Atom#28
Chumono
Let’s find a video of the queen discussing air layers and put your hypothesis to the test!
Thoughts on Peter Chan? (Herons Bonsai)
- Thread starter Blimpsandmtn
- Start date
Let’s find a video of the queen discussing air layers and put your hypothesis to the test!
BubblePopScott
Mame
I don't like to be critical of bonsai experts, as I know less than nothing when it comes to bonsai BUT I watch Peter Chan's videos and I can't find myself liking his styling. He seems to say "looks like a bonsai already" when its had 2 branches removed from nursery stock? Has anyone got any photos of refined trees by Peter Chan?
I think he is an amazing guy who is excellent at large scale pre bonsai nursery, but I don't take his styling advice that seriously. His love for bonsai is amazing.
I think he is an amazing guy who is excellent at large scale pre bonsai nursery, but I don't take his styling advice that seriously. His love for bonsai is amazing.
penumbra
Imperial Masterpiece
Peter Chan has come full circle and this is something a novice is not fully going to recognize. There is only a small handful of people on this site who can fully understand the depth of his skills. I wish I could say I am one of them, but although I have been involved in bonsai for nearly 50 years, it has not been a consistent run for me and I have so very much to learn.
I think a lot of people here would prefer that Peter would work on master class bonsai alone, but I feel he has found his nitch and is happy doing what he is doing. I applaud him heartily.
BubblePopScott
Mame
Wow ok thank you
Orion_metalhead
Masterpiece
Like both Peter and Nigel. Different styles, different personalities. Both make things seem easy and are good for beginners like myself to get a grip on the basics before delving into the science as covered by Ryan Neil and the like.
I like watching Nigel at night. His voice is calming and I like how he has simplified things like fertilization, repotting, and pruning in a way which is easy for beginners to understand. He's one of the first experts - if you could call him that - who I came upon when it comes to care. I understand how he does things wont work for me further south but thats why I am always trying to read and find other opinions. I do like his fertilizer regimen though and i plan on sticking with it next year to see how it does on my trees.
I like watching Nigel at night. His voice is calming and I like how he has simplified things like fertilization, repotting, and pruning in a way which is easy for beginners to understand. He's one of the first experts - if you could call him that - who I came upon when it comes to care. I understand how he does things wont work for me further south but thats why I am always trying to read and find other opinions. I do like his fertilizer regimen though and i plan on sticking with it next year to see how it does on my trees.
Cattwooduk
Shohin
I went to one of Peter Chan's workshops in February. It wasn't quite what I had expected, but having never actually been to a workshop before I had no idea what to expect.
I had mixed feelings from it but overall positive - doing a group workshop meant he was dividing his time between the 8 people attending, so instruction was both very good and clear but I think the fault was more mine with the material I had taken along for advice - one piece would simply need more time and there wasn't an awful lot to do with the other there and then, but I did get some very good advice on how to take it forward at home.
There was mostly outright beginners who bought a couple of the super cheap starter yew 12 inch tall trees and they did the usual wiring into an 'S' etc and stick it in a cheap pot that he has shown in lots of videos. Also a couple of guys who had some really nice trees, one which needed minor re-structuring having been neglected, the other which needed some fine wiring. I stopped working on my own stuff several times to watch Peter explain to them what to do and why and it was incredibly insightful, by the end of the day their trees looked great.
Second part of the day one of his colleagues gave us a tour of the site and picked out a load of young box plants and showed us how to make a forest planting, whole thing took about an hour and was actually very good to my newbie eye. I felt a bit like I was paying to be working on my own material but actually in hindsight came away feeling like I took in and learned a lot more than I thought I was at the time. I'm considering going back again same time next year with one of the trees I took along and have since worked on myself further, to see what he thinks and get some advice for next steps.
The tree you are referring to he is in one of the workshops I mentioned above. That particular tree the lady said she has owned for 25+ years having collected it themselves if I remember right, there is no way he would want to start re-styling that thing structurally and wiring it etc with such limited time with 7 other people there who are paying to get help and advice as well. To me it looks like it could be really nice material but would need a lot more thought and consideration than the 5 minute he'd been looking at it. Even I know with like 2/3 years interest in bonsai, the difference between taking a cheap piece of nursery stock (which he owns) and hacking it up in a couple of minutes, and taking someones treasured relatively old tree and attempting to do the same thing. I would assume he spoke to her off camera about him taking the tree to do the work for her in his own time rather than there and then.
The workshops are designed for beginners to get a taste and some hands on basics to spark an interest in bonsai, as well as more refined techniques and knowledge for people who need a bit of inspiration or advice with specific problems - something I think he achieves quite well.
As for his videos I think he has leaned into a lot of these instructional videos with a more basic angle to strike a balance between the real nitty gritty, proper way of doing things, and showing that you can get stuck in and achieve things if you try. I got the feeling he simply wants to share his passion for bonsai with as many people as he can and get people interested in it. Aside from that as a business he's putting out advertisement for the nursery and the products and services they provide, which is a reasonable thing for any business to do.
Don't get me wrong there are several videos where he does something and goes "TADA! now it looks like bonsai!", and I'm kinda squinting at it thinking uuuh really? Or he makes a design choice I would never make... but then I've had an interest in bonsai for a tiny fraction of time compared to him.
The nursery was incredible to walk around. Thousands of trees of varying ages and quality - but I have no doubt he knows what he is doing with his more prized collection.
I would say what is on offer is probably on the overpriced side generally, but there is A LOT there from really tiny saplings, yamadori, rough material, big, small, medium, really old, you name it they seem to have it!
Wish I had taken more pictures throughout the day but here's a few!
I had mixed feelings from it but overall positive - doing a group workshop meant he was dividing his time between the 8 people attending, so instruction was both very good and clear but I think the fault was more mine with the material I had taken along for advice - one piece would simply need more time and there wasn't an awful lot to do with the other there and then, but I did get some very good advice on how to take it forward at home.
There was mostly outright beginners who bought a couple of the super cheap starter yew 12 inch tall trees and they did the usual wiring into an 'S' etc and stick it in a cheap pot that he has shown in lots of videos. Also a couple of guys who had some really nice trees, one which needed minor re-structuring having been neglected, the other which needed some fine wiring. I stopped working on my own stuff several times to watch Peter explain to them what to do and why and it was incredibly insightful, by the end of the day their trees looked great.
Second part of the day one of his colleagues gave us a tour of the site and picked out a load of young box plants and showed us how to make a forest planting, whole thing took about an hour and was actually very good to my newbie eye. I felt a bit like I was paying to be working on my own material but actually in hindsight came away feeling like I took in and learned a lot more than I thought I was at the time. I'm considering going back again same time next year with one of the trees I took along and have since worked on myself further, to see what he thinks and get some advice for next steps.
The tree you are referring to he is in one of the workshops I mentioned above. That particular tree the lady said she has owned for 25+ years having collected it themselves if I remember right, there is no way he would want to start re-styling that thing structurally and wiring it etc with such limited time with 7 other people there who are paying to get help and advice as well. To me it looks like it could be really nice material but would need a lot more thought and consideration than the 5 minute he'd been looking at it. Even I know with like 2/3 years interest in bonsai, the difference between taking a cheap piece of nursery stock (which he owns) and hacking it up in a couple of minutes, and taking someones treasured relatively old tree and attempting to do the same thing. I would assume he spoke to her off camera about him taking the tree to do the work for her in his own time rather than there and then.
The workshops are designed for beginners to get a taste and some hands on basics to spark an interest in bonsai, as well as more refined techniques and knowledge for people who need a bit of inspiration or advice with specific problems - something I think he achieves quite well.
As for his videos I think he has leaned into a lot of these instructional videos with a more basic angle to strike a balance between the real nitty gritty, proper way of doing things, and showing that you can get stuck in and achieve things if you try. I got the feeling he simply wants to share his passion for bonsai with as many people as he can and get people interested in it. Aside from that as a business he's putting out advertisement for the nursery and the products and services they provide, which is a reasonable thing for any business to do.
Don't get me wrong there are several videos where he does something and goes "TADA! now it looks like bonsai!", and I'm kinda squinting at it thinking uuuh really? Or he makes a design choice I would never make... but then I've had an interest in bonsai for a tiny fraction of time compared to him.
The nursery was incredible to walk around. Thousands of trees of varying ages and quality - but I have no doubt he knows what he is doing with his more prized collection.
I would say what is on offer is probably on the overpriced side generally, but there is A LOT there from really tiny saplings, yamadori, rough material, big, small, medium, really old, you name it they seem to have it!
Wish I had taken more pictures throughout the day but here's a few!
Eckhoffw
Masterpiece
For some one starting out (myself) I would say Peter is an amazing resource.
I went to the library the other day, and of the 7 bonsai books available, 3 of them where by the Chan Man. I think he is very accessible and has a ton to offer.
Like mentioned earlier, he focuses on maintaining an open mind and keeping enjoyment at the heart of the hobby.
I often find his approach inspirational and rejuvenating, especially after trying to rummage through all the opinionated & at times conflicting info out there.
I went to the library the other day, and of the 7 bonsai books available, 3 of them where by the Chan Man. I think he is very accessible and has a ton to offer.
Like mentioned earlier, he focuses on maintaining an open mind and keeping enjoyment at the heart of the hobby.
I often find his approach inspirational and rejuvenating, especially after trying to rummage through all the opinionated & at times conflicting info out there.
Mayank
Chumono
The explanation for that is he probably had a convent education in a commonwealth country as he was born in India and then moved to England. He is easy to understand.
Sn0W
Shohin
BobbyLane
Imperial Masterpiece
the new Peter chan video gives me some ideas, i often come across cheap material like this. sometimes the trees have unbalanced roots and arent suitable as a single tree planting. many use these trees for forests. ive never really experimented with creating a twin or triple trunk tree though. so ill be keeping my eyes peeled for hedging plants that are planted close to the edge of the pots as Peter points out here, enables you to then do some rootwork and get the tree closer together
and there's me thinking i was the only one doing root work at the end of oct, in the south of england
and there's me thinking i was the only one doing root work at the end of oct, in the south of england
Starfox
Masterpiece
There is a new documentary out on Amazon Prime featuring Peter Chan too.
Only problem is it is not available to watch in Spain despite having both a .es and .uk Prime membership. I'd like to watch it but not dealing with a vpn to do so.
Only problem is it is not available to watch in Spain despite having both a .es and .uk Prime membership. I'd like to watch it but not dealing with a vpn to do so.
Toraidento
Shohin
I watch most of his videos. I think he has knowledge that is worth learning. But just like with most other things you learn from trial and error. You watch others do it try it for yourself. You find out what works for you. What he does he's been doing for years, and it works for him. Use what he shows and figure out what works for you
Warpig
Chumono
You're not missing much. The best thing about it was the video quality.
milehigh_7
Mister 500,000
God I hope so...
Waldo
Yamadori
Being relatively new to Bonsai, I enjoy Peter's videos. He pretty clearly lays out the basics for creating and caring for bonsai. I think that Ryan Neil's videos go into far more depth on every phase he delves into.
He is an excellent teacher. He gets into some pretty complicated stuff but delivers it very understandably. He gets more philosophical than Peter Chan. And for the most part he does it well. the video of his garden is very interesting. Goes into much detail about why he did what he did, and what went into the design of it. Just sayin.
He is an excellent teacher. He gets into some pretty complicated stuff but delivers it very understandably. He gets more philosophical than Peter Chan. And for the most part he does it well. the video of his garden is very interesting. Goes into much detail about why he did what he did, and what went into the design of it. Just sayin.
Potawatomi13
Imperial Masterpiece
Chopsie
Shohin
I could visit as it’s probably a hour away, I travel further to get my trees
Cattwooduk
Shohin
In due course mate
I moved house in may and had a baby a week later so my bonsai time has been essentially keeping stuff alive, weed and pest free since then... fortunately almost all my stuff is in a state where growing freely and neglected isn't going to set anything back.Hoping by late winter to have more time, we've been having work done on the house, my private work has been insanely busy this year but winter is generally quieter, baby will be a bit older and the toddler will be in nursery so my days off MIGHT actually be free time!
If I do go back I'll try take more pictures next time.
Also need to discuss the possibility of doing some collecting in the woods I mentioned to you before if you're game, probably late winter as well.
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