Why yes! Mine is bigger than Adair's!

[SU2]

Four very well known Bonsai Masters : Josep Maria Miquel, Thierry Font who passed away lately, Alain Arnaud and François Jeker, known for his work with deadwood have contributed in writing the best (to my opinion) manual on collected olives trained to be bonsai.
Very comprehensive and most detailed work! Contained is also a full monthly calendar of working on the Olives.
It is released in Spanish and French but even if one doesn't know the language can very well understand the images, very eloquent.
I have been working on translating this into English for our club, but I have not yet completed my work...
The good thing is it can be accessed on the internet in pdf : https://es.scribd.com/doc/29095851/Los-Olivos-en-Bonsai
It is worth your time looking into this!

So glad to have found your post (just made a thread in this sub-forum myself about how to work with such blocky material!), while mine aren't olives I'm eager to head from this post to that guide, but am posting not just to thank you but to ask you about that site- did you just find that book there by googling or do you know if that site is actually legit? I ask because I've been reading John Naka's "Bonsai Techniques 1" from that site, afraid to enter my CC#'s into it so I can just download the pdf and put it on my tablet to read properly, if I knew they were legit I would but was hesitant as I'd found them myself when looking for bootleg pdf's of Naka's work (sorry to those that this offends, I simply can't obtain a copy of the book myself and Naka is no longer with us so I don't see it as wrong....would happily buy a copy if they were still in-print but at this point amazon starts them at $100 as they're quite a collector's item it seems!)

Also wanted to say kudos to you for your work in translating it, wish I was multi-lingual and could contribute something as awesome as that, hope very much to see it when you're finished is there any way I can keep tabs, or is there a url I could keep an eye on for when it's done? Don't want to miss it, regardless of how long it takes!

I don't see why this radical info couldn't be used on certain other vigorous material.

Me too! I've got a bunch of blocky bougies, a big blocky crape, am heading to that pdf now despite it not being in english as I'm badly in-need of education on how to work with materials where you'll never be able to close trunk-chop wounds due to the size!

Ready for spring. Danny Coffey came to Houston to help me with the dead wood on the behemoth. He did an excellent job. It’s essentially a massive olive burl with a crazy twisted live vein that snakes all over the thing and super-complex grain directions that changes by the inch.

Here’s a before and after.
View attachment 179504View attachment 179503

Scott

Amazing!!!! Such an awesome specimen you've got here!!! I've gotta ask though, isn't it a problem that the lower/left quadrant of that trunk has a relief-carving that's essentially a 'bowl' that'll collect water? Seems there's another on the middle-right of the main trunk-stump too, do both of those have holes that go down to the substrate to let water out or do they pool with water?

Thanks a ton for posting this, have found this thread invaluable!!!

 

[Adair M]

@markyscott, neither of our olives are big when compared to this one!

 

[my nellie]

... ...did you just find that book there by googling or do you know if that site is actually legit?
... ...Also wanted to say kudos to you for your work in translating it, wish I was multi-lingual and could contribute something as awesome as that, hope very much to see it when you're finished is there any way I can keep tabs, or is there a url I could keep an eye on for when it's done? Don't want to miss it, regardless of how long it takes!

Hello!
I don't know a thing about that site.
After reading your post I tried googling "about scribd reviews" and found negative comments...
You can do this yourself.

As for the book/magazine itself, if you are interested you can buy it from Mistral Bonsai, for 15 € in French and Spanish (I mean "Los Olivos en Bonsai")
Regarding the translation, may I clarify that I am working only on selected pages, but unfortunately I haven't yet completed even half of the material. I'm afraid I'm stuck...

 

[SU2]

Hello!
I don't know a thing about that site.
After reading your post I tried googling "about scribd reviews" and found negative comments...
You can do this yourself.

As for the book/magazine itself, if you are interested you can buy it from Mistral Bonsai, for 15 € in French and Spanish (I mean "Los Olivos en Bonsai")
Regarding the translation, may I clarify that I am working only on selected pages, but unfortunately I haven't yet completed even half of the material. I'm afraid I'm stuck...

NP, would still love to see if you ever make it available!! And yeah I'd found that when I first chanced upon the site for Naka's book the other day, was kinda hoping to hear a voice of someone here saying "no, I've used it w/o problem!" yknow? Worth a shot! Would've been nice to get a free pdf download of naka's book, will never be able to drop >$200 for his 2-volume Techniques set
[BTW thanks again for the link, despite not being in english the graphic on page 17 of pruning and then defoliating everything *below* the top-two remaining leaves, to force ramification instead of the growth *only* coming from the top 2 nodes, had *never* seen that approach before!!]

@markyscott do you happen to have a blog/instagram/flickr or something like that? In finishing reading this thread I saw the pics that showed some of your other stuff (including that beast of a BC!), would love to see more!!

 

[markyscott]

Amazing!!!! Such an awesome specimen you've got here!!! I've gotta ask though, isn't it a problem that the lower/left quadrant of that trunk has a relief-carving that's essentially a 'bowl' that'll collect water? Seems there's another on the middle-right of the main trunk-stump too, do both of those have holes that go down to the substrate to let water out or do they pool with water?

Thanks a ton for posting this, have found this thread invaluable!!!

I drilled a hole through the “bowl” and out the bottom of the rootbase with a wood drill so that it would drain. Not a problem and I’m glad you got something out of the thread.

Scott

 

[markyscott]

@markyscott do you happen to have a blog/instagram/flickr or something like that? In finishing reading this thread I saw the pics that showed some of your other stuff (including that beast of a BC!), would love to see more!!

For better or for worse, I only post my bonsai work here at the moment. The good news is that I have many threads on many trees, including the little bald cypress. I try my best to avoid the various flame wars going on and stick to updating the progressions on my trees. If you look at the threads under my name, you’ll see progressions on many of the trees in my collection. Here’s the one on the bald cypress you were interested in:

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/texas-shohin-bald-cypress.26125/

I’m slowly paring down the bald cypress trees in my collection - I just don’t like working on them. Very impressive trunks, but very slow to develop branches in my opinion. I have this one and one other that I’m building a flat top tree with. That’s plenty for me. I just traded this one for a really fantastic Ficus Burtt-Davyi and I couldn’t be happier with the trade.

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/developing-a-collected-bc.32116/

Scott

 

[Adair M]

For better or for worse, I only post my bonsai work here at the moment. The good news is that I have many threads on many trees, including the little bald cypress. I try my best to avoid the various flame wars going on and stick to updating the progressions on my trees. If you look at the threads under my name, you’ll see progressions on many of the trees in my collection. Here’s the one on the bald cypress you were interested in:

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/texas-shohin-bald-cypress.26125/

I’m slowly paring down the bald cypress trees in my collection - I just don’t like working on them. Very impressive trunks, but very slow to develop branches in my opinion. I have this one and one other that I’m building a flat top tree with. That’s plenty for me. I just traded this one for a really fantastic Ficus Burtt-Davyi and I couldn’t be happier with the trade.

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/developing-a-collected-bc.32116/

Scott

I can see trading out a Bald Cypress for something else... but for a ficus? Really?



I can’t even spell tripical! Topicul. Trip... oh, whatever! Greenhouse plant!

I mean, get a real tree. That doesn’t require a greenhouse! Like an olive!!!


Oh... wait...


Uh...


Never mind!

You were saying?

 

[markyscott]

I can see trading out a Bald Cypress for something else... but for a ficus? Really?



I can’t even spell tripical! Topicul. Trip... oh, whatever! Greenhouse plant!

I mean, get a real tree. That doesn’t require a greenhouse! Like an olive!!!


Oh... wait...


Uh...


Never mind!

You were saying?

Yeah - well, now you know where BC fits on my favorite tree list. But at least it’s a good ficus. There are really two kinds I like Burtt-Davyi and Willow leaf. Large Burt-Davyi are a bit hard to find.

 

[markyscott]

Developing very quickly



S

 

[SU2]

I drilled a hole through the “bowl” and out the bottom of the rootbase with a wood drill so that it would drain. Not a problem and I’m glad you got something out of the thread.

That is awesome thank you! God it's so obvious I feel moronic for having asked lol! (edited: was asking you how you could get the lime sulfur on the deadwood that's at the substrate-surface, was having trouble with that today when doing my 2nd attempt at LS application, but upon checking your pics again it looks like you've just used burnishing, is that right? Read the whole thread yesterday and am embarrassed to say I didn't catch what the treatment for the deadwood was..)

I truly got a TON out of this thread, was a treat to see your olive's progress, and seeing *how* you approached it was incredibly valuable to me, have too many 'blocks' of stock I just didn't know WTH to do with (despite watching Potter's videos, sandev, bonsai iligan, etc) and your olive was like the epitome of 'block' so thanks again it's inspirational to see what can be done to seemingly-difficult materials (hmm, that qualifier is probably *false* lol, they *are* difficult materials!)

For better or for worse, I only post my bonsai work here at the moment. The good news is that I have many threads on many trees, including the little bald cypress. I try my best to avoid the various flame wars going on and stick to updating the progressions on my trees. If you look at the threads under my name, you’ll see progressions on many of the trees in my collection. Here’s the one on the bald cypress you were interested in:

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/texas-shohin-bald-cypress.26125/

I’m slowly paring down the bald cypress trees in my collection - I just don’t like working on them. Very impressive trunks, but very slow to develop branches in my opinion. I have this one and one other that I’m building a flat top tree with. That’s plenty for me. I just traded this one for a really fantastic Ficus Burtt-Davyi and I couldn’t be happier with the trade.

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/developing-a-collected-bc.32116/

Awesomeness thank you!!! I've had the urge to do the same but my stuff just isn't worth showcasing yet so am doing progress albums on imgur (trying to make as detailed-as-possible progression albums as it's always irked me how few good, thorough albums I can find where the steps are explained as each step is done in development!), gotta say I'm surprised at the comment about BC's being slow as I've found my two BC's (collected this past winter) to be *absurdly* fast growers, easily on-par with my crapes (maybe even my bougies!) in how much they put, actually I don't even know I've heard that said anywhere before your post- what species are your favorites for fast-growers? I'm trying to diversify what I've got (I didn't even know what bc's were last december!) and growth-speed is a huge factor to me, am in my 30's so truly hoping to be able to make some *finished* trees I can actually enjoy in my lifetime!!

Thanks as well for linking those, will be heading there now and then to your username to check for more

 

[SU2]

I can see trading out a Bald Cypress for something else... but for a ficus? Really?



I can’t even spell tripical! Topicul. Trip... oh, whatever! Greenhouse plant!

I mean, get a real tree. That doesn’t require a greenhouse! Like an olive!!!


Oh... wait...


Uh...


Never mind!

You were saying?

ROFL! I guess you can trade-up quality even if trading-down species-wise, no? His is the first anecdote I've heard of someone wanting to part with BC's though! I fell in love with the species hard when I found them, can't wait til this winter to get more, consider my two BC's among my 3 best trees (out of ~100, though so many are just hardwood propagates that're just putting on first primaries), haven't noticed them to be slow-growers in fact the opposite, they'll go through water as fast as my crapes/bougies when in a growth-spurt!

Is there a place I can check out your olive? (aside from the pics you'd put in this thread obvi!)

 

[markyscott]

That is awesome thank you! God it's so obvious I feel moronic for having asked lol! (edited: was asking you how you could get the lime sulfur on the deadwood that's at the substrate-surface, was having trouble with that today when doing my 2nd attempt at LS application, but upon checking your pics again it looks like you've just used burnishing, is that right? Read the whole thread yesterday and am embarrassed to say I didn't catch what the treatment for the deadwood was..)

Sorry. I misunderstood. I haven’t treated the deadwood on this tree yet.

I'm surprised at the comment about BC's being slow as I've found my two BC's (collected this past winter) to be *absurdly* fast growers, easily on-par with my crapes

They grow fast but develop slow. Ever seen any with well developed branch structure and fine ramification?

S

 

[hemmy]

This thread guilted me into getting my own “Sam olive”. I was lucky enough to get a spot in his workshop at this Spring’s Shohin Seminar in Santa Nella. It was luck of the draw on the trees and I didn’t get the biggest (but it was a SHOHIN workshop!). I can’t complain though, because I got the BEST Bob Shimon redwood. I just cut back hard to get some movement in the branches and up potted slightly.

 

[markyscott]

This thread guilted me into getting my own “Sam olive”. I was lucky enough to get a spot in his workshop at this Spring’s Shohin Seminar in Santa Nella. It was luck of the draw on the trees and I didn’t get the biggest (but it was a SHOHIN workshop!). I can’t complain though, because I got the BEST Bob Shimon redwood. I just cut back hard to get some movement in the branches and up potted slightly.

Thanks for sharing yours, Hemmy. I like Sam’s little olives. Mines just a couple of years ahead of yours.


@Adair M has a shohin olive from Sam too, but my shohin olive is smaller than Adair’s.

S

 

[Adair M]

Yep! Sam’s the man for olives, big and small!

 

[JRDillWFM]

Woah...I'm guessing the only way to get a sweet olive from Sam is in person? These trees are amazing!

 

[markyscott]

Woah...I'm guessing the only way to get a sweet olive from Sam is in person? These trees are amazing!

No - you can contact him. Reach out through Facebook.

S

 

[markyscott]

Cut back. Before and after. Ready for spring!

 

[Nanuk]

markyscott that thing is so ugly that it's beautiful.
Love it.

 

[markyscott]

Happy in summer time.