Alpineart's Blog

This was collected from my Mothers front yard back in December 2010 , being close to 90 years of age she is legally blind , however she continues to tend her garden .This was planted too shallow in the ground and continually fell over. Not being able to see it she would trip over the tree and forget to stand it back up .

I mentioned to her that it needed a new home and of course she insisted i have it .

After returning home i potted it into a deep pot and set 3 layers on the upper sections that would have been removed for the purpose of being used as a Bonsai.

I contemplated a windswept style tree , then a cascade, but finally finished up with an informal upright .Shade cloth mat was used over the pot so it could be rotated numerous positions for the purpose of balanced growth for the layers , without washing the mix out of the container After the layers were removed the trunk was again studied for the best use of the unusual movement.

With all but 2-3 small shoot left it was potted into a 260mm drum pot in an upright position and the shoots wired for a leader and side branches .The removal of the stubs was to  a point flush with the trunk , quite large so they will take some time to heal over .

With the growing season very early this year , an early trim took place to remove the tips for the start of the ramification of the branches

the tree has undergone a power feeding process to stimulate buck budding , however it hasn’t produced the shoot where they were required so they were removed

a pre trim before the  wiring to set a basic informal upright style

which may change to an informal broom depending on the growth habit of the tree.The base in well over 100mm and the height is now 500mm, a top side shoot has been used for the new leader to aid thickening of the older leader lower down

.My plan is to have a finished tree with a height of around 700mm .A re-pot is on the cards as it will no doubt be pot bound in this pot .The tooth pick method of root stimulation will be used to improve and re-build the narebri . This will take place as soon as i can located or make a suitable pot or container to allow for the production of the roots . For now it can grow on until such time as i re pot in readiness for the root work. This trainer will be very special as it will have a history and a story to tell being 2 generations old already, yet only 1 year in training

Cheers Alpineart

This has had its first trim and restyle after the initial construction and wiring 8 months ago .With the alluminium wire removed it was trimmed and re-wired , i have concentrated on the twin apexes and allowed the lower branches to grow on for the purpose of thickening the trunks and to use them as Jin material.These younger stock plants are more vigorous than older material , so it a better result than the other Example of the Phoenix graft that used aged junipers as the raw material .I have slip potted both trainers into a more open mix as they were retaining too much moisture which has led to the demise of the rear tree. It will still be used as a jin so it won’t be wasted. Another specimen will soon be added to fill the void at the rear to maintain the depth of the base trunk, it may even be used as a third apex .Cheers Alpineart

This is the pine that was collected 14 months ago .

It had been growing in the usual upright fashion however it was located on a Deer or wallaby run and over time it washed  away and become a cascade .This also had been sprayed with weed killer 12 months prior to collecting .

I was in the process of collecting several in the area however the spray gangs  beat me to the punch .A year on it was still alive so i collected it 2 months later ,

after being trimmed and potted into a large training box it was due for a work over .

This is the first style apart from a trim just after collection . After careful consideration of all the features including the 200mm base with its aged bark and  the natural shari made by the wildlife in the area the apex for the jins was not in keeping with the trunk  movement so they too will get some serious movement or should i say a complete transition

turning them almost 90 to 180 degree’s over the next few days .It took around 8 hours to basically wire the main branches

I then spent another 2 days wiring and shaping , needle plucking and removing unwanted candles in and around the canopy in preparation for the jin and shari work . With the basic wiring done the tree begins its new life as a Bonsai trainer .Considering this tree was growing in a cascade fashion most of the new shoots and branchlets were now on the underside of the main branches .This was an issue as all the branches required rotating ,some up to 180 degree’s in order to have the new needles and candles in the correct position . I expect to spend another day on the tree in order to reset the branch stubs  and apex so it is in balance with the rest of the trunk line and canopy, with 20-30mm jins on the apex some serious wiring and clamping will be required .It won’t be pretty but no doubt it will do the job required .Fortunately the upper part of the trunk is not dead so it will be able to be manipulated easier than if it was dead wood

After another day its its still in the process of being transformed into a quality trainer .Personally i don’t particularly care what trainers look like in reguards to wire and tubing , blocks or any other items used to manipulate the branches or dead wood as the are simply trainers .Well after 4 days working with a Broken right leg and a broken toe on the other foot it been a challenge ,but a good all round result . This is the new front for the trainer, the natural shari at the base will get a tidy up over the next day or two and then a good clean to show off the reddish colour bark of the Monterey Pine . A little fine tuning of the branch plaement , then its off to the bench for the rest of the season , come Winter a new pot will be required as it will need to be re-potted .

Cheers and Happy Bonsai . Alpineart