Tommy's trees

[my nellie]

All great trees. You have very good sensitivity and vision. The detail is great and the lines are clearly carefully considered. All very delicate, feminine, and full of grace. A man after my own heart.

I second that with all my heart!

 

[Djtommy]

Love this....

View attachment 181310

But...

I want to see the tree go left.

Rocks, slabs, etc....are very "suggesting" IMO...
The slopes of this rock suggest there is more mountain to the right where this tree is growing. So it seems odd for the tree to be growing that direction.

Also...with no indication of wind, or other purpose for the left side to be dead....it seems all the negative space on the left is a great place for that tree to be growing....
The "gentle" of that slope indicates a peaceful, sunny place, where the tree should want to grow.

A simple, polite, "it doesn't make sense"...?
Which....FYI.....is very different from..."it is uncomfortable".

I don't really see a "remedy", "remedy" because only "I" feel its "necessary" to ...
"Come up with one"....

Because a "lightning strike" to give reason to the dead left side will only serve to enhance what I feel is too much negative space on the left already.

So what if you do not mean to "suggest" anything.

If we remove "suggestions"....
As to say....
"I dont mean to suggest more mountain anywhere, it is just a rock planting".

Then we should default to following the directionality of the rock...which alone, also suggests tree to the left.

Of course......this is only IMO...and there is so much I don't know....and I got mad respect for your art especially.
So I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this planting.

Sorce

Sorce, I agree with what you say, it also think it would be better to have the tree flow to the left but well that’s not gonna happen unless I turn it 180degree, that actually may work but I still went for this way. The tree would need too much adjustment to do it now.

I think with some branch replacements it could turn out better.
I’m also thinking about planting something on the left side to get rid of some negative space and induce some more direction to the right.
I got an isotsutsuji which may work there but I hesitated to do that today as that was just collected last fall. Also the leaves of this are a little bigger then I would like.
It grows on the same location so it’s good fit though, I’m definitely not going for the obvious chojubai you can see so much on similar planting’s.
grtz

 

[BunjaeKorea]

Here is a red pine i repotted today, i decandeld last year, i probably shouldnt have..
I was planning to do only the strong ones but then i just continued leaving just very weak ones. Will see how it grows this year. At least the soil is better now.
View attachment 140324
This part was completely straight, last summer i put a bend in it, when it grows out a bit i see if i can remove the stick or put some more movement.
View attachment 140323

Sadly i lost my earlier pictures, also from other trees due to my phone, xperiaz4, dont buy it.

Red Pine will rule the world!!! My favourite species! Death to red pine haters! Awesome tree!

 

[sorce]

More polite....
I want to understand.....

How come not...

180degree

In the first place?

Did you always intend on......

planting something on the left side

?

Please check my imagination if necessary..
Here is my difficulty with "life" on that side.....

A small tree will not have enough foilage to redirect direction...
And a tree large enough to change the direction, if you could plant it at all, would be too dominant over the rock.

That said....I think the difficulty in this rock..
Is that, not only is the top directional, but the bottom almost mirrors it. So it would also have to be disguised, to "redirect" the planting....

In a "traditional bonsai" sense of course.....
Which this is already...nearly not merely!
But those "rules"..they always create a more pleasing image. ....ahem...

Just anything feasible that I can imagine doesn't balance out visually, or give good reason to the scene....To Me.

Too....in whatever possible planting outline this could be...I feel..."feel" because I do not know...like this would add "Uncomfortable" on top of "makes no sense".. These "___" are all "to me".

Please remember this is one of those.....

I love it so much I cant stop thinking aboutiters....

Are you against calling this "Pen-Jing"?
Is that even the right spelling?

Anyway....

This tree is so dope, As Is....
Like ..... So freaking wicked hanging over there...that it really SHOULDN'T BE CHANGED....

if it were mine....

I would explore what I like to call...

"Slapping them in the face with reason, in order to successfully break the rules."

I see this.....where man is actually brought into the picture....in the form of a clear cutting up that gentle accessible slope.


Giving great reason to the dead side of that tree...and why it is there, in that form...hanging off of what is now suggested to be a deeper, more steep valley that continues downwards into something frightening, an abyss that, even a bridge building man will not dare go nearer to.
A space that only that tree is daring enough to grow out over...

Even after man picked what he could off of the safe side.

This could be a very powerful planting to Slap Man in the face for his weaknesses.

I love this art because it allows for so many messages to be sent.

Forgive me, this one is very powerful...soul stirring.

Sorce

 

[Djtommy]

More polite....
I want to understand.....

How come not...

In the first place?

Did you always intend on......?

Please check my imagination if necessary..
Here is my difficulty with "life" on that side.....

A small tree will not have enough foilage to redirect direction...
And a tree large enough to change the direction, if you could plant it at all, would be too dominant over the rock.

That said....I think the difficulty in this rock..
Is that, not only is the top directional, but the bottom almost mirrors it. So it would also have to be disguised, to "redirect" the planting....

In a "traditional bonsai" sense of course.....
Which this is already...nearly not merely!
But those "rules"..they always create a more pleasing image. ....ahem...

Just anything feasible that I can imagine doesn't balance out visually, or give good reason to the scene....To Me.
View attachment 181317
Too....in whatever possible planting outline this could be...I feel..."feel" because I do not know...like this would add "Uncomfortable" on top of "makes no sense".. These "___" are all "to me".

Please remember this is one of those.....

I love it so much I cant stop thinking aboutiters....

Are you against calling this "Pen-Jing"?
Is that even the right spelling?

Anyway....

This tree is so dope, As Is....
Like ..... So freaking wicked hanging over there...that it really SHOULDN'T BE CHANGED....

if it were mine....

I would explore what I like to call...

"Slapping them in the face with reason, in order to successfully break the rules."

I see this.....where man is actually brought into the picture....in the form of a clear cutting up that gentle accessible slope.
View attachment 181318

Giving great reason to the dead side of that tree...and why it is there, in that form...hanging off of what is now suggested to be a deeper, more steep valley that continues downwards into something frightening, an abyss that, even a bridge building man will not dare go nearer to.
A space that only that tree is daring enough to grow out over...

Even after man picked what he could off of the safe side.

This could be a very powerful planting to Slap Man in the face for his weaknesses.

I love this art because it allows for so many messages to be sent.

Forgive me, this one is very powerful...soul stirring.

Sorce

Hey Sorce,
I styled it when it was in a normal pot, this was the obvious best front then. Tree is leaning forward etc apex as well so it never really came up to style it for 180 degree styling.
Until I put it on the rock. But it was already on, the tree needs some restyling to have the front from the back but i do actually think it may be a possibility.
For now though it’s like this, if I can not fix this motion contrast I may rethink it.

As for planting something on the left, no it was not my intention at first but because I have similar feeling as you I was think about something to fix it. The isotsutsuji I have may be able to help some, it’s low, it’s not a tree but I think it can eventually give the rock some more direction to the right. Not 100% sure about it. I’ll see if I can take a picture this week together with it as an image of what might be. It may well be too much too and just “not right”

Thanx for the comments, I love your imagination.
Grtz
Tommy

 

[sorce]

Thanx for the comments, I love your imagination.

I love the opportunity to excersize it!
Thanks for that!

I would like to see that...isotsutsuji...!

I feel like adding rocks could work....
But something about it becoming impure with glue or whatever....
Makes it less exciting.

Thanks for the backstory!

It all makes sense!

The feeling the tree gives .....
Very deserving of allowing the viewer whatever this "comfort" is that it seems they may need to stay with the tree longer!

Uhh...all great trees here!

Sorce

 

[JoeR]

I’m so unbelievably jealous of your ezo’s. The one species you can’t find here, and yours are awesome. Love them!

 

[Djtommy]

I’m so unbelievably jealous of your ezo’s. The one species you can’t find here, and yours are awesome. Love them!

Thanx, I also like them, it’s my favorite species. I have a few more. They are fairly cheap. Those 3 Ezo together was less then 200$
But in us you have acces to loads of yamadori trees, raw yamadori is rather rare here nowadays.

 

[justBonsai]

Nice trees man. Love the sky backdrop.

 

[GGB]

These are great. All very delicate

 

[JoeR]

Thanx, I also like them, it’s my favorite species. I have a few more. They are fairly cheap. Those 3 Ezo together was less then 200$
But in us you have acces to loads of yamadori trees, raw yamadori is rather rare here nowadays.

No way! <$200 is quite amazing, Japan is definitely the place to be for this hobby. I’m surprised they’re cheap with their ridiculously slow growth rate. I don’t disagree with your comment about Yamadori here, but it’s not like they’re abounding everywhere you look just hundreds waiting to be collected. Quality ones are still few and far between, often in difficult spots or private/state property. And I honestly think Japanese species are often simply better to work with than American natives.

 

[River's Edge]

Here is a red pine i repotted today, i decandeld last year, i probably shouldnt have..
I was planning to do only the strong ones but then i just continued leaving just very weak ones. Will see how it grows this year. At least the soil is better now.
View attachment 140324
This part was completely straight, last summer i put a bend in it, when it grows out a bit i see if i can remove the stick or put some more movement.
View attachment 140323

Sadly i lost my earlier pictures, also from other trees due to my phone, xperiaz4, dont buy it.

Very nice execution on the bend and placement. The break looks natural. Well done.

 

[Djtommy]

No way! <$200 is quite amazing, Japan is definitely the place to be for this hobby. I’m surprised they’re cheap with their ridiculously slow growth rate. I don’t disagree with your comment about Yamadori here, but it’s not like they’re abounding everywhere you look just hundreds waiting to be collected. Quality ones are still few and far between, often in difficult spots or private/state property. And I honestly think Japanese species are often simply better to work with than American natives.

slow growing for sure but these all come from the mountain so man time wise they have just a few years in them, I’m thinking they are around 30 to 40 years, small one maybe a bit less but probably still over 20.

 

[Djtommy]

Very nice execution on the bend and placement. The break looks natural. Well done.

Thanx but well, I did made it even sharper but most of the bend was already there when I got it, which is why I got it in the first place.
I lost my earlier pictures unfortunately.

 

[River's Edge]

Here is an ezo spruce i repotted today.
This pictures is when i got it and then after styling. 2 years ago
View attachment 140317
View attachment 140317
View attachment 140318
Last fall i didnt wire as it suffered a bit from summerheat but it seems to be doing fine now. Hopefully it gets through summer no problem so it can be wired again in fall.
View attachment 140316

You mentioned wiring the Ezo in the fall. Is that the best time for Ezo? I know mine responded very poorly when i wired it in the winter. Since then i have been seeking advice on Ezo from others. They are not very common in my area.

 

[Djtommy]

You mentioned wiring the Ezo in the fall. Is that the best time for Ezo? I know mine responded very poorly when i wired it in the winter. Since then i have been seeking advice on Ezo from others. They are not very common in my area.

i usually do it late fall, also in winter and seems to be fine for me, but i don't get hard freezes where im at. i do not want touch them when the growing season starts and for sure not in summer when its hot.
they will be doomed to fail. where you are it should be ok to do it from late summer i think. my friend in hokkaido usually starts wiring at that time. but i need to start later.

grtz

 

[River's Edge]

i usually do it late fall, also in winter and seems to be fine for me, but i don't get hard freezes where im at. i do not want touch them when the growing season starts and for sure not in summer when its hot.
they will be doomed to fail. where you are it should be ok to do it from late summer i think. my friend in hokkaido usually starts wiring at that time. but i need to start later.

grtz

Thank you for the insight. When the tree has fully recovered i will give it another try.

 

[Djtommy]

More polite....
I want to understand.....

How come not...

In the first place?

Did you always intend on......?

Please check my imagination if necessary..
Here is my difficulty with "life" on that side.....

A small tree will not have enough foilage to redirect direction...
And a tree large enough to change the direction, if you could plant it at all, would be too dominant over the rock.

That said....I think the difficulty in this rock..
Is that, not only is the top directional, but the bottom almost mirrors it. So it would also have to be disguised, to "redirect" the planting....

In a "traditional bonsai" sense of course.....
Which this is already...nearly not merely!
But those "rules"..they always create a more pleasing image. ....ahem...

Just anything feasible that I can imagine doesn't balance out visually, or give good reason to the scene....To Me.
View attachment 181317
Too....in whatever possible planting outline this could be...I feel..."feel" because I do not know...like this would add "Uncomfortable" on top of "makes no sense".. These "___" are all "to me".

Please remember this is one of those.....

I love it so much I cant stop thinking aboutiters....

Are you against calling this "Pen-Jing"?
Is that even the right spelling?

Anyway....

This tree is so dope, As Is....
Like ..... So freaking wicked hanging over there...that it really SHOULDN'T BE CHANGED....

if it were mine....

I would explore what I like to call...

"Slapping them in the face with reason, in order to successfully break the rules."

I see this.....where man is actually brought into the picture....in the form of a clear cutting up that gentle accessible slope.
View attachment 181318

Giving great reason to the dead side of that tree...and why it is there, in that form...hanging off of what is now suggested to be a deeper, more steep valley that continues downwards into something frightening, an abyss that, even a bridge building man will not dare go nearer to.
A space that only that tree is daring enough to grow out over...

Even after man picked what he could off of the safe side.

This could be a very powerful planting to Slap Man in the face for his weaknesses.

I love this art because it allows for so many messages to be sent.

Forgive me, this one is very powerful...soul stirring.

Sorce

FYI, I was thinking of perhaps planting this on the left. I could get it much closer to the rock offcourse if I plant it for real.
But anywayz I won’t do it this year as this little plant was just collected last fall. I even kept in in a plastic bag for about a week before I was able to pot it. I almost gave up as i was thinking it probably won’t survive anymore but glad I tried anywayz.
Well, at least now you know how isotsutsuji looks like, as mentioned before they get white flowers.
Grtz

 

[BunjaeKorea]

FYI, I was thinking of perhaps planting this on the left. I could get it much closer to the rock offcourse if I plant it for real.
But anywayz I won’t do it this year as this little plant was just collected last fall. I even kept in in a plastic bag for about a week before I was able to pot it. I almost gave up as i was thinking it probably won’t survive anymore but glad I tried anywayz.
Well, at least now you know how isotsutsuji looks like, as mentioned before they get white flowers.
Grtz
View attachment 182763

Wondering what soil you use and how you get it to stick so well.

 

[Djtommy]

Wondering what soil you use and how you get it to stick so well.

Do you mean for the moss? I used keto soil, easy to get here, sticks very well and keeps wet long, good for moss. Tree is in a mixture of akadama and Ezo sand.