AusBonsai

I have been flat out the last couple of months but finally found some time to work on a couple of trees.

The elm pictured below is one of the trees i have been growing since i became interested in bonsai. It was one of my first trees that I dug from a local park after it had sprouted in one of the garden beds. I have been playing with it and learning on it ever since. It is still not a particularly excellent tree but i like it and it has some sentimental value attached to it. Unfortunately it is still growing out a couple of scars low down on the trunk where some roots were removed when i collected it but hopefully those will become less noticeable as (or if) the bark matures.

When i first styled it many years ago i had pulled all the branches down to horizontal much like a pine. Surprisingly enough it never looked right and it wasn't until i read a few Japanese albums that i saw similarly finely trunked trees with upward sweeping branches that i realised what was wrong with it. So i restyled the branches to the upward angles that the branches are currently at today.

Last night while watching Aliens on tv i defoliated and re wired most of the branches to the tips. The leaves that are left on and there to strengthen weak branches and shoots.

That's excellent Jow. I have a hornbeam of similar stature that was one of my first trees. I have played a game with my trees working out what people would have to offer me to get over the sentimental value they have for me. I have never been able to come up with a price for this light statured hornbeam

Hi Jow,
I must say that I really like your tree and love the pot. It is not often that you see an English Elm with such an air of grace and delicacy about it, I have a few large English Elms under development that are chunky logs of things at the moment, yours clearly shows the early influence you have had on it. Not unlike one of Colin Lewis' elms. And like a lot of deciduous bonsai in Japan, F.crenata, A.palmatum and A.buergerianum in particular, the 6:1 trunk ratio is nowhere to be seen (I have long believed that 10:1 or more is a more balanced ratio for the majority of deciduous trees). Do I see a bit of Takeyama in there too perhaps, you would have seen his work in Japan.

Cheers,
MM

Mojo Moyogi wrote:Hi Jow,
I must say that I really like your tree and love the pot. It is not often that you see an English Elm with such an air of grace and delicacy about it, I have a few large English Elms under development that are chunky logs of things at the moment, yours clearly shows the early influence you have had on it. Not unlike one of Colin Lewis' elms. And like a lot of deciduous bonsai in Japan, F.crenata, A.palmatum and A.buergerianum in particular, the 6:1 trunk ratio is nowhere to be seen (I have long believed that 10:1 or more is a more balanced ratio for the majority of deciduous trees). Do I see a bit of Takeyama in there too perhaps, you would have seen his work in Japan.

Cheers,
MM

Thanks for the comments. I have always preferred slender graceful deciduous trees over stout powerful ones. That said, i love powerful conifers. I don't know if it is allowed but i could post a few pics from my Japanese show albums of trees that i am now using as inspiration for my deciduous bonsai. I have no idea how copyright regarding such things works.

As for the pot it is an old but cheap japanese mass produced job. Its glaze is similar to yamafusa pots but slightly lighter. It has no chop marks or signature.
It is nice but i would eventually like to get it into a handmade signed Japanese pot.

Bretts wrote:That's excellent Jow. I have a hornbeam of similar stature that was one of my first trees. I have played a game with my trees working out what people would have to offer me to get over the sentimental value they have for me. I have never been able to come up with a price for this light statured hornbeam

This is the only sentimental tree i have left. I have sold all the rest and i haven't missed one. I have found that i don't miss trees once they have been sold, unless of course the new owner shows you what they have done to it and its been improved.... then i get a little jealous I am constantly buying and selling to improve my collection. There is no real point working on a tree you see no future in just because you have a personal attachment to it. It will always be an average tree. Better to sell it to someone who does see a future for it and buy something that you are interested in or that you can foresee a better tree in.

Ok Jow I better show you the tree I am talking about.
In leaf last year In need of a trim before leafing out last year Apart from the sentimental value this tree also has amazing autumn colour Although I am yet to see this in my leaf burn climate This tree has had the tourniquet method set on it to develop a new root base so it will be a couple of years away from display again.
As you can see nothing special but I could not think of a price that anyone could offer to get this tree of me

I often see beginners told that their trees will never amount to anything unless they put them in the ground to grow out. I always remember this progression of one of Craig Coussins first trees and know that any tree with care can become a great addition to any collection. As you can see I am sure that the copyright police will not come knocking so post those pictures mate

Yes please do. I think copy right applys only if you are going to profit from it. So you are safe to post them pictures. cheers!

Hey Jow that is very nice.
I too like taller slender trees. They just look graceful when done right

Have ou thought about moving the apex to the left a little? it shold be I think directly above the trunk base in a upright style tree

Ken

kcpoole wrote:Hey Jow that is very nice.
I too like taller slender trees. They just look graceful when done right

Have ou thought about moving the apex to the left a little? it shold be I think directly above the trunk base in a upright style tree

Ken

Up to 5% either way is OK, which this tree has.
Jow I have posted pics here from said albums as a teaching aid so there should as has been pointed out no problems.
This also brings up a styling issue in trunk ratio to height. Like I say Guidlines can be broken, rules should never be.

This also brings up a styling issue in trunk ratio to height. Like I say Guidlines can be broken, rules should never be.

Thwe guidlines are not broken here, 1:6 is the average 1:12 is an elegant tree as Jows decipits And mine I hope

I will try to get some images from my albums tonight. In the mean time the following site has some nice deciduous trees. Most are far thicker than my tree but the branch styling is impeccable.

http://bonsaijournal.com/worlds-2-deciduous.php

The second tree down showcases just how beautiful fine trunks can be.

jow; the trees in the photos are beautiful are beautiful, fine and elegant. but they still have strength as an image. i believe this is due to the powerful bases and great ramification and styling of the branches, which ends up changing this 12:1 ratio brett is pointing out. personally jow i think your tree is too tall for the width of its base and depicts a young looking tree not an old one. but thats only my opinion, in the end what ever floats ya boats.

Lovely tree Jow, graceful is the word I would use.

Ant, I understand what your getting at but why do we always try for the oldest tree possible? What is wrong with showIng a beuatiful tree in an early stage of it's life? As time goes on this tree will thicken slowly, the ramification will get better and the tree will change into the old tree that you always look for. This is just MHO.

Cheers.

anttal63 wrote:jow; the trees in the photos are beautiful are beautiful, fine and elegant. but they still have strength as an image. i believe this is due to the powerful bases and great ramification and styling of the branches, which ends up changing this 12:1 ratio brett is pointing out. personally jow i think your tree is too tall for the width of its base and depicts a young looking tree not an old one. but thats only my opinion, in the end what ever floats ya boats.

You are absolutely right. But if you re-read my post the link was mealy a time filler until i get around to scanning some of my albums and magazines. All of the trees in that link have far thicker trunks than mine and are much, much, much further refined and better as a whole. That said some illustrate nice upwards branch styling. They were not the inspiration for this tree. They depict mature trees where mine is still very much young in both its bonsai life and the image it depicts. That said it still evokes a sense of peacefulness every time i sit down and look at it.

I am xmass shopping tonight but hopefully i will have time by the end of the week to scan some pics from my books to show where this tree gains its inspiration.

Time for another time filling link. (Also an interesting article if you are into that kind of thing)
If you scroll about half way down THIS PAGE and find the picture with text that says "This Stewartia almost personifies feminine grace. Photo courtesy of Bonsai Today." you will see a better example of what i am talking about.

After a quick search it is quite difficult to find good examples of feminine single deciduous trees. I guess this reflects their lack of popularity in the west. It seems we are constantly on the search for thicker trunks and often over look finer trees.

Jarrod wrote:Lovely tree Jow, graceful is the word I would use.

Ant, I understand what your getting at but why do we always try for the oldest tree possible? jezz; because thats what i believe bonsai to be about. to call the planting bonsai in the true sense of the word used by the wise old elders, is what i am striving for. i also believe this teaching must never lose importance. to arrive at wabi sabi which most of us are still learning to understand. this is bonsai bliss my friend. What is wrong with showIng a beuatiful tree in an early stage of it's life? absolutely nothing as long as we like it and enjoy it, but we must also recognise and understand the difference. As time goes on this tree will thicken slowly, the ramification will get better and the tree will change into the old tree that you always look for. i am certain of that in jow's hands. This is just MHO. no prob we are all allowed to have one.

Cheers.

jow, cool to all of that. the stewartia is magneficent in all its feminin glory. again a good spread at the base and great ramification makes for a strong image. without measuring it looks close to 6-7:1 but its femininity is delivered on how that ratio is set up. these for me are the differences between a weak or strong image. i do find it interesting that on such a mature looking tree the styling depicts youth or some deciduous tree's growth habits are like this regardless of how old.