfully at first and then the logistics could kill you. I know there seems to be the oft mentioned Home Depot reference. Even I have my standards; I seldom buy anything from HD because it is seldom anything worth working on can be found.

The good stuff is from independent nurseries not associated with chains and big businesses that tend to cookie cutter all of their material, ship it out to their retailers that are equally disregarding of their stock and its care.

It's good to encourage these bonsai businesses but you look at this through eyes that see money differently than I do. There is nothing wrong with that but I can't afford to keep my trees with a professional bonsai master on the other side of the country and have him bring them out when you want to appreciate them or put them in a show. I don't even know where Telperion Gardens is for sure. If they don't ship I have to go out there to buy. Sorry Adair that's simply not going to happen.
 
Last edited:
Vance Wood said:
Adair: When I started growing bonsai in 1957 we did not have pre-bonsai, we did not have bonsai tools, we did not have bonsai soil, and what pots we could find were pretty bad. Yoshimura's book had just come out and we did not even know of John Naka. The only good trees were Yamadori but no one knew how to collect them successfully at first and then the logistics could kill you. I know there seems to be the oft mentioned Home Depot reference. Even I have my standards; I seldom buy anything from HD because it is seldom anything worth working on can be found.

The good stuff is from independent nurseries not associated with chains and big businesses that tend to cookie cutter all of their material, ship it out to their retailers that are equally disregarding of their stock and its care.

It's good to encourage these bonsai businesses but you look at this through eyes that see money differently than I do. There is nothing wrong with that but I can't afford to keep my trees with a professional bonsai master on the other side of the country and have him bring them out when you want to appreciate them or put them in a show. I don't even know where Telperion Gardens is for sure. If they don't ship I have to go out there to buy. Sorry Adair that's simply not going to happen.
Click to expand...
Telperion is in Oregon. I've never been there. I found them thru the Internet. They sent me pictures of a tree via email. I bought it based on those emails, and they shipped it. Nothing mysterious about that.

Yes, back in the day, there were no "Big Box" stores. Garden Centers were more local, the material they carried was less standardized.

Today, the wholesale commercial landscape business is more standardized and uniform. Seems like all the places sell plants from "Monrovia". Doesn't matter which retail place you go, everything they sell has a "Monrovia" tag on it. At least that's the way it is stouts here.

I've posted videos of how they produce the round box woods. With those shearing machines. Same way they trim the Mugos. Back in the 1970s, they didn't have those, so you could find Mugos that were trimmed by hand, and still looked a bit like trees, not box woods.

Vance, it seems to me you have an inferiority complex about your financial situation. I'm sorry about that. I've had ordinary jobs. My wife and I both worked. We put some into the 401k plan with every paycheck. In addition, after work, we started looking into buying rental houses. We purchased the Carlton Sheets system advertised on late night TV. I'm sure you've seen it. Well, by golly, it's hard work, but it works. We raised two childern, worked, and started buying rental houses. I didn't have time for bonsai during those years. I spent every evening and every weekend developing my rental business.

But, now, 20 years later, the investments I made then are paying me back. I'm still a landlord, but I have free time for bonsai. And a little money to travel to California. The trees I have there are the ones I work on in my classes with Boon. Sure, they live on his bench when I'm not there, but they're my work.

And yes, I've been trying to figure out a reasonable way to get them home. Since I was planning to show one in Rochester this year, it makes sense to bring it home after the show. Yeah, it takes a bit of work to figure out the logistics.

But, bonsai CAN be a very expensive hobby. Or not. I'm sure you've seen Ryan Neil's website where he has $50,000 trees for sale. Don't worry, I don't have any of those! Lol!!
 
Except the price: You wrote; Telperion is in Oregon. I've never been there. I found them thru the Internet. They sent me pictures of a tree via email. I bought it based on those emails, and they shipped it. Nothing mysterious about that. Nothing mysterious except how much the whole process cost you. Are you willing to share that?

I don't have an inferiority complex about my financial situation, I know exactly what I have and what I have to work with.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
Bald Cypress Beginner Advice & Progress Thread
Replies
8
Views
318
Salvarez
Salvarez
J
Progress Thread for my Shimpaku
Replies
3
Views
247
jkennedy2316
J
MattE
My vietnamese Bluebell progress thread.
Replies
10
Views
582
Pixar
Pixar
M
Vachellia Tortillis Progress/Overwintering
Replies
4
Views
232
Marowak
M
*tree*
swampy mame raft progress
Replies
0
Views
178
*tree*
*tree*
Back
Top Bottom