Advice on where to go with this jacaranda. Please
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Advice
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shibui
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Re: Advice
Where to go and how to get there depends what you want from the tree. In bonsai there is no one right answer to styling. For every tree there is a whole range of possible outcomes and so much depends on the personal preferences of the owner.
Jacaranda are not easy for bonsai. The big, compound leaves make designing a realistic tree shape difficult. I believe they also have a tendency to lose branches so style and shape is somewhat fluid and can change as the tree changes.
There is not really much to work with in this tree. A main trunk and 2 branches is not a lot to create a tree from. It is even harder to make informed decisions when the only view of the tree is looking up toward the top of a tree in deep shade.
I do have a couple of suggestions based on what I can see in the photo.
The first fork has the trunk and 2 branches all coming from one place. This already appears to have caused some swelling at that point. We try to only have V shaped joins in our trees to minimize the localized swelling caused by too many branches at one place. I would usually consider cutting one of the 3 off completely at that point.
The trunk starts with a bend but then becomes quite straight. Bonsai seem to look better when there is a theme that continues right through the tree - straight trunk and branches or curves right through. One option is to remove the centre trunk above the fork. That will remove the taper problem mentioned above and reduce the straight section. The left branch (as in the picture) will then be the main trunk and has more bends to match the lower trunk.
Some more branching would make it look more tree like. Branching is usually induced by more pruning. Usually when a branch is cut the tree produces 2 or more new shoots which we use to create ramification. You can see that at the few spots where it has previously been pruned.
Those ideas may be too harsh and radical for you to go through with but there will always be other options.
Jacaranda are not easy for bonsai. The big, compound leaves make designing a realistic tree shape difficult. I believe they also have a tendency to lose branches so style and shape is somewhat fluid and can change as the tree changes.
There is not really much to work with in this tree. A main trunk and 2 branches is not a lot to create a tree from. It is even harder to make informed decisions when the only view of the tree is looking up toward the top of a tree in deep shade.
I do have a couple of suggestions based on what I can see in the photo.
The first fork has the trunk and 2 branches all coming from one place. This already appears to have caused some swelling at that point. We try to only have V shaped joins in our trees to minimize the localized swelling caused by too many branches at one place. I would usually consider cutting one of the 3 off completely at that point. The trunk starts with a bend but then becomes quite straight. Bonsai seem to look better when there is a theme that continues right through the tree - straight trunk and branches or curves right through. One option is to remove the centre trunk above the fork. That will remove the taper problem mentioned above and reduce the straight section. The left branch (as in the picture) will then be the main trunk and has more bends to match the lower trunk. Some more branching would make it look more tree like. Branching is usually induced by more pruning. Usually when a branch is cut the tree produces 2 or more new shoots which we use to create ramification. You can see that at the few spots where it has previously been pruned.Those ideas may be too harsh and radical for you to go through with but there will always be other options.
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