Twisting shimpaku

[MichaelS]

Adair M, post: 405998, member: 13405"]

To me, wiring is part of the art. I see bonsai as more than "a tree in a pot". I see bonsai as " a trained tree in a pot". I guess this is where I disagree with the "Naturalist School" of bonsai.

Well that does not need to be a point of disagreement in itself. You can't have a tree - of any kind - in a pot without training, you can only have a sapling (unless you have a gigantic pot)

I see bonsai as representations, in miniature, of what we would want trees to look like Not necessarily what they do look like.

Exactly the same for the Naturalistic School. The difference is that the NS does not want bonsai to look artificial even though they are.

Its perfectly acceptable to show confiers with wire.

Yes it is but I personally would argue that it should not be - for obvious reasons.

Deciduous trees should not have wire when shown.

I believe nothing should be shown (in a formal setting) with wire. Nothing detracts from the illusion more than wire. If you can't see it, that another story. The reason it has been deemed acceptable to show conifers with wire on them is purely because of convenience and has nothing to do with aesthetics.

So, I believe wiring is an essential skill anyone practicing bonsai should learn to do well.

Agree 100%

 

[tree4me]

Well between work and life haven't done anything except fertilize and water. Water, ie. rain , has been plentiful this spring. I noticed a few things happening on this tree.
1. This area is looking kinda grey in color
2. Here we have brown tips
3. Here it's light green turning brown
Could this be from excessive water, a fungus maybe. Is it three different issues?
My other Shimpaku have the same issue as in #3.
Any ideas and/or recommendations?

 

[Daluke]

It needs to be thinned out.

You need to let sun in.

A few dead needles is normal.

Foliage feed after thinning.

 

[petegreg]

Well between work and life haven't done anything except fertilize and water. Water, ie. rain , has been plentiful this spring. I noticed a few things happening on this tree.
1. This area is looking kinda grey in color
2. Here we have brown tips
3. Here it's light green turning brown
Could this be from excessive water, a fungus maybe. Is it three different issues?
My other Shimpaku have the same issue as in #3.
Any ideas and/or recommendations?

Yeah, looks normal, shaded parts of the tree. Some of yellowing foliage is juvenile... Hell, where did you take so much foliage?

 

[drew33998]

Wiring is what makes bonsai unique.

Gardeners use "Clip and Grow". Topiary is created by shearing. Sometimes wire cages are used for support. Trees can be espaliered onto walls.

But only bonsai uses wire to shape and train.

To me, wiring is part of the art. I see bonsai as more than "a tree in a pot". I see bonsai as " a trained tree in a pot". I guess this is where I disagree with the "Naturalist School" of bonsai. I see bonsai as representations, in miniature, of what we would want trees to look like. Not necessarily what they do look like. There's the "art". And for conifers, to be able to achieve this requires wire.

Its perfectly acceptable to show confiers with wire. Deciduous trees should not have wire when shown. The reason for this is due to the nature of the wood. It can take conifers several years for the wood to lignify and set in place. Deciduous trees tend to lignify within weeks. So wire is kept on for a much shorter time on deciduous trees.

So, I believe wiring is an essential skill anyone practicing bonsai should learn to do well.

Wasnt wiring bonsai trees for shape started in the 1920s?

 

[Adair M]

Wasnt wiring bonsai trees for shape started in the 1920s?

I don't know. Some of the books I read back in the '70s said that "in the old days" they used to hang rocks on limbs and used tie downs like guy wires to pull down branches.

I bet Bill Valavanis would know.