AusBonsai

Hi,
After receiving a few maples from Shibui yesterday I spent a bit of time today putting most of them together into a forest. Plenty of growth to come and I look forward to watching it take off in Spring (hopefully!)
It's the first group/forest I have assembled, and it took a bit of contemplation but I'm pretty happy with how it has turned out. I'm sure there are plenty of bits and pieces I can improve so any feedback from anybody who has anything they think I need to address is welcomed.
Thanks for looking!

Hi ryceman.

For me it's a more than commendable effort for a first attempt . I know you will get plenty of help regarding tweeking plant positions but on the whole it a bloody good job

Squizzy

R3,
very much much better than my first attempt at forest planting.
I really like the differing mix of moss types (colours) too.
Look forward to seeing a pic when it starts to leaf out.
cheers Kcar.

If I scroll through the photos. Something looks more balanced in the 3rd photo. Can anyone else see that? I wonder why? I think it's a case of less is more.

Squizzy

Looks pretty good, although I think the tiny ones should be further towards the back to add more to the perspective, and to stop them crossing over the larger ones that are currently behind them...

Looking forward to seeing it progress!

The arrangement and placement of the trunks is great I think. They all look like they belong where you have placed them.
I prefer to avoid the space right through the group. I think perspective is enhanced by having the path/space narrowing toward the rear so it looks like it disappears in the distance. I've also found it looks better if the track meanders a bit rather than looking like a roman road through the forest.
Leave this as it is this season but if you want to make changes next winter you might try cutting the 2 sections apart and just turning the smaller group a little so that it comes closer and some of its trees go slightly behind the primary group. That should narrow the gap towards the back and might change the large space into a winding forest path.

As they develop you need to make sure that the outer trees don't grow too much. It is easy for the outer ones to grow more and thicken excessively so keep pruning selectively to keep trunk sizes relative.

Looks good to me.
My only concern would be growth now.
That's a lot of tree's at an early stage that I suspect would need to bulk up at least a bit?

Thanks to all for your feedback, I had fun putting this together and am grateful for your input!

@Squizzy : I appreciate your encouragement & I hear what you say about pic 3. I think I liked the way it was coming together initially and then it might've got BIG on me a bit if you know what I mean, lots of trees/decisions/positions etc... you need a therapist when you put stuff like this together (and about 10 pairs of hands to hold it in place)! Having said that, I finally decided it was easier to remove later if required rather than regret not adding, so I persisted - we'll see if it lasts.

@KC&R : Again thanks for the positivity, I too look forward to seeing it take off in Spring, will be sure to update!

@MelB : Yeah, small ones at the back makes sense and I know it is what should happen - we'll see if they stay or not as is : after a while I'm not sure I could see the forest for the trees if you know what I mean!!?!

@ Shibui : Thanks also for the positive feedback. The one thing I wanted to change the second I thought I'd "finished" was the Roman Road as you put it. I might have a second look tomorrow - but I agree with your thoughts about narrowing it at the rear and the meander theory. I'll keep an eye on the outer trees/growth rate as Spring comes on.

I had a lot of fun putting this together and think I learnt a thing or two. Thanks again for the feedback.

Boics wrote:Looks good to me.
My only concern would be growth now.
That's a lot of tree's at an early stage that I suspect would need to bulk up at least a bit?

Yep, you're right Boics. Will be watching closely - hopefully I'll see some good growth in Spring. I did think about putting it together in a foam box to accelerate growth but... I like the pot!

I think its spot on for a start. No doubt after living with it a while you will find things
to improve. Better to have too many IMO because its easy to cut some out
Well done

Thanks Robb63,
I agree - easier to extract later than to add (if required)... I plan to re-look at the "road" situation and then just contemplate it for a while ... Bonsai style!
Cheers.

Hi Ryceman3,
I've just received my little package of babies from shibui today. After looking at your work (looks very good already) , and reading all the comments I'm going to allow myself time and put all of mine in a foam grow box for at least a year so they "fatten up" a bit.
Thanks shibui, they arrived in excellent condition and I've carefully unpacked them and put them in a bucket of water for tonight. Tomorrow night after work they will be planted out, bless the little darlings.
Cheers, Frank

Hope you don't mind my jumping in here Ryceman, but I'm wondering if the experienced forest growers here can just set me on the right track.

If I want to get the larger trees to get thicker trunks, but still keep the others not so thick, I should let the larger ones grow taller for longer, whilst keeping the smaller ones more constrained? ie clipping the apex and top branches more on the ones I don't want to get too thick...

(Hope this makes sense...)

Yes Mel. Let the tall, thick ones grow more and keep the smaller trees trimmed harder. There are a couple of things to watch though:
Trimming will encourage more branching. More branching can also = more leaves and therefore more thickening so as well as regular trimming to keep them smaller you may also need to thin out the resulting shoots to keep the smaller ones restrained in bulk as well as height. Hope that makes sense.
As mentioned earlier, trees on the outside of a group sometimes grow faster because they have more root space so watch out for that as well while allowing group plantings to grow.

If all else fails you can still cut a group apart after a few years and rearrange the individual trees or clusters of trees into a better arrangement.

melbrackstone wrote:Hope you don't mind my jumping in here Ryceman, but I'm wondering if the experienced forest growers here can just set me on the right track.

Not at all.. Ask away Mel, that's what we post for!

Today I rejigged a few smaller trees to reduce the "Roman road" effect a little - my meandering still needs work but they may have to wait for another year. I think it's improved, sorry I neglected photos this time.

Glad to hear you got your supply intact Frank. Grow box is probably a good idea - post up a thread when you get around to it, look forward to seeing it.