Reid's shohin thread

[parhamr]

Here’s my lil crew of shohin informal upright Western Hemlock. This is their smaller, trimmed back state. All of the buds are unfurling and soon these canopies will be full again.

 

[parhamr]

I sold three shohin today at a friend’s yard sale. I’ll miss them, but the money is good. I also have a pledge with my wife for 40 trees as my target collection size

Japanese Maple forest in production Japanese pot, $80; grown from seed in 2017


Procumbens nana in a reasonable pot from American Bonsai, $150; purchased as a pre-bonsai in 2014


And this Japanese Quince triplet in a cheap Chinese pot, $180; grown from root cuttings made in 2018

 

[Hartinez]

I also have a pledge with my wife for 40 trees as my target collection size

I tell myself and my wife this yearly! Best of luck!

 

[parhamr]

Seasonal update…

 

[Ryceman3]

Love the seiju elm/pot combo ... The others aren’t bad either!

 

[Hartinez]

Looking good Reid. I partially attribute my desire for a better shohin collection to this thread. Ill be starting one of my own here at some point.

 

[Hartinez]

curios though. When you say seasonal update and post 7 trees, are we to understand that these are the 7 remaining from the bunch you’ve pictured over the years?

 

[parhamr]

curios though. When you say seasonal update and post 7 trees, are we to understand that these are the 7 remaining from the bunch you’ve pictured over the years?

Oh, ha. Those happen to be the 7 I’ve photographed today during a break from work

There are a few other shohin and small trees, but the above post is just what I have photos of right now. Great question!

 

[Hartinez]

Oh, ha. Those happen to be the 7 I’ve photographed today during a break from work

There are a few other shohin and small trees, but the above post is just what I have photos of right now. Great question!

I figured. But you also said you were discussing the whole “40 tree limit” thing!

 

[parhamr]

I swear this photo is from today and not a repeat


(Looking close, I can tell the branching continues to improve!)

 

[parhamr]

Vaccinium parvifolium — Red Huckleberry. A native, deciduous shrub from low to mid elevations in wet regions of the Pacific Northwest.

Here it is today after a good growing season. I think its style will be informal broom.


It’s probably around a foot tall, but those long extension growths will be knocked back next year after the first flush hardens. I think this will satisfy the strict shohin definition in its target design.

This year was exciting, as I did a full, hard chop to knock it back to interior buds…

Before:


After:

 

[parhamr]

I took a quick couple of snapshots between hearing a thundercrack and the arrival of a wall of hail

Malus sargentii

This year I let it grow without much attention because I had repo it and wanted to ensure it could overcome root gall.


Pinus thunbergii

This year (at different times) I removed the sacrificial growth, decandled, and selected branches. It’s super vigorous.

 

[parhamr]

European White Birch


Red Japanese Quince


‘Hokkaido’ Chinese Elm

I’ve neglected this tree a tiny bit. It really needs the moss removed from the trunk.

Woah, I’m now realizing this post is a triplet of Ashley Keller pots!

 

[parhamr]

Threw some wire on the crabapple. The delicate, careful wiring is where I’m less skilled.



The branch tips are a bit goofy and spread out, as I’m only planning to retain the first half inch or so of each branch. The tree is in its early refinement phase, so I’m prioritizing a bit of health and vigor boosting by orienting the growths to get the most light.

 

[parhamr]

Continuing this theme — here’s wire on every branch for one of my Chaenomeles.



These branch positions aren’t so much to define the shape of the canopy as they are to set scaffolding for the 4th, 5th, and 6th levels of branching. It almost looks like I’m trying a windswept style but I promise I’m not.

Overall, tension, asymmetry, and a lowland, shrubby feel is what I’m after. Hopefully it’ll look like an aged, pasture-grazed shrub.

The major branch at left needs the straightness and crotch angle corrected. I might get to that in another year with 8 AWG copper and a guy wire.

The first branch at the right has a slightly odd crotch angle but I’m letting that one fly its freak flag. The angle of it can be hidden by the trunk; the best front is likely another 5–15 degrees counter clockwise.

 

[hinmo24t]

damn nice^

 

[River's Edge]

The major branch at left needs the straightness and crotch angle corrected.

Nice overall plan, and good work to this point. If you do plan on changing the major branch on the left? I would advise that it is best to take this step now rather than having to adjust everything affected after the change. Chaenomeles become more difficult to wire quickly in my experience, another year may make a big difference in the possible changes. If I was uncertain I would be extra cautious and use raffia, double wire ( smaller size than #8 but doubled) as well as a slower bending process to accomplish. This might be a good spot to use one of those silly little bending tools that have limited use. You know the small red ones with two rubber covered hooks and a centre screw for one curve. The section looks too firm and short for more than that type of movement.
Branches that have set with scar tissue are much more difficult to change the position later when the supporting branches have changed position. The smaller size but doubling gives the opportunity to cover more area to prevent breakage. In this case I would place the second strand between the first coils rather than close along side more better support. The other way to spread out the support is to add longitudinal wire under the raffia to protect the outside of the bend along the whole length. Just some ideas, I know those shorter straight sections can be difficult to deal with effectively. I have broken a few over the years.

 

[parhamr]

Speaking of freaks — please excuse this chuhin interlude.

I have three groupings of Pinus sylvestris experiments: reductive + informal, twisty oddballs, and possible forest material that’s largely unstyled. They’re all from my 2017 trip to a large Weyerhaeuser propagation/reforesting nursery. This makes them 7 or 8 years old.

Twisty oddballs: (I used them in a 2019 demo/lecture for coworkers to show them how the sausage is made and just how malleable saplings are)
1


2


3


4


Here are the more reductive and informal trees. They’re mostly wiring practice and interesting challenges where I’m trying to play to their strengths (rather than force them into idealized forms):

1


2


3


4


5


6

 

[parhamr]

Nice overall plan, and good work to this point. If you do plan on changing the major branch on the left? I would advise that it is best to take this step now rather than having to adjust everything affected after the change. Chaenomeles become more difficult to wire quickly in my experience, another year may make a big difference in the possible changes. If I was uncertain I would be extra cautious and use raffia, double wire ( smaller size than #8 but doubled) as well as a slower bending process to accomplish. This might be a good spot to use one of those silly little bending tools that have limited use. You know the small red ones with two rubber covered hooks and a centre screw for one curve. The section looks too firm and short for more than that type of movement.
Branches that have set with scar tissue are much more difficult to change the position later when the supporting branches have changed position. The smaller size but doubling gives the opportunity to cover more area to prevent breakage. In this case I would place the second strand between the first coils rather than close along side more better support. The other way to spread out the support is to add longitudinal wire under the raffia to protect the outside of the bend along the whole length. Just some ideas, I know those shorter straight sections can be difficult to deal with effectively. I have broken a few over the years.

Agreed. I’m lying to myself that I can solve it later.

 

[parhamr]

Alright — 10 awg plus some stainless guy wires is slightly closing these crotch angles