Pine Theory by Greg Cloyd

[Luke308]

Hi everyone,

I was hoping to share this 4 part article from International Bonsai Magazine, however I have emailed Bill Vallivanis and have not bee granted permission to do so. That is fine, and I appreciate his decision, but I thought I would share my recommendation of it here instead. It is from International Bonsai magazine 2001 vol 1, 2, 3 & 4 and I have to say as a beginner (especially to pines) it made a lot of sense and was very well explained and informative.

Also in these issues is a great article by Walter Pall called "styles and form - an attempt for classification". This also is a great article which I highly recommend. It even mentions a form (not style ) called Informal Broom, which to me is what most deciduous trees are in the wild rather than the transvestite maple dress as pine look. Don't get me wrong, some of the best maples and deciduous trees I have seen have been trained like a pine and I think this still has a place in out art otherwise we will end up with cookie cutter bonsai and interest will die off pretty quickly.

I am not trying to start a debate with this, so if you disagree with my comments, please DON'T comment until you have read Walter Pall's article (all 3 parts) and then by all means, please correct me. Regardless you should do yourself a favour and track down these 4 volumes of International Bonsai magazine

[Luke308]

Just to update, apparently the pine theory article is a 12 part article not a 4 part article. Sorry for the error.

[treeman]

Hi Luke, I agree that too many decidous trees and everything else for that matter are syled to look like a old (Japanese) pine. Olives, azaleas,even natives now! Having said that, very old maples and some other deciduous tree can take on that shape in old age. Yes I have read Pall's article and I have to say I'm not a big fan of his technique/theories. It''s always instructive to read/study as much material as possible even if it tells you what to avoid. I find W Pall stylling rather unapealing (Hope thats not going too far ) But in general I agree---Take a look at natural trees for inspiration and try not to produce too many clones. Beginning with the observation that the majority of decid. trees have branches which ascend.

[Scott Roxburgh]

I haven't read either article, but could you tell us the general idea of the pine work?

[Bretts]

You can get a good lesson in Walters Broom theory here.
http://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t2285 ... our-brooms
Plus a look at some very nice trees

[Luke308]

You can get a good lesson in Walters Broom theory here.
http://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t2285 ... our-brooms
Plus a look at some very nice trees

Great share Brett Walter Pall pushes some peoples buttons, and I can appreciate that, but his comments about retro Informal upright broafleafs strikes a chord with me. But I also love the look of many deciduous trees styled this way. I just appreciate him trying to emulate what he sees in nature, and producing some amazing informal broom trees along the way.

Walter said -Here a few of my maples. I think broom form(informal broom form) is THE appropriate form for maples.
Trident, Acer burgerianum, Japanese maple, Acer palmatum.

It will surprise many: I think the informal upright form is NOT appropriate for any broadleaved tree. It is the abstraction of a pine tree and looks strange on a broadleaved tree. We only go so used to this. Sure, I am also guilty of this. I believe that in twenty years all broadleaved trees in the informal upright form will have a time stamp on them and be considered a retro.