[A Forest Tale] Keels - Pinus Radiata

[Keels]

Gday everyone, My entry into the forest comp actually starts in a forest . I've been thinking of doing a pine forest bonsai setting for some time after I got the idea from some posts I saw on social media recently. Plus have you seem some of MLJs forests

I thought I'd do it with radiata seedlings as they are readily available to me, as you can see. Now I know it'll take more then 2 or 3 years for the forest to mature but I guess you have to start somewhere.

I will start collecting the best 11 seedlings I can find in April, it cooler then and I've had more success dig radiatas in April then in August. I already have two seedlings sitting on my benches that will be added to the forest as well. I like the idea of an odd number for my forests, I'm not much of an even number kinda forest guy.

Not much else to say til I start collecting the seedlings in April now

[MJL]

Hey Keels,
Good to see see you’re safely back in Canberra after your visit to Melbourne. Thanks for entering the competition - great to see some pines entering the scene ... and a forest from a forest too.

If the moons align and the timing is right - I might be able to help you dig your trees!

Cheers
Mark


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TimS]

I’ll be interested to follow this one, I like the idea a lot. It’s quite uncommon to see a forest of pines, most are grown alone, so I’m hoping this will show people there are more options to pines than individual specimens

[melbrackstone]

Ryan Neil has some amazing forests...good for inspiration

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[Keels]

If the moons align and the timing is right - I might be able to help you dig your trees!

It would be awesome if the stars did align nothing better then creating a forest with the forest master

I’m hoping this will show people there are more options to pines than individual specimens

Thanks Tim. Your right you don't see many pine forest settings in Australian bonsai. I can't think of even one unfortunately. Might have to ask around. Fingers crossed mine works out.

Ryan Neil has some amazing forests...good for inspiration

I actually haven't seen Ryan's forests but damn they looks amazing. He's so skilled in what he does.

I've been tossing around a few ideas for my forest concept. I've added a pic below what I was thinking of trying to create in general terms.

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I really like how the forest is raised out of the pot. But how I would create that I'm not sure. I was thinking... I could use chicken wire and concrete to create the raised rock. Still not sure if I'm gonna go down that road yet.

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But I imagine it might look more like this

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I'll keep you all updated how it progresses

[melbrackstone]

At least if you start with seedlings you'll be able to add shape and form to the trunks. It'll be a 40 year project....but then good bonsai is a long term thing....lol

[Keels]

At least if you start with seedlings you'll be able to add shape and form to the trunks. It'll be a 40 year project....but then good bonsai is a long term thing....lol

40 year project I'll only be 74 years old by then.

[MJL]

If the moons align and the timing is right - I might be able to help you dig your trees!

It would be awesome if the stars did align nothing better then creating a forest with the forest master

HA! Ok. Enough! "The forest master" - I think not ... miles from it. The fact that I started a competition is a way of saying thanks to the good folk of forum for all the information I have gleaned over time. In no way am I presuming any masterly status, still learning. I do have a love for the group/forest form, the creativity that it inspires and an excitement to see more of it. If any of us get remotely close to the real masters of the form... then, as Yoda might say: "Worship the maker, I will."

I do hope to get to Canberra and hooking up again.

Cheers,

Mark

[Keels]

If the moons align and the timing is right - I might be able to help you dig your trees!

It would be awesome if the stars did align nothing better then creating a forest with the forest master

HA! Ok. Enough! "The forest master" - I think not ... miles from it. The fact that I started a competition is a way of saying thanks to the good folk of forum for all the information I have gleaned over time. In no way am I presuming any masterly status, still learning. I do have a love for the group/forest form, the creativity that it inspires and an excitement to see more of it. If any of us get remotely close to the real masters of the form... then, as Yoda might say: "Worship the maker, I will."

I do hope to get to Canberra and hooking up again.

Cheers,

Mark

I'm glad you had a chuckle as it was only said in good humour... No master skills implied.

[BB Brian]

Nice! How’d you’d go with the yamadori seedlings JKeels!

[Keels]

Nice! How’d you’d go with the yamadori seedlings JKeels!

Gday mate. I did dig some recently but i'm waiting to see if they recover as it was only last weekend. Early April I've had better success otherwise I'll try again in spring.

[Keels]

Quick update to show that I've combined my collected seedlings into a tray. Not much to show really. They have been together since the 7th May. I really struggled with securing them inside the tray, this is only my second forest I've attempted so currently i'm just using river rocks to weigh down the trees with some wire on top for dodgy sections.

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I put them together a little later then i had hoped but i picked seedlings that had good signs of health so they should recover well. I ended up collecting the seedlings all from the same place. This photo is about 1km from the original photos i posted. These were alot healthier not tall like the other seedlings. All the seedlings have growth down low as well for future options.

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I'm happy with the current setup, Keen to hear from the others on there methods of securing the trees in the tray

[Raging Bull]

Hi Keels, to secure multiple trees in a tray/shallow pot I found the easiest way is to lay a grid of wires secured through the bottom. You can then attach anchoring wires to these for the trees without worrying about where the holes are or if the wires will all fit through the holes.
cheers, Frank.

[Matt S]

Hi Keels,

I use a similar method to RB, I just make a grid out of bamboo that’s the wired to the bottom of the pot. The bamboo will eventually rot away but by then the tree roots will have matted together.

Good luck, your forest is coming together nicely.

Matt.

[Keels]

WARNING: Below post contains Massive Casualties

I thought I'd update the post with the current situation with the forest. I have had just over half of the trees die with possibly another one well on it way to dying. Now I expected possibly one or two to die but not more than half. I've collect seedling from the same area before and most of them always die. I thought I'd sorted my after care out with these radiata's but doesn't matter what size i collect they always die on me

I was mountain biking the other Sunday in a different part of Canberra and found seedlings in much better health then in my other spot. I think I will collect a couple more and replace the seedlings that are dead. Hopefully this is against the rules, but I'm sure Mark will inform me

For the trees that are still alive they are powering on. I can already see the roots popping out the bottom of the container.

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The seedlings that are still alive.

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The dead seedlings. Couple i have chopped in half, can't remember why i did that

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Not sure if this seedling will pull through

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more updates to follow.