AusBonsai

Gday all,
this forest is part of a old one i had, some 2yr old seedlings i had and the main was layered off a mates
tree in he's front yard. there are 22 trees in this one. comments and critasizm welcome. cheers
strawbs

Hi Strawbs , i like your forest it looks good for a young group ,i have difficulty setting up groups/forest with small seedlings and getting the balance right .So well done ,post an update in full leaf.Cheers

i too think you've done a great job stawbs. with time and maturity this has promise.

I like it. it has an even number of trees, according the the ever debated "rules" there should be an odd number of plants. but so far so good.

Marc wrote:I like it. it has an even number of trees, according the the ever debated "rules" there should be an odd number of plants. but so far so good.

Not necessarily Marc, it is said by many that anything over 11 trees and the number count can be ignored. Nice arrangement Strawbs.

Het Ash, i think that sounds right with me. when the forrest gets congested, it is the appearance of balance I suppose that is more important...

Looks great. Would love to see it after the leaves have opened.

Next time that you re-pot try for some of the trees to be placed closer to each other also space is important. Look to get some space to the right or left of the pot. The plan view shows an almost straight line across the front.
Try for the scalene triangle more remember also that crossing branches low down are distracting. Also try for the same movement for the trees.

The comment on even numbers, reminds me of the late Ron Andersen, of Victoria.
At a show of the Victoria Bonsai Society. A comment was made about a group, There are sixteen trees in that group, the owner said count them again, there were seventeen asked if the group had improved any they were told it was magnificent!!!. So they were told to count again!!, this time they counted sixteen again.

You are a wise young sage, Pup.

Well Explained.

Very wise advice, Strawb. When the count exceeds (say) 11 trees who is counting?

Well done strawb, your forest has great potential. also nice pot selection.
Every repot (after each 12 months growth) you can reposition and refine the setting and the best/better trees.
You can even add a few more!

I have different feelings on the forest. To me the pot should be a shallow tray for a forest or a group planting, the pot it is in is lovely but too deep, especially for the youth of the majority of the trees. Which brings me to the next point. I would like to see two additional trees of more advanced girth to give the forest more visual weight. It looks like the Alpha tree had a seeding spree one year and two many trees are the same age/same thickness. More interest would be derived if there were more variation in ages as you would find in a forest.

I agree that some of them could be 'clumped' together with some bases actually touching or close to. When you repot I would be repositioning some of the trees to eliminate crossing trees or trees growing in a different direction or manner, ie, the very curved trunk amidst all the straight ones. He looks as tho he is at the wrong party. And lastly, a slight variation in soil surface to have some raise and fall of the ground would add interest.

I think you have a good start in the positioning you have achieved but a bit of refinement will make the forest even more impressive.

Last lastly, consider your foliage silhouette - rises and falls in the outline. Maybe some judicious trimming across the top to achieve more interest.

It will be interesting to see this when the leaves are open and the forest is fully clothed.