Weekend fun with shimpaku

[buddhamonk]

Heres what I did this weekend - didn't take too long

This is a shimpaku I just got in seattle at the bonsai auction and here's my attempt at a literati

This tree has been in training for 14 years but has been neglected forquite some time. It needs sun and fertilizer. In the next week I'll work on wiring and shaping. Next year I'll repot.

This is the first step - getting rid of what isn't needed

let me know what you think...

Manny



old front - sides - and back

for size

Will get rid of more branches tomorrow

 

[buddhamonk]

Good AND bad advice is welcome

By the way - I think the maple forest is gonna make it - new buds are starting to swell but they are doing so very slowly.

Manny

 

[rlist]

PM me for info on a Walter Pall workshop here in Portland at the end of June/first part of July. This tree would be a great candidate for a workshop as I see a ton of potential once the design is set and it is left to grow!

 

[Brent]

Monk

I would have gone in the other direction. I think it is almost always best to make the smallest tree possible, which is not an option now that the lowest branches are jinned. I think you find that Walter espouses the same principle. With the lower branches intact, the apex would have been in the area of branch number six (counting up from the bottom). The top of the tree would have been removed. There would have been several possible ways to finish the top of the tree. All of the remaining branches would have been headed back to force more inner growth to make a short compact tree.

Brent
EvergreenGardenworks.com
see our blog at http://BonsaiNurseryman.typepad.com

 

[buddhamonk]

yes I think this could have been a good bonsai if it were half as tall and much more compact with a larger looking trunk - But I really wanna try my hand at literati. I already have short, stout, shimpaku and I wanted to build a slender, more feminine look to this one. I think the trunk is elegant (looks really thin in those picture for some reason) and I want to really emphasize that - I hope to someday get it into a small, shallow, round literati pot.

rlist - Jason already told me about the workshop with Walter - I actually have plenty of other trees that need work - mostly "final shaping" kind of work but my schedule isn't very flexible and highly variable so until there's a fixed date for the workshop I won't be able to commit. I know space is limited and I really want to go.

Thanks for the input

ps: couldn't work on it today - I had to replace my car window - someone smashed it yesterday in a parking lot to steal a $20 poker chips set that was on my back seat - they probably thought it was a metal suitcase filled with $100 bills.
Anyway ... $65 and 1 hour of work later I have a new window.

Manny

 

[Anonymous User]

I do not see a Literati in this tree as it is. I think with further foliage removal, shortening of the branches, and a few real dramitic bends, it could be a literati. A Literati should have enough foliage to maintain it, but not much more. Working the foliage back to shorten the branches is also needed.

Unless you went for more of the drop branch Bunjin look, in which case, you could use the long branches now, in fact, short of Brent's excellent advice to shorten the tree, if you want a Literati, the drop branch may be your best option.


Will

 

[Chris Johnston]

I have to agree with Will in one aspect: I do not see a literati in this tree. Even drastic bending won't do so much with this one, I think. You could shortcut the process of chasing the foliage back by grafting shoots on inner branches, then remake the tree with closer foliage.

I would also wait to work on this tree, it is not strong enough yet. Feed heavily, lots of sun, and let the growing tips show strength enough to get out of the tufts outline by an inch or even two. Then when you cut back you will see explosive back budding.

I would like to see what a Walter Pall or a Boon might make of this tree.

 

[Smoke]

I see an awesome Literati in this tree. It's just that the start is pretty shaky right now. Under the correct hands this could be gold. I would love to take a crack at this tree!

 

[Anonymous User]

If this was my tree, I would go in the direction of a Drop branch Bunjin by removing some branches and dropping others as in this example by Qingquan Zhao hot-linked from AoB.

 

[Chris Johnston]

Well, you're pretty handy with Photoshop, let's see a virtual of what you would do!

 

[buddhamonk]

Oooh I like it --

anyway, I worked on it some more - got rid of a few more branches and applied the big wires on primary branches. Sorry no pictures.

Will work on fine wiring tomorrow - it's convenient to have a whole month off.

 

[Anonymous User]

...it's convenient to have a whole month off.

I bet

Keep us updated when you can.


Will

 

[buddhamonk]

Here's some progress - removed more branches (after I wired them - just for practice)

Also used Raffia for the first time - that stuff is pretty neat but I'm afraid to get too cocky and bend too much - I guess it could potentially give a false sense of security

Anyway - I worked on it for 2hours today - wired all the bottom branches and then got rid of them

Will wire the top tomorrow

For some reason pictures just don't do the tree justice - the trunk looks much larger in real life and the foliage pads are much more structured but it doesn't show on the pictures. Anyway...

Don't know if you noticed but there's a big kingsville boxwood on the bench on the right hand side - I'd love to take this one to Walter Pall's workshop if I get a chance to go...

More to come

 

[Dwight]

Much improved !!! Whats just to the left of the shimp on your bench ?

 

[Chris Johnston]

Looks like a hinoki to me!

 

[darrellw]

Hi Buddamonk,

I have to admit, I didn't see that tree in what you started with. Quite a dramatic change (and improvement!).

-Darrell

 

[buddhamonk]

I wanted to bring back this thread with an update since I've worked on that tree over the last two years.

Here's a picture from last year (sorry I know it's a bad picture)

tomorrow I'll take a picture of the most recent work done to it -

 

[buddhamonk]

ok as promised. Sorry for the quality of the pictures. It was cold out and couldn't really get good shots.

Here's the tree two years ago

Here's the proposed front after wiring

Here are details of the wiring

and here's another possible front.

Please comment -

Manny

 

[greerhw]

Hey Manny, nice work on the juni, I see a few crossed wires, glad to see you're human. Boon would throw a hissy fit if you were one of his students. After the tree fills in a little more and the helmet moves down some, it will be a very good tree, congratulations, good work. It looks like you have a nice collection, you should post more of your trees.

Harry

 

[JasonG]

ok as promised. Sorry for the quality of the pictures. It was cold out and couldn't really get good shots.

Here are details of the wiring

and here's another possible front.

Please comment -

Manny

I prefer the 2nd front much better to the first. The only thing the first front has going for it is the lower section of the trunk. Other then that the 2nd option as front is a much nicer and balanced tree, but this too would need some branches moved, removed and thinned quite a bit. Same with the first front, lots to do, but this too could be ok with some work. You are off to a good start though....But what is up with that wirring, I counted 4 crossed wire without even looking!! Holy cow, don't let a big name master see that, they will rap you in the knuckles with concaved cutters and make you rewire the whole tree!! haha

Where did you get the hedge maple to the right? Only one place in the NW I know they originate from....

Jason