Progression series over 34 years of a Golden Cedar

[Grant Bowie]

The Canberra Bonsai Society has chosen to use one of my bonsai in their revamped website banner so I thought I would give you an idea of its origins.

Over 30yrs ago, in about 1975, I was visiting nurseries in the Blue Mountains of NSW and found a small, much neglected grafted cedar that had been blown horizontal and half out of its pot. The roots that were sticking up into the air had died off but the rest of the roots were alive and doing OK.

The only possible style I could see for this piece of nursery stock as a bonsai was as either a full or semi cascade windswept. I took the plant home, wired it and potted it into a small, squarish semi cascade pot. The basic wiring I gave it at that earliest stage set the tone for the future of this potential bonsai.

Fig 1 1975.jpg

I tried out variations on a theme over the following years with different types of pots and different styling; more cascade, less cascade, more apex, less apex etc, but the one thing that remained constant was its basic inclination of the trunk line. I introduced a small rock (Serpentine) at some point and this has stayed with this particular bonsai for the last 25yrs or so.

Fig 2 1980.jpg

The tree, a Golden Himalayan Cedar (Cedrus deodara aurea), is not a particularly fast growing tree in a bonsai pot and so it has slowly grown and matured for over 30 yrs as a bonsai.

Joe Micalef apparently asked many years ago “What grows a Bonsai?” Various people answered “Fertilizer?” “Water?” “A bonsai nurseryman perhaps?”
His wise answer was “Time”

By about 8years ago(2000) the apex had become very heavy; the remnants of the former roots that had been sticking up into the air had completely disappeared and fused into a bit of a lump. By this point the little rock is now positioned vertically to imitate the lump of the roots and the pot is a different one again.

Fig 3 2000.jpg

The bonsai didn’t change much for the next 3yrs style wise but it was receiving a good regime of fertilizing, watering, trimming, spraying for pests and disease, and was being grown in the full sun and wind all year round. After close to 30yrs in a pot it was in very robust health, the trunk had thickened considerably and the foliage was still nice and compact, but it needed a major overhaul to bring out its full potential!

In early 2003 I did a fairly major rework of the apex of the bonsai. I cut off the apex and left a short Jin in its place. I also removed all branches moving to the right and wired up a small back branch on the top remaining branch into a new smaller apex. I left the tree to recover and grow for the next two years and displayed it at the 2005 AABC convention in Sydney.

Fig 4 2003.JPG

[Grant Bowie]

By the end of 2005 the tree and I were both ready for the necessary next overhaul. Of all my bonsai this is the one that I have had the longest time, so it was a big step to change it dramatically. Note the lump at the base is swallowing up the rock and the tree has lifted itself up in the pot. The apex had been reduced in about 2003 and a small back branch had been wired up to become the new apex, but it was still too top heavy. The very strong horizontal trunk line was finally to become the dominant feature.

On the 26th of December 2005 I started to work on the redesigning of the bonsai. The apex was to be reduced in height and the sideways movement of the trunk was to be emphasized even further.

The work begins.
I started by wiring all the branches and branchlets on the lowest foliage area and arranging them into distinct layers of foliage.

Fig 5 2005.JPG

The next step is to start the reduction of the apex. There were three distinct foliage layers above the lowest one and I removed the uppermost one without hesitation.

Fig 6 Work starts.JPG

I toyed with just thinning out the remaining area of apex foliage but decided to continue with the reduction.

Fig 7 More reduction.JPG

[Grant Bowie]

More of the apex foliage is reduced and now there are only two major foliage areas, instead of the original four. The Jin is extended down the trunk but not too low that it would endanger the health of the nearby live branch. The Jin can be finished later.

The foliage on the new live apex is thinned out, wired and positioned. I thought that was enough work on the tree at that time so I left it to rest for a while.

Fig 8 Leave to rest.JPG

By the 30th of January 2006 the tree was happily growing and extending so I gave it a light foliage trim and reduced the Jin with a combination of a Dremel and hand carving tools.

Fig 9 More wiring.JPG

[Grant Bowie]

Fig 10 Nearly finished.JPG

By August 2006 I have safely extended the Jin down to the trunk and lightly trimmed the foliage again. Note the winter colour.

Fig 11 August 2006.JPG

With the old apex removed the bonsai is now much more coherent. The trunk and branches all flow in the same direction with just a hint of the old apex to remind us of the ongoing struggle between the tree and the elements of nature.

In early 2007 I moved to Canberra and in the season 2007/8 the cedar has hardly grown at all. This is because of a combination of factors I believe. The cold winter, the later spring and the very mild summer compared to the usual heat of a Canberra summer. It is finally starting to elongate in late January.
The other factor is that it hasn’t been repotted for about five years so I will take the opportunity to repot it and possibly move it into a new pot this year.

[PeterW]

Nice progressions Grant. I Love the cascades and semi cascades.
Regards
Peter

[Hector Johnson]

Message Deleted

[Steven]

A brilliantly written and superb pictorial progression Grant. Thank you for sharing the transformation with us. This Cedar is truly deserving of the honour of being on the CBS web banner!

Regards,
Steven

[Russ]

An inspiring journey... Thank you, much enjoyed

[Asus101]

I like the tree, but i dont like the jin..
Sorry buddy,

[BonsaiBoy]

I like the tree, but i dont like the jin..
Sorry buddy,

I love the jin. I think it maketh the bonsai. It looks really natural to me just like one growing on a cliff. I dont really like the little rock behind the trunk I think it should be bigger cause it gets lost or maybe not there at all.
BB

[Asus101]

its not that there is a jin, its the actual jin itself.

[Grant Bowie]

As usual there is a variety of feelings and this is a good thing. Would'nt it be boring if we all liked the same thing.
My feeling on the Jin as I was making it was that it was a bit too big and upright but that I would wait and see how much the crown grows over the next year or two. I can always cut it of later or reduce it.

Grant

[Asus101]

The thing I dont like about the jin is that it looks fake.
If it was worked, made to look like the age its supposed to add to the tree.

Jaded, i'll admit, too much internet galleries..

[Bretts]

When looking at the small pic I found the parallel branches off putting but in real view it is not so much a problem. It has me thinking though that it could be improved more by a Shari that goes from the trunk extending along the upper branch. I think this may make the eyes follow this first and that would make the top seem more like a trunk and the lower branch a branch.
I also think the upper jinn should be reduced to all but a stub. I think this would tell the story of a tree that is fighting to keep it's top and look even less like parallel branching.
But I am not sure a deciduous lover like me would have a clue

[Chris Johnston]

Grant,
Thanks for posting this terrific progression. I must say I didn't have much love for the material in the first incarnation or when the apex got so strong. But you have brought the tree to a wonderful state over the years. I like the styling and technique.

Great work and thanks again for posting it.

Chris