Things that drive me crazy about bonsai people

[Cajunrider]

I spent a considerable amount of time diving in French Polynesia taking pictures of sharks and mantas. The Polynesian language is totally about inflection. One of the locals told me that, depending on pronunciation, the same sentence could tell a woman that she was a beautiful girl, a pig, or a bar of soap.
Interestingly, a formal greeting in their language is “Iorana”, a phonetic interpretation of ‘your honor’.

Same with Vietnamese. Here is one word with all intonation accents and the meaning of the word with each accent.
Chao = A type of dish with fermented soy as the key ingredient.
Cháo = Rice porridge
Chào = Greeting
Chảo = Cooking pan
Chão = Stout rope for towing ships or heavy things
Chạo = Sea food dish where the protein like shrimp or fish is ground into a thick paste then grilled or fried.

 

[Cajunrider]

Same with Vietnamese. Here is one word with all intonation accents and the meaning of the word with each accent.
Chao = A type of dish with fermented soy as the key ingredient.
Cháo = Rice porridge
Chào = Greeting
Chảo = Cooking pan
Chão = Stout rope for towing ships or heavy things
Chạo = Sea food dish where the protein like shrimp or fish is ground into a thick paste then grilled or fried.

Now in Vietnamese say a greeting to me and tell me dinner is ready with rice porridge served with fermented soy and ground shrimp paste that you cooked in a frying pan. Fawk that up and I am going to tie you up with rope and make you walk the plank.

 

[shohin_branches]

More pots arrived but I worked until 8:30pm (12 hour day again ) so I will have to take better photos tomorrow.

At this rate I'll never finish repotting

View attachment 538265

The back button strikes again! This was supposed to be in the "what did you do today" thread

 

[19Mateo83]

The back button strikes again! This was supposed to be in the "what did you do today" thread

Whoops . Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us.

 

[Gabler]

Another thing that drives me nuts:

Growing bonsai in the tropics feels like it's cheating.

 

[shohin_branches]

Another thing that drives me nuts:

Growing bonsai in the tropics feels like it's cheating.

Anyone growing bonsai in zone 7 and higher gets to play on easy mode.

I almost fell down the stairs moving my Japanese hornbeam forest into the basement at midnight last winter because my shed heater wouldn't be able to keep up with the -15°F weather that was coming the next day. I was just glad I didn't drop it.

 

[TrevorLarsen]

Another thing that drives me nuts:

Growing bonsai in the tropics feels like it's cheating.

I like mostly temperate trees so I would hate the tropics, but the Pacific North West makes me envious. To think people don't have to water every day because it actually rains is crazy to me.

I think bonsai people that want to keep certain aspects of bonsai a mystery to others is something I dislike. Thankfully that attitude seems to be dying out.

 

[Cruiser]

I like mostly temperate trees so I would hate the tropics, but the Pacific North West makes me envious. To think people don't have to water every day because it actually rains is crazy to me.

I think bonsai people that want to keep certain aspects of bonsai a mystery to others is something I dislike. Thankfully that attitude seems to be dying out.

Truly, it is a great place to grow trees.

But some species do not fair so well.
Moist winters and frequent cloud cover combined with minimal drying periods can lead to fungal issues.
In summer it hardly rains at all. Extra long daylight hours and high temps means watering every day in most cases, sometimes twice.

 

[TrevorLarsen]

Truly, it is a great place to grow trees.

But some species do not fair so well.
Moist winters and frequent cloud cover combined with minimal drying periods can lead to fungal issues.
In summer it hardly rains at all. Extra long daylight hours and high temps means watering every day in most cases, sometimes twice.

I suppose the grass is always greener. I imagine every place has some downsides. Living in the desert it is nice that I have total control over how much water my trees get, but I have to do it all.

 

[Srt8madness]

Anyone growing bonsai in zone 7 and higher gets to play on easy mode.

I almost fell down the stairs moving my Japanese hornbeam forest into the basement at midnight last winter because my shed heater wouldn't be able to keep up with the -15°F weather that was coming the next day. I was just glad I didn't drop it.

LOL, but you wouldn't have that hornbeam forest, or japanese maples, or larch, or white pine, or Spruce, down here.

 

[pandacular]

The topic of whether bonsai is "easier" in the tropics--or just tropicals in a greenhouse--is something I personally haven't given much thought to, but I know Jonas Dupuich has. He posits the question: if it were true, where are these trees that are so much better from the tropics?

Far be it from me to argue against the idea that certain parts of the world are better for growing trees, but I do not know that the tropics would be the place in that case.

 

[Frozentreehugger]

This question is severely loaded . My first thought is best to just shut up .So instead I’ll point out what I do like about bonsai people . Thru bonsai I have never meet anything but the nicest kindest people . I’m very encouraged after a understandable initial growth period outside of Japan . Where the hobby was followed . Based on there knowledge and species of trees . ( and if that is what you enjoy or aspire to great for you and your enjoyment of this great pastime ) I’m encouraged . To see the art expand around the world . Using different species and adding unique style and interpretations. Of what they see in nature . Artists in Europe North America and Australia Especially. Expanding the pastime . And appreciation of it . I feel the most honest of the old school Japanese masters . May finally start to think people are starting to get the hobby . Instead of blindly going where they already have , I can’t get the vision of a Japanese master artist . Leaving Japan for the first time. Visiting the mountains of Europe or the western USA . The cold north . Or heat if the south . And calling home . With instructions to sell all his trees . And purchasing a shovel . And sone equipment . Heading back out as excited as a little kid . Enjoy the hobby how you see fit . Help others along there journey . Knowledge needs to be shared to be appreciated. Smile when you imagine where the hobby will be in . 100 years

 

[shohin_branches]

The topic of whether bonsai is "easier" in the tropics--or just tropicals in a greenhouse--is something I personally haven't given much thought to, but I know Jonas Dupuich has. He posits the question: if it were true, where are these trees that are so much better from the tropics?

Far be it from me to argue against the idea that certain parts of the world are better for growing trees, but I do not know that the tropics would be the place in that case.

There are gorgeous bonsai trees in the tropics.

There is a reason many large bonsai growers and artists are in Tennessee, Florida, California, Oregon. Zone 7 and warmer

 

[SWfloirda]

Another thing that drives me nuts:

Growing bonsai in the tropics feels like it's cheating.

Until you’ve prepped and cleaned up after a hurricane.

 

[pandacular]

There are gorgeous bonsai trees in the tropics.

There is a reason many large bonsai growers and artists are in Tennessee, Florida, California, Oregon. Zone 7 and warmer

Not denying that there aren't! But if it's easier, why don't tropicals dominate shows? Why isn't EVERYONE growing in the tropics?

 

[ShadyStump]

I think bonsai people that want to keep certain aspects of bonsai a mystery to others is something I dislike. Thankfully that attitude seems to be dying out.

This has never made sense to me in any practice. It's not like you're protecting yourself from anything.

I remember a history course in college where we worked with a local mining history organization, and mapping out the locations and history of various mines. One girl happened to be working on the same mine I was at one point, and I offered to swap notes with her so we could both have a more complete picture of it.
I have never seen anyone get so defensive over an impersonal question so quickly! And later when we were presenting our projects she got all snooty about how what I had labeled on Google Earth as the mine entrance didn't match hers. Like mine that operated for decades and was already known to have multiple entrances would only have one right one.
And she was the only actual history major in the class. I just don't get it.

 

[shohin_branches]

Not denying that there aren't! But if it's easier, why don't tropicals dominate shows? Why isn't EVERYONE growing in the tropics?

Transporting trees a long distance to shows is hard for most hobbyists. We don't get many entries from Florida in the midwest. We aren't going to drive our trees down to Florida. Most shows are still fairly regional. Even Nationals doesn't get a lot of entries from the West Coast. Nobody from India, Brazil, or Malaysia are going to be able to hop on a plane with a tree and bring it to one of the US shows yet I still see plenty of hobbyists from those countries with gorgeous trees.

 

[Yamabudoudanshi]

I'll play

1) On the topic of pronunciation, I'll probably be crucified for saying this, but it drives me nuts that Ryan Neil makes a point of over pronouncing Bohhn sighh, to the point ot sounds over-stressed compared to the Japanese pronunciation. Then totally butchers the name of his own garden by pronouncing it Mer eye instead of Me rye.

It's the inconsistency I don't like.

Gives me the ick every time.

Add in the overly complex and verbose way he explains everything and I can't stand to watch his videos. Even the beautiful trees aren't enough to keep me watching.

2) Western hobbyists taking Japanese bonsai concepts way more seriously than the Japanese. I see a lot of people on this forum who try to strictly categorize things and put them in nice little boxes.
For example, what makes a bunjin style tree... (ratios, hight, number of branches, etc.)
The Japanese definition tends to be, "Is it relatively tall/slender?" - Call it a bunjin if you like.

Yamadori is another one. Yes yama means mountain, but the term isn't really that narrow. Many Japanese professionals refer to anything they collected from anywhere (even seeds from a nearby park) as Yamadori.

What both of these things have in common is people who are taking it too seriously Have fun.

 

[Gabler]

Not denying that there aren't! But if it's easier, why don't tropicals dominate shows? Why isn't EVERYONE growing in the tropics?

Widespread poverty?

 

[Carol 83]

The back button strikes again! This was supposed to be in the "what did you do today" thread

I almost mentioned it but I figured you were probably tired...