One Pot To Rule Them All
11 Apr 2012 30 Comments
in Japanese Tags: bonsai ceramics, Japanese Bonsai pot, Maruhei
One Pot To Rule Them All
Exterior dimensions 36.5cm x 33cm x 9cm (18½in x 13in x 3½in). The lip is 7.5cm (3in) on each side!
Many of you might know that I have a strange fascination with pots that have exceptionally large lips. I think I may have found the Mother Of All Pots (with a large lip that is)! This pot by far has the largest lip that I have ever seen. It’s taken me about a year before I got my hands on one and it was worth the wait. In this short post I’m going to share some pictures and a description of this pot.
Here is a top view of the pot. There isn’t much patina on this pot. It was found in a flower shop and has probably been sitting on the shelf for many years. Looking at the lines and texture of the pot, it’s apparent that it was hand made and not mold made.
The underside. Unfortunately there is a piece that broke off on the bottom right. The good thing is that there are no cracks and that you can’s see the broken area from the top.
Just in case you didn’t notice the lip…
This pot was made by Maruhei-in and is Japanese. One of the cool things about this pot is that there are three chops in three different locations. This small chop is on the inside of the pot.
This chop and signature is on the underside of the pot.
The third, a small chop on the side of the pot on the outside. Many times in Japan, instead of writing, “Maru,” they use a circle instead. Maru is the word for circle. So in this chop, you have the, “Maru (circle),” and the kanji for, “Hei,” on the inside. Put it all together and you get Maruhei.
Mr. Tanaka too has one these pots but the chop on the bottom is different thought still made by Maruhei. We’re not 100 percent sure which chop is older thought Mr. Tanaka feels that my pot is the older one.
The 10,000 Dollar Question?
Now what would you put in this pot? What kind of tree and what kind of tree style would work in this pot?
I know the first thing that normally comes to people’s mind is what you, “can not,” put in this pot. Try not to think about that and really explore the possibilities of, “can,” and you may be surprised to what might work. To quote Mr. Tanaka, “There are no real rules as to what kind of pot looks good with what kind of tree. The only real rule is balance and the overall aesthetics of the pairing.” Since all of our perceptions of what, “looks good,” is different from person to person we can really go wild with all the pots out there. Having said that, this higher concept of pot matching is coming from a professional with a great deal of experience. For those that aren’t as experience, ask other Bonsai people for their opinions and keep your mind open to them all. Try to understand what they are saying and at the end, do what feels right to you. New trends in pot to tree matching are occurring all the time. That’s what makes it fun and fresh.
Study, study, study and keep learning. That helps too. ;o)
Please share your thoughts in what might go well in this pot in the comment section below.
Thanks for reading!
Restarting a Trident Maple
07 Apr 2012 19 Comments
in Projects Tags: Kaede, Trident maple bonsai, Trident maple development
Now that I’m settled back in Japan I’ve been busy repotting, wiring and cutting back trees. It’s back to business as usual and I’m already starting to forget what day it is again! I’m really looking forward to my second year as an apprentice. This time around, I’ll get to practice techniques I learned last year and probably pick up a whole new set of techniques this year. I’ll be sure to keep you all in the loop! Let’s get this year started!
Last Fall I asked Mr. Tanaka if he could give me a Trident Maple project for me to develop from scratch. Since I’m surrounded by so many great deciduous trees in the yard, I wanted to create one of my own during my apprenticeship. We walked around the nursery together and he finally pointed to the tree pictured above (I know, not much to look at…at the moment). ;o) Mr. Tanaka says that this tree was an air layered off the top a large Trident Maple. The air layer didn’t do well and many of the branches died. The good news though is there are no dead areas on the trunk, the trunk has good movement, taper and age.
Let’s take a look at the tree from all sides.
Tree’s left
Back
Tree’s right
The Plan
Originally we were planning on cutting off every branch in the Spring to force new growth. The branches on this tree are either too long or too thick. Many times in Japan, when deciduous trees go through a major change in branch development, the professional will wait till just before the buds start to grow and lop off every single branch to a stub. Doing this will force the tree to push new adventitious buds either on the branch stubs or the trunk itself. The new growth will be the future branches of the tree.
I asked Mr. Tanaka if lopping off the branches in the Spring was done because it’s the strongest time of year for the tree. He shook his head and said, “no, the strongest time for the tree is in the Summer.” I then asked why this wasn’t done in the Summer then, and he said that the new growth would be too vigorous and uncontrollable. Hum…. interesting…
Spring vs. Summer
Trident Maples grow most vigorously in the Summer in Japan. The main reason for that is because of the heat and humidity. There is humidity in the Spring but not the heat. Now lets think about the area you live in. If the Summers in your area is hot and dry, Summer might not be the strongest time for the tree. In that particular environment, it turns out the the tree is only strongest in the Spring. Would it be correct then, to say that developing a Trident Maple in an area where there are not ideal Summers take longer?
Before you answer that question in your head or out loud, here’s an example for you to think about. Two Trident Maples are being developed in the Bay Area of California and the State of Arkansas. In the Bay Area, the Summers tend to be warm and dry whereas in Arkansas, the Summers are warm and humid. In the Bay Area, a Trident Maple can be defoliated in the Summer 1-2 times. In Arkansas, a Trident Maple can be defoliated in the Summer 3-4 times. So who has the advantage and who’s going to develop a refined tree faster?
*The Bay Area might not be the best example because of the many micro climates of California but you get the point.*
We always have to consider what our own local weather is like before we develop a tree. What works well for others in different areas, might not work well for you in your area. Understanding how a certain tree reacts to certain weather conditions can increase or decrease the time it takes to develop them to refinement. Techniques also changes as depending on the weather as well. We can learn all the techniques out there but sometimes they can only be applied to a certain extent or inapplicable because of the differences in weather conditions. Does this mean we should only work on trees that grow perfectly in our environment? Of course not! There are way too many cool trees out there for us to just focus on native growing trees. Of course there are always a certain tree that just won’t do well in an area so we skip those few trees. At the end, the important lesson here is not about the time it takes to create a good Bonsai tree but the understanding of why it takes a certain amount of time and certain types of techniques.
The revised plan
A week ago I brought the tree into the workshop and looked it over. Mr. Tanaka and I took a closer look and decided that the Trident still isn’t very strong. If we go ahead and cut off all the branches, new growth might not come out. We both decided that the tree needed to be healthier first by repotting it to maximize root growth. In the rest of this post, I’m going to show what I did to the tree to prep it for stronger growth. By next Spring, I should be able to go ahead an cut off all the branches.
Here is a photo to show the bark is peeling on this tree. It normally takes about 20 years before a Trident Maple starts to loose it’s bark. The hardest part in developing a tree has already been done for me! The trunk is old, has good movement and taper. All I have to do is develop the branches (the easier part).
The first thing I did was go through the tree and looked for dead branches coming off the trunk. This is a good time to cut them off and get the wound to start healing over.
This is what the wound looks like after I cut off the dead nub. Wounds on Trident Maples need to be cut in a concave fashion because the callus can be thick and cause a undesirable bump. Knowing that, sometimes wounds are cut flat so that a bump develops in a desirable area.
Next thing I did was apply some cut paste to the wound. I expect this wound to close up by the end of Summer. The wound is about 2.5 cm wide.
Here’s a another dead branch off the trunk but it’s a much bigger branch
I used my big knob cutter and took care of the branch in a flash. Again, I made the cut concave.
Many people don’t talk about this but when sealing a wound, it’s important to seal the entire outer edge. This is where the callus starts to form. Time and time again, I’ll see people seal a wound and only get a section of the outer edge. If you don’t seal the outer edge correctly, the callus will either form funny or not form at all and die back. Normally I like to apply the cut paste to the outer edge first, then the center area. I too expect this wound to heal completely by the end of Summer. This wound is about 4 cm wide. I took care of a couple more dead branches and left the living branches to grow freely during the Spring and Summer.
I took the tree out of the pot and did some root work. Sorry I don’t have pictures of the actual root cutting portion but I believe most of you know what a repotting is like. If not, I hope to get at least one repotting post with details on cutting roots soon.
Here is the trimmed root ball. That was quick and easy!
I noticed that on one side of the trunk there was no roots but a big callus area. Apparently, this section didn’t produce any roots during the air layering. No problem, we can fix that!
Here’s the fix. I took a grafting knife and cut into the callus a bit. Once I bury this area in soil, I have no doubts that roots will grow out of it. Sometimes you can brush the exposed area with rooting hormones to increase the chances for roots to develop.
This training pot is going to be the new home of this Trident Maple for the next year. It’s large, deep and has plenty of room for new roots to grow.
I filled the pot with large sized pumice
Next I placed the tree in the pumice, tied it in and added more large pumice.
If you’re wondering what the green thing is, it’s the tie down wires. Yes, I used green rubber coated steel wire. Some people have a preference as to what they like to use as tie down wires. Here at Aichien we use all sorts of wire to tie trees down. In this particular case, I used this steel wire because it was closer to me then the aluminum wire. Plus the green color helps roots grow better…
Just kidding!
Next I made a small size mix of 20 percent akadama, 80 percent pumice and used it as my top soil layer.
Next I put some sphagnum moss close to the trunk to help keep the root spread moist and strong.
The last thing I did was water the tree. I pretty much watered the tree till the water coming out from the bottom was clear. I put the tree back on the bench and will allow it to run wild for the rest of the year. Anytime I do something to this tree, I’ll be sure to write a post about it so you can all see it’s continuing development.
Wait a Minute….What’s Up With the Soil?
Okay, many of you are probably wondering why I used the soil mix that I did. Here’s the reasons.
My main goal for this tree is to get it growing as strong and as much as possible. Drier soil mixes always yield faster root growth. Large size particles play into the drier mix as well. Hence the 100 percent large pumice. As I got to the top of the root ball, I added a small amount of akadama and pumice to keep the soil a bit more wet. Since this area is going to be exposed to the sun and heat, I have to keep it a bit more on the wet side so the tree doesn’t dry out too quickly. This will also help develop some feeder roots close to the trunk.
Personally I wouldn’t recommend putting a deciduous tree in such a dry mix to anybody because the minute this tree gets too dry, it will become weak and loose branches. Since most bonsai hobbyist can’t keep an eye on their trees 24/7, I would suggest a mix with more akadama. If you’re a person with a day job, I would go with at least 50 percent akadama to prevent the tree from drying out too long. Depending on your local weather pattern, you can reduce or add akadama to your needs. Are you going to get the same kind of growth as I will with my mix? Probably not, but you will still get good growth during the year.
I’m looking for maximum root growth on this Trident and I’m paying the price for it by having to monitor and water the tree all the time. The other reason is that I simply am able to do it. I’m here at the nursery all the time and have the ability to see the tree everyday. Does this mean that my tree will grow faster and stronger then a tree in a wetter soil? Of course, but like I said, I’m paying for it. I think you all may have better things to do then to water a tree four times a day. ;o)
Next year when I pop the tree out of the pot, I’ll update you all on what the roots look like, but enough about this tree. It’s off to other things!
Thanks for reading!
P.S. If you are actively reading this blog, I would appreciate it if you subscribe to it (right column of the blog). This is one of the best ways for me to know how many people are reading. Thanks!
Just Plastic Rope
31 Mar 2012 21 Comments
in Materials
In the last Blog post of Mr. Tanaka’s work, many of you commented on the rope that he used instead of raffia to make a bend on the trunk. Instead of answering the questions on the comments section, I decided to write a quick post about the rope itself and hopefully you can find something similar to it at your local hardware or garden center.
So What Is It?
It’s pretty much a flat vinyl rope. There’s no adhesive on one side or anything. Here in Japan, we have to go to a garden center to get it, but people here refer to it as construction rope. Apparently it’s used to tie things together so it’s nothing garden specific. A large roll of it cost only about 10 dollars so pretty inexpensive stuff. Since Mr. Tanaka can be very practical at times, one day he decided to try using it instead of raffia with great results.
Rope vs. Raffia
The rope itself is very strong and doesn’t stretch at all. It’s much easier to use then raffia and doesn’t need water. I’ve always thought that raffia was such a pain to use because of the water and the different length strains. With this rope, you just cut a desired length and apply it to the tree. We know it works because we’ve used it on many different trees here at the nursery with great success. Also, since the rope doesn’t degrade, when it’s time to remove it, it comes apart very easily and clean. So far, I haven’t found a single reason to go back to raffia.
I remember when I first learned about the use of raffia for bending and the benefits it has. One thing I heard a lot was that the raffia will retain water and help the branch or trunk heal better after the bend. What I found with this vinyl rope is that it doesn’t breath and actually holds more water on the branch or trunk then raffia. I believe this plays a big part in helping the tree mend itself after a bend.
More Details
We have found two kinds of this vinyl rope and it seems like a preference as to which one you’d like to use. Here’s some pictures to show you up close what it looks like.
Here is the first type. It’s about 1.5cm wide. I personally like this type because it’s wide and easy to overlap on itself when applied to a tree.
Though this picture is a bit blurry, it gives you an idea of how thin it is.
In this picture you can see that there are three thick lines connected with thin vinyl
Here is the second type. It’s only 1cm wide but much thicker and stronger then the first rope. Mr. Tanaka prefers to use this version because of the extra strength.
This pictures gives you an idea of how thick the rope is
This rope only has two thick lines connected with thin vinyl
Here is the big difference between the two. This thick version has strains of vinyl within the thick lines of the rope. This adds a lot of extra strength to the rope.
Use What Suite You
Well there you have it. Hopefully that clears us the mystery behind this rope. I’m not sure the same rope is available worldwide but I’m sure you can find something similar to it in your home country. All in all, it’s about what you like to use and what works best for you. This rope is just another product that works so I’m sharing it with you all. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in my apprenticeship is that there a many different methods to get to the same goal. Go with what works for you.
Thanks for reading.
Tanaka, Junichiro 田中 淳一郎
16 Mar 2012 27 Comments
in Black Pine Tags: Black pine, bonsai styling, branch bending, Kuromatsu, Tanaka
Tanaka, Junichiro 田中 淳一郎
I was working in the workshop as usual one day and Mr. Tanaka brings in this Black Pine and sets it on his work station. When this tree first came to the nursery, many people including Juan and myself were admiring it because it’s somewhat rare to find a small size tree with thick bark. As Mr. Tanaka started working, I thought it would be a great idea if we wrote an article about the initial styling of this tree. He agreed and we got to work photographing and discussing what he did. After Mr. Tanaka was finished with his work I asked him some questions and have incorporated his answers within the article. Since Mr. Tanaka can’t write English very well, I will tell the story based on the comments he made to me. We also decided that translating this article into Spanish would be nice for the Spanish speaking readers out there as well. All photographs and Spanish translations are credited to Juan Andrade, our visiting apprentice from Costa Rica.
Un día estaba trabajando en el taller como es usual y el Sr. Tanaka trajo este Pino Negro y lo puso en su estación de trabajo. Cuando este árbol llegó al vivero, muchas personas, incluidas Juan y yo, nos tomamos el tiempo de admirarlo por la rareza de encontrar un árbol de tamaño mediano con una corteza tan gruesa. Conforme el Sr. Tanaka comenzaba a trabajar, pensé que sería una gran idea si escribíamos un artículo sobre el modelado inicial del árbol. Él estuvo de acuerdo y trabajamos en fotografiar y documentar el trabajo hecho. Un vez que el Sr. Tanaka terminara, le hice algunas preguntas e incorporé sus respuestas dentro del articulo. Debido al que el Sr. Tanaka no escribe inglés muy bien, yo voy a contar la historia basándome en sus comentarios. También decidimos que traducir el articulo al español seria un bonito gesto para los lectores en ese idioma. Todas las fotografías y la traducción son cortesía de Juan Andrade, nuestro aprendiz visitante de Costa Rica.
If you don’t already know, this is Mr. Junichiro Tanaka, my Oyakata at Aichi-en
Por si no lo sabian ya, este es el Sr. Junichiro Tanaka, mi Oyakata en el Aichi-en.
Why Black Pines? \ Por qué trabajar con Pinos Negros?
Japanese Black Pines are Mr. Tanaka’s favorite tree to work on in Bonsai. He says that Black Pines grow natively in this area of Japan and it makes sense to develop trees in their natural environment. “I like them because of the thick bark they produce and what it represents. It shows that there are no shortcuts or instant Bonsai and that time is the key to great Bonsai,” Mr. Tanaka says. Over half of his Bonsai collection are Japanese Black Pines.
Los Pinos Negros son los árboles favoritos del Sr. Tanaka para trabajar como Bonsai. Él dice que crecen naturalmente en esta área y que tiene sentido desarrollar árboles en su ambiente natural. “Me gustan por la corteza gruesa que desarrollan y lo que eso representa. En el Bonsai no hay atajos ni Bonsai instantáneos, el tiempo es la clave para crear un buen Bonsai”, dijo el Sr. Tanaka. Más de la mitad de los Bonsai en su colección son Pinos Negros.
Why This Black Pine? \ Por qué este Pino Negro en particular?
Mr. Tanaka bought this Black Pine because of the thick bark and good movement of the trunk. ”I feel that trees have a personality and that they want to look their best, not just average. When a tree is at it’s best, I feel that they are happier. If I can push the tree to it’s best, I feel happy and the tree, though stressed during the process, will feel happy when the work is done,” says Mr. Tanaka. He felt very much this way about this particular tree so he decided to purchase it.
El Sr. Tanaka compró este pino por su corteza gruesa y por el buen movimiento del tronco. “Siento que los arboles tienen una personalidad, y que ellos quieren verse lo mejor posible, no solamente verse bien. Cuando los árboles esta en su mejor momento, siento que son más felices. Si yo puedo ayudarle al árbol a ser lo mejor que puede ser, yo voy sentirme feliz y el árbol también, aunque se haya estresado durante el proceso”, dijo el Sr. Tanaka. El se sintió de esta forma al ver este árbol y por ello decidió comprarlo.
A close up of the thick bark plates
Un acercamiento a las gruesas placas de corteza.
Tell Us About the Bark and Age of the Tree? \ Nos puede hablar de la corteza y la edad del árbol?
“The two reasons why I bought this tree is because of the bark characteristics and the movement of the trunk. The thick bark is what gives this tree such a feeling of time,” says Mr. Tanaka. Later I was told that the tree is only abou 60 years old! Most Black Pines this age do not have bark like this. Mr. Tanaka uses that as an example of how good bark characteristics can play in your favor in creating an old looking tree. He goes on to say that, “Black Pines will start producing flaky bark at about 10-20 years old.” He also commented that the bark is currently white because someone before sprayed a very strong concentration of lime sulfur on the tree and the trunk. In the center of the photograph, a small piece of bark flaked off revealing what the natural bark color is like. Watering the tree throughout the year will remove the lime sulfur off the trunk in about a year or so.
“Las dos razones por las cuales compré este árbol son la corteza y el movimiento del tronco. La corteza gruesa es lo que le da al árbol una gran sensación de edad”, dijo el Sr. Tanaka. Posteriormente, me comentó que este árbol tiene solamente 60 años! El Sr. Tanaka usó eso como un ejemplo de cómo las buenas características de la corteza pueden jugar a nuestro favor en crear la imagen de un árbol viejo. “Los Pinos negros comienzan a producir una corteza escamosa entre los 10 y 20 años de edad”, continuó diciendo. También comentó que la corteza esta blanqueada porque alguien aplicó una concentración muy fuerte de polisulfuro de calcio en el arbol. En el centro de la fotografía, una pequeña pieza de corteza se desprendió, revelando cuál es el color natural de esta. El riego normal va a remover el color blanquecino de la corteza en aproximadamente un año.
Are You Planning on Making a Quick Sale? \ Planea vender este árbol rápidamente?
Mr. Tanaka shakes his head and says, “I don’t like selling Bonsai quickly once they get to the nursery, but sometimes it needs to be done because of business. I like creating trees and being involved in their continued development. It often pains me when I sell a good tree. I plan on keeping this tree for a least a couple of more years if not more and continue it’s development.”
El Sr. Tanaka agita la cabeza y dice: “No me gusta vender los árboles rápidamente una vez que llegan al vivero, pero a veces es necesario hacerlo por las necesidades del negocio. Me gusta crear árboles y estar involucrado en su desarrollo. Vender un buen árbol muchas veces me causa dolor. Planeo mantener árbol por un par de años más como mínimo, (si no es que más) y continuar su desarrollo.”
The Four Sides of the Tree Before Styling / Los cuatro lados del árbol antes del Alambrado
Front / Frente
Tree’s left side / Lado izquierdo
The back side / Lado trasero
The tree’s right side / Lado Derecho
Mr. Tanaka decided to go with the current front of the tree but decided to change the angle
El Sr. Tanaka decidio usar el frente actual pero cambiando el ángulo de plantado.
Why the Angle Change? / Porqué el cambio de ángulo?
“I decided to tilt the tree to it’s right for two reasons. First reason – Tilting the tree in this angle makes the trunk look more powerful and bigger. Second reason – reduce the overall height of the tree which in turns makes the trunk more powerful,” says Mr. Tanaka with an excited look on his face.
“Decidí inclinar el árbol hacia la derecha por dos razones. La primera es que al inclinarlo el tronco se va más poderoso y ancho. La segunda razón es para reducir la altura global del árbol, y hacer que el árbol se vea aún más poderoso”, dijo el Sr. Tanaka con emoción en su rostro.
Here are photographs of the before and after of the angle change to give you a visual of what Mr. Tanaka is talking about.
Estas son fotografías del antes y el después del cambio de ángulo para visualizar los comentarios que hizo el Sr. Tanaka.
Let’s talk about the Size? / Qué nos puede decir respecto al tamaño del árbol?
Mr. Tanaka replies, “Any tree that is taller than 45cm is in the large size category. The tree currently is at 54cm (21in), so it falls in the large category. The problem with that is the trunk of this tree isn’t strong or big enough to be in the large size category. It would always look like a weak large tree. Now in the medium category, that’s a different story. I want to get this tree below 45cm (18in) and turn it into a medium size tree. In the medium category, the trunk looks larger and more powerful.
El Sr. Tanaka respondió: “Cualquier árbol que supere los 45 cm de altura cae dentro de la categoría de tamaño grande. La altura actual es de 54 cm (21 pulgadas). El problema con eso es que el tronco no es lo suficientemente fuerte o grande para esa categoría, por lo que el árbol siempre se vería débil aunque sea un árbol grande. La historia es diferente si fuera un árbol mediano. Quiero reducir la altura a 45cm (18 pulgadas) y convertirlo en un árbol mediano. En esta categoría, el tronco se ve más grande y poderoso.”
Lets get to work! / Comencemos a trabajar!
Mr. Tanaka starts wiring the main branch.
El Sr. Tanaka comienza alambrando la rama principal.
Mr. Tanaka pulling some of the old needles on the main branch and started wiring right after. The photograph above shows basic wiring 101. Left hand supporting the branch while the right hand is applying the wire. This is the first step in understanding how to apply wire properly on a branch. If you are left handed, then this process would be reverse with your right hand supporting the branch and your left hand applying the wire. Note how Mr. Tanaka extends his index finger to apply the wire.
El Sr. Tanaka limpió algunas agujas viejas en la rama principal y seguidamente comenzó a alambrar. La fotografía de arriba muestra una lección de alambrado básica. La mano izquierda apoya la rama mientras la derecha aplica el alambre. Esto es el primer paso para colocar apropiadamente el alambre en una rama. Si eres zurdo, entonces este proceso se invierte: tu mano derecha apoya la rama y la izquierda aplica el alambre. Noten como el Sr. Tanaka extiende su dedo índice para aplicar el alambre.
Here is a birds eye view photograph of the main branch wired.
Esta es una toma desde arriba de la rama principal una vez alambrada.
Here is the same main branch looking from the bottom up.
Esta es la misma rama principal vista desde abajo.
Can You Tell Us About the Wiring? / Que nos puede decir del alambrado?
“This tree is in the initial stages of styling. If I wasn’t doing this article, I would have only wired the main branches and leave the small branches alone at this time. I can style the small branches today or next year and it wouldn’t really matter. Since I am showing this tree in an article, I wanted to make the tree looks nicer and so I decided to wire some of the small branches,” Mr. Tanaka says with a grin.
“Este árbol está en las etapas iniciales del modelado. Si no estuviera haciendo este artículo, solo habría alambrado las ramas principales y hubiera dejado las ramas finas sin alambrar por el momento. Puedo modelar las ramas finas hoy o el próximo año, realmente no hace diferencia alguna. Dado que estoy mostrando este árbol en un artículo, quise que el árbol se viera mejor al final, por lo que decidí alambrar algunas ramas pequeñas”, dijo el Sr. Tanaka.
During my first year here at Aichi-en, I noticed that Mr. Tanaka uses the method of, “core work first and refinement later,” many times on different trees. To him, wiring small branches and making the tree look pretty is considered maintenance work as oppose to the core work of the trunk and the placement of the main branches, which he considers as the creation and fun portion of Bonsai work. Mr. Tanaka tells me that unless I plan on showing the tree, it doesn’t have to look show ready all the time. Wiring small branches take a lot of time and I’ll just have to take it off next year anyways. ”What’s the point if it’s just going to sit on a bench?” says Mr. Tanaka. I never thought of that before but it definitely had a practicality to it.
Durante mi primer año en el Aichi-En, muchas veces he notado que el método del Sr. Tanaka es trabajar la estructura interna primero y después refinar el árbol. Para él, alambrar ramas pequeñas y hacer que el árbol se vea bonito, es parte del trabajo de mantenimiento, en comparación a los trabajos realizados en el tronco y ramas principales. Él considera lo segundo como la parte divertida y creativa del trabajo en Bonsai. El Sr. Tanaka me dice que a menos que planee exhibir un árbol, éste no tiene porqué estar refinado todo el tiempo. Alambrar todas las ramas pequeñas toma mucho tiempo y al año siguiente habría que quitar el alambre de todos modos. “¿Cuál es el punto si el árbol va a estar en una banca de cultivo?”, dijo el Sr. Tanaka. Nunca había pensado en eso antes pero definitivamente tiene un sentido práctico.
The copper sizes used on this tree ranged from US gauge 4 to 18.
Los tamaños de cobre utilizados van del 4 al 18 (US).
Here is a photograph of the finished first branch
Esta es una fotografía de la primera rama terminada.
Mr. Tanaka moved on to wire the second branch on the opposite side of the tree. After wiring that branch, he felt the branch needed to come down. For that branch, he decided to use a guy wire to pull it down. Let’s see what he did.
El Sr. Tanaka alambró la segunda rama en el lado opuesto del árbol. Después de alambrarla, notó que la rama debía bajarse, por lo que usó un tensor de alambre. Veamos qué fue lo que hizo.
Since there wasn’t anything suitable to attach a guy wire to at the base of the trunk, Mr. Tanaka decided to add his own anchor point. He used his pliers to hammer a bamboo stick into the solid root ball.
Dado que no había un punto de anclaje adecuado en la base del tronco, el Sr. Tanaka decidió añadir su propio anclaje. Usó sus alicates para martillear un palillo de bambú dentro un área sólida del pan de raíces.
Once the stick was into the rootball about 4 inches (10cm) Mr. Tanaka cut off the excess bamboo.
Una vez que el palillo penetrara el pan de raíces unos 10 cm (4 pulgadas), el Sr. Tanaka cortó el exceso.
Mr. Tanaka first attached the guy wire to the bamboo stick, then to the branch’s main wire.
El Sr. Tanaka primero ancló el tensor de alambre al palillo de bambú, y después al alambre principal de la rama.
Mr. Tanaka pulled the branch down with one hand while tightening the guy wire with the other.
El Sr. Tanaka dobló la rama hacia abajo con una mano mientras tensaba y giraba el alambre con el alicate en la otra mano.
After Mr. Tanaka finished pulling the branch down, he twisted the guy wire to make it look clean. The overall setup of the guy wire looks perfect and it was obvious that this work was just second nature to him. This is a great technique to use if you don’t have something to attach a guy wire to or you don’t want to attach the guy wire to the pot. For heavier bends, I’ve seen a metal bar in place of bamboo.
Después que el Sr. Tanaka bajara la rama, retorció el tensor para que el trabajo se viera más limpio. El tensor y el punto de anclaje funcionaron a la perfección; era obvio que este trabajo es ya una segunda naturaleza para él. Esta es una técnica muy útil si no se tiene un punto de anclaje adecuado o si no se quiere anclar un alambre a la maceta. Para dobleces muy fuertes, he visto una barra de metal usada en vez del palillo de bambú.
Here’s a photograph of the first, second and third branches done. The work continues…
Esta es una foto con la primera, segunda y tercera rama modeladas. El trabajo continúa…
Mr. Tanaka went from branch to branch til he finally got to the top of the tree. There was an obvious problem at the top and he knew he needed to make some changes. Let’s see what he did.
El Sr. Tanaka continuó alambrando ramas hasta llegar al ápice del árbol. Había un problema obvio con la parte superior y él sabía que necesitaba hacer algunas cambios. Veamos qué fue lo que hizo.
Here is a close up of the apex of the tree. If you look deep through the foliage and into the trunk, you will see that it is a completely straight trunk. This is a problem that Mr. Tanaka says needed to be addressed.
Este es un acercamiento del ápice del árbol. Si observas dentro de las ramas, puedes ver que el tronco es completamente recto. El Sr. Tanaka dijo que había que resolver este problema.
Why Bend the Top Portion of the Trunk? / Porqué doblar la parte superior del árbol?
Mr. Tanaka said, “The reason why I need to make a change here is because the lower portion of the trunk has a lot of movement. This top portion of the trunk should have movement as well so that it doesn’t look so disconnected from the lower half. Also, by bending the top, I can shorten the overall height of the tree even more.”
El Sr. Tanaka dijo: “La razón por la cual necesito hacer un cambio aquí es porque la parte inferior del tronco tiene mucho movimiento. La parte superior debe tener movimiento también para que no se vea tan diferente de la mitad inferior. También, doblando el ápice, puedo reducir la altura del árbol aún más.”
Here at Aichi-en, we don’t use raffia but a vinyl rope instead. The nice thing about this rope is that it’s strong, flat and much cleaner to apply then raffia. I’ve personally used the rope myself and I feel it works very much better then raffia. Here is a photograph of Mr. Tanaka applying the vinyl rope as if it were raffia.
Aquí en el Aichi-En, no usamos raffia, sino una cinta de vinilo. Lo agradable de esta cinta, es que es fuerte, plana, y mucho más limpia de aplicar que la raffia. Yo personalmente la he utilizado y siento que funciona mucho mejor que la raffia. Esta es una foto del Sr. Tanaka aplicando la cinta como si fuera raffia.
Here is a photograph of the wrapped branch. This really shows you how straight the top portion of the trunk is.
Esta es una foto del tronco una vez envuelto. Esto realmente muestra lo recto que es el ápice del árbol.
The first thing Mr. Tanaka did was bend the lower portion down with stainless steel wire. Instead of using large copper wire to make big bends, Mr. Tanaka prefers stainless steel because it is stronger and thin. This way, the work looks much cleaner and more professional. Next Mr. Tanaka guy wired the top of the tree to it’s own base to add a curve and compress the top.
Lo primero que hizo el Sr. Tanaka fue doblar la parte inferior hacia abajo con un alambre de acero inoxidable. En vez de usar cobre de gran calibre para este trabajo, el Sr. Tanaka prefiere el acero inoxidable por ser más fuerte y delgado. De ésta forma, el trabajo se ve más limpio y profesional. Después, el Sr. Tanaka usó un tensor desde ápice del árbol hasta su propia base, para así comprimirlo y añadir más curvatura.
Just a little bit more bend…… and finished!
Solamente un poco más de curva y…. listo!
Once Mr. Tanaka finished bending the top of the tree, he quickly wired the smaller branches to form a apex and did some last minute adjustments to the rest of the tree.
Una vez que el Sr. Tanaka terminó de doblar el ápice, rápidamente alambró el resto de las ramas finas para modelar el ápice e hizo uno que otro ajuste de último minuto la resto del árbol.
Black Pines are Fairly Flexable, Did You Really Have to Use the Rope? / Los Pinos Negro son muy flexibles; realmente era necesario usar la cinta?
Mr. Tanaka nods and says, “If this tree was much stronger, it would be able to handle this bend without the rope. Since the tree was not as strong, just a precaution, I decided to protect it.”
El Sr. Tanaka asintió y respondió: “Si este árbol estuviera más vigoroso, podría soportar este doblez sin usar la cinta. Pero dado que no estaba tan vigoroso, como precaución, decidí protegerlo.”
The Four Sides of the Tree After Initial Styling / Los cuarto lados del árbol después del alambrado
What is the Future Plans for This Tree? / Cuáles son los planes futuros para éste árbol?
“Since the tree is now wired, it would be too stressful to repot it this coming Spring. I plan on repotting the tree at it’s new angle in the Spring of 2013. The branches will continue to be developed and refined. Depending on how well the tree grows in the Spring will determine if I de-candling it or not. I feel good about this tree because it is in good soil and I believe it will grow very well this year,” says Mr. Tanaka. In the mean time, the tree will be kept in the workshop to protect it from the freezing nights here in Nagoya. In a couple of weeks, the tree will be moved outside for some early Spring sunshine.
“Dado que el árbol está alambrado, transplantarlo en primavera le causaría mucho estrés. Planeo transplantarlo en su nuevo ángulo en la primavera del 2013. Las ramas necesitan más desarrollo y refinamiento. Dependiendo en qué tan bien crezca esta primavera, decidiré si corto la nuevas velas o no. Me siento bien respecto a éste árbol porque está en un buen sustrato y creo que va a crecer muy bien éste año”, dijo el Sr. Tanaka. Mientras tanto, el árbol se va a mantener en el taller para protegerlo de las heladas nocturnas en Nagoya. En un par de semanas, el árbol se colocará a la intemperie para que reciba más sol.
With a bit of photo editing courtesy of Juan Andrade, we get an idea of the future of the tree in a matching pot and without the two guy wires.
Con un poco de edición digital cortesía de Juan Andrade, nos damos una idea del futuro del árbol en una maceta adecuada y sin los tensores de alambre.
What Pot Would you Recommend This Tree Go Into and Why? / Qué tiesto recomendaría para este árbol y porqué?
“I like this deep oval pot and it works well for this tree. The tree is powerful but also has a lot of movement in the trunk. This oval pot is both powerful and yet has soft contours. A rectangular pot would work as well but it too would need to have rounded edges to compliment the curves on the trunk. If the trunk’s movement were more ridged, then a more ridged feeling pot with sharper angles would be more appropriate. This particular pot is a Chinese Antique and the patina it has goes well with the old feeling of the tree,” says Mr. Tanaka. He later went on to say that it’s not important that a Chinese Antique pot is used, but any pot that has the same feeling as this pot would do fine.
“Me gusta este tiesto oval profundo, le sienta bien al árbol. El árbol es poderoso pero también tiene mucho movimiento en el tronco. El tiesto oval es poderoso pero tiene contornos suaves también. Un tiesto rectangular serviría también, pero necesitaría tener bordes redondeados para complementar las curvas del tronco. Si el movimiento del tronco fuera más rígido, entonces un tiesto de líneas más rectas y angulares sería el apropiado. Este antiguo tiesto es de origen chino, y la patina que posee va bien con la sensación de edad que transmite el árbol”, dijo el Sr. Tanaka. Después mencionó que no es importante el origen del tiesto (si es chino antiguo o no), pero cualquier tiesto con un sentimiento similar funcionaría.
Before / Antes
After. The tree now sits at 41cm (16in). That’s a 14cm (5½in) reduction!
Después. El árbol mide ahora 41cm (16″). La reducción fue de 14 cm (5.5″)!
I hope you all enjoyed this article of Mr. Tanaka’s work and thoughts. Thank you Mr. Tanaka for agreeing to do the article and Juan Andrade for the pictures and the translation.
Espero que todos hayan disfrutado del trabajo y pensamientos del Sr. Tanaka. Gracias al Sr. Tanaka por acceder a hacer este artículo y a Juan Andrade por las fotografías y la traducción.
Thank you all for reading!
Gracias a todos por leer!
Going Home! Oh Sweet Freedom!
11 Mar 2012 11 Comments
in Going Home
Going Home! Oh Sweet Freedom!
That’s right! I’m going to be going home on vacation! I’m writing this post as lay on my soft squishy bed at home. For the next 17 days I’m going to travel around California and forget about the apprentice life for a bit. Thought it is a vacation I will be busy at work, visiting friends, working with Bonsai clients and doing three demonstrations! It’s okay though because I’ve always enjoyed working with customers so it’s still a vacation for me!
It’s been over 8 months since I’ve been home and I’m curious to see how I react to it. I’ve started to get a custom to living as an apprentice and this new found freedom may come as a shock to me! For 17 days I get to pick what I want to eat, work as much or as little as I want. It’s the little things that we take for granted and forget how good we had it before. I mean, really, if I wanted to take a shower right, I’d just do it… Isn’t that great!!! Not to say that it’s been bad at Aichien, it’s actually been great! but a break and a change in scenery doesn’t hurt either. You know what, I’m going to go get a hamburger right now… I will literary stop halfway through this post and get into the car and go get a burger…. Isn’t that great!!! ;o)
YEAR ONE
Going home this time marks the finish of my first year as a Bonsai apprentice at Aichien. It’s a strange paradoxical feeling because it seems so short and long at the same time. Perhaps the shortness feeling is because there is so much more to learn and know and the long feeling is because I’ve been away from home. It’s difficult to explain…
Mr. Tanaka has taken care of me all this time and taught me more then I could have ever imagined. He’s also been very generous at times and I could tell that he was concerned about my well-being. The day I was to leave he asked “Do you need money when you go home?” It was nice of him to ask. He then bought me a carry on bag so I could bring some of my pots home as well. He did not have to do that but was kind enough to.
Many people (enthusiast and professionals) have told me that I’m lucky to have ended up at Aichi-en and looking back, I feel very much that way. There were times where I didn’t feel that way though, but that’s just the apprentice experience I suppose. It has definitely changed my perspective of Bonsai and the Bonsai life in general. It has made me stronger as a person and the stresses of today don’t seem as big a deal as they use to be. Granted nobody said it was going to be easy and I didn’t expect it to be either. Overall I feel great about the last year and I think I was able to get some good information out to people as well. I hope to continue learning more and sharing more info in my second year at Aichi-en.
Demo time!
If you’re not busy and you’re in the neighborhood, please come visit the demos I will be doing in the next couple weeks. I like seeing old friends and making new ones if we’ve never met!
Midori Bonsai Club – Thursday March 15th, 2012 at 7:30PM
Midori Bonsai Club meets at:
Social Hall, St. Edwards Episcopal Church 15040 Union Ave, San Jose, California
During this meeting, I will be sharing my experiences of the apprenticeship and answering any questions visitors may have about trees or about life in Japan. The Midori Bonsai Club is the reason why am in Bonsai in the first place. The membership has always been kind to me and have been very supportive of new and old members alike. If this club didn’t exist, I’m not sure I’d even be in Japan now.
Napa Bonsai Club – Monday March 19th, 2012 at 7:00PM
Napa Bonsai Club meets at:
Napa Senior Center 1500 Jefferson Street, Napa Ca 94559
During this meeting, I too will be sharing my experiences in Japan and answering questions about Bonsai and my apprenticeship. I will also be presenting a slideshow of photographs that I’ve taken in the last year. The Napa Bonsai Club was the first club to have me come up on a regular basis to run a study group. Napa Bonsai is trying to bring Bonsai to a higher standard and I am glad I played a part in that. I am very thankful to them because they have helped me hone my teaching skills, during my work there.
On top of all of that, we’re in Wine Country!
Marin Bonsai Club – Tuesday March 20th, 2012 at 7:30PM
The Marin Art and Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Ross, CA 94957
During this meeting, I will be demonstrating on a Juniper that they will provide to me. I will also be answering questions about bonsai and my life in Japan. The Marin Bonsai Club was the first club to have me headline their annual show. It was a great experience and the membership is incredibly enthusiastic about Bonsai. It’s always fun to drive to the Marin Area because of the costal view there.
…of course it’s not all demos and work, I’ll be having plenty of these!
Thanks for reading and supporting me for the last year!
Japanese Flowering Plum Basics
06 Mar 2012 20 Comments
in Basics Tags: basics, flowering apricot, Flowering plum, ume
First off, I apologize for the last email blast about Mr. Tanaka’s work. I accidentally hit the publish key. Sorry about the inconvenience. The good news is that you now know there’s going to be a post about that very soon. ;o)
The wait is over! Last year, I’ve gotten many request to write a post about Japanese Flowering Plum and here it is! What better time to talk about them then when they are blooming here in Japan. For this post, I’m going to keep things simple and talk general care and growth habits. I’ve also gone around the yard and took photos of the different styles of flower they produce and will share them with you as well. Since I plan on being in Japan for many more years to come, I will continue to post more about Flowering Plum as I work with them more and more.
Why Do We Like Flowering Plum So Much?
The first answer people would normally give is because of the flowers. I would have to agree that the flowers can be very pretty and plum is one of the few trees that bloom in the Winter. Though we all do like the flowers, they do have other characteristics that we can enjoy as well. Old plum trees tend to have deadwood or hollowed trunks. The bark on the trunks also can get thick and crackly. Seeing the old ones bloom in Winter gives a sense of conflict and harmony at the same time. At first glance, it’s somewhat strange that a old partially dead rugged tree is producing such delicate looking flowers. As you look deeper into the tree, you start to realize how even a rough looking tree can be so beautiful as well. At least, that’s how I feel about them…
Here is an example of the dead wood and rough bark a Flowering Plum can produce. The reason why old plum trees tend to have dead wood or hollowed trunks is because they can be very susceptible to fungus attacks. Once fungus kills off a section of the tree, the wood starts to dry and rots very easily. This is so much the case that if a plum tree trunk is whole, many will see them as a young tree.
Basic Growth Patterns
Before we start developing Flowering Plum, we have to understand their growth characteristics. Once we understand it, we can then come up with a stradegy to work with them and create great Bonsai.
During the Spring, leaf buds start to push and produce leaves while the terminal leaf bud will start to elongate and extend the branch. Some of the leaf buds down the branch will start to elongate and produce branches as well but usually not as aggressive as the terminal end. At the beginning of Summer, the leaves will have hardened off and the tree stops growing. In the Fall, the tree starts growing again but at a much slower rate than the Spring. During the Fall, the leaves will play a big part in producing flower buds, leaf buds or both on each node of the branch. Once Winter arrives, the leaves will start to drop off leaving behind leaf and flower buds. During Winter, the flower buds will start to grow and bloom whereas the leaf buds will sit till the following Spring to grow new leaves and branches.
*Note: Flower buds will only grow on that year’s new growth. The tree normally doesn’t back bud on old wood.*
Lets Talk Flowers
Before I get into the flower portion of the tree, there are some terminology that are important to know. This way, I can refer to specific parts of the flower and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Plus, it probably doesn’t hurt to know a bit of plant biology while we’re at it. Check out the picture below:
This picture is courtesy of Wikipedia.com
As you may already know, there are many different types of flowers that a Flowering Plum can produce. There are two basic categories when it comes to the flowers. There are ones that have only five pedals and those that have more then five pedals creating more of a ruffled look. Some flowers are natural and some are hybrids. Here are some photos of the different flowers we have at Aichi-en.
*Tip: When cutting branches off, if the inside of the branch is red, then the flower will be red. If the inside of the branch is green, then the flowers can be any color.*
This flower really caught my eye! Nice clean multiple pedals. Very pretty. The filament is white on this one. Usually, they tend to have a tint of the pedals color.
Here is an example of the five pedal flowers. Simply beautiful!
Here is an example of a white flower with five pedals. I have found that the sepal of a white flower can either be red or green. In Japan, the most popular flowers are the white five pedal flowers known as Yabai, or the deep red five pedal flowers known as Hibai.
Here is a pink flower. The pedals on this one is a bit more wavy as well.
Here’s a strange mix of colors! Half is pink and half is white!
Here is a shot of the tree with the different colors. The flowers are either all white, all pink, or half pink and half white.
Mr. Tanaka pointed this one out and said that it’s a rare flower variety. The pedals are very small and the filaments are the dominating part of the flower. He added that these varieties are much weaker then the other Flowering Plums.
I Have a Flowering Plum But it Doesn’t Flower. Why?
Flowering Plum will not flower because of two reasons. Either the tree is too weak or the tree is too young. The first part is easily fixed by better care and growing techniques, which includes good soil, good water and food. Most of the time though a Flowering Plum doesn’t bloom because the tree itself is too young.
In Japan, most Flowering Plums are grafted early on in life. Since people want the flowers, they would take a branch that is know to flower from another tree and graft it to a young root stock. This way, the tree will immediately start blooming. Unlike other flowering trees that may take 1-15 years before they bloom, Flowering Plum is much more unpredictable. So far, it seems that a tree will start to bloom somewhere between 20 year and 100+ years! I know this to be true because we have a Flowering plum that was grown from seed in the yard that is over 100 years old and one of the lower branches still won’t bloom. This unpredictability is the reason why people tend to graft instead.
Here is a trick if you want to know if your Flowering Plum will bloom in the Winter. During the growing season where there are leaves on the tree. Rub a leaf and feel the texture. If the leaf is smooth, that means that branch is going to bloom. If the leaf is rough, that means no blooms on that branch.
Flowering Plum Bonsai Work
Here are some of the different things that are done to Flowering Plum during the year:
After the tree finishes blooming (Spring), the branches can be cut back. This is also the time to repot the tree if needed. Flowering Plum likes a lot of water so be sure to use a soil mix that holds a lot of water. Here at Aichien, we use 70-80 percent Akadama in the soil mix for Plums.
After the leaves harden off in May, the tree can be cut back again if needed.
May is the time when the tree can be wired as well. Aluminum wire is normally used to wire ume but I’ve seen people use copper as well. Flowering Plum branches can be very brittle so be careful when bending them. The branch almost gives you no warning before they break.
The leaves can be defoliated after they have hardened of (May) as well. This technique is used to force the tree to produce more leaf buds, thus producing more branches. The downside is that there won’t be as many flower blooms in the Winter.
During the Fall and Winter, there isn’t much work on the tree other then spraying pesticides, watering and feeding the tree.
Usually when professionals spray fungicide/pesticides on a Flowering Plum, they don’t hold back. Flowering Plums tend to get drenched during spraying. This goes to show how easy they can be attacked by fungus/insects.
The Tricky Part About Cutting Back
Unlike other deciduous trees, you cannot cut back a Flowering Plum and expect it to back bud. The tree will rarely backbud on old wood. When cutting back, it’s all about cutting back to a leaf bud. If you cut back to a point on the branch where there are no leaf buds, the entire branch will die off.
Fancy huh? ;o) Here is an example of a branch that has leaf buds on two of three nodes. See how the first and second leaf buds are starting to elongate and grow. Notice how there is no bud on the third node? This node only had a flower bud during the Winter. If a leaf bud didn’t already form on that third node, it almost never will. If the cut was in between the second and third node, the branch will die back to the last branch intersection or leaf bud.
Here is another example of flower buds and leaf buds. At any particular node, there can either be a leaf bud, 1-3 flower buds, or both. This example shows that bud and leaf buds can grow anywhere on the new branch.
Here is another example of two new branches that grew from one point and their first nodes. The first node on the right branch has a leaf bud whereas the first node of the left branch doesn’t. Either that bud was knocked off or it never developed.
As you can see from the three examples above, it is very important that we recognize what a leaf bud is before pruning our Flowering Plums. Always cut back to a leaf bud. We will normally cut back to at least two leaf buds but depending on the circumstances, we may cut back to just one leaf bud.
After cutting the tree back, it’s always a good idea to seal the cuts with cut paste. This will help keep the tree safe from fungus attacks. If you plan on cutting multiple trees, be sure to clean your tools with alcohol to prevent the spread of disease from one tree to the next.
Air Layering
Air layering a Flowering Plum is almost impossible. These trees will not air layer very easily. It’s easier to approach graft roots instead.
Grafting
Since Flowering Plum doesn’t normally back bud, they tend to get leggy after many years of growth. That is where grafting comes to play. When a Flowering Plum get’s too leggy, people will cut the new growth off the tree and graft it into the old wood. The best time to graft is in February or September (Early Spring or early Fall).
Here is a Flowering Plum that was grafted last February. The grafts are regular side grafts. This technique is used with many other trees in Bonsai.
You can see the leaf bud on the grafted branch is now starting to push new growth. That’s a good sign that the graft is going to take. The scion used should have 1 or 2 leaf buds.
Two Flowering Plum Examples From Kokufu-Ten
There ya go! Some basic Flower Plum information to get you started. As the year progresses and I take more photographs, I’ll write more post that focuses on the shapes, styles and pot selections for Flowering Plums. I hope this helps you have a better understanding of plum basics and gives you an idea of when different types of work can be done to them at different times of years. More to come in the future!
I hope that you noticed that both Flowering Plum Bonsai examples are in a glazed and clay pot. Which is correct? or are both correct? HUM???… Think about it for a bit… We’ll talk about that in the future.
Thanks for reading and learning with me!
Formal Black Pine and Kihachikai Show
02 Mar 2012 24 Comments
in Bonsai Shows, Formal Upright Tags: Black pine, Bonsai Show, bonsai styling, Formal Upright
Formal Black Pine and Kihachikai Show
Last week I was tasked to work on this large formal upright (Chokkan) Black Pine. The timing worked out great because I was planning on asking Mr. Tanaka if I could wire one big tree before my vacation back to California (more about that later). Before I got a chance to ask, I was told to pull the needles and wire this tree. Perfect! This tree is the second formal upright I’ve wired at Aichien and I was itching to apply what I learned on the last one.
What is the ideal formal upright?
1. Has a straight trunk that gradually tapers from the base to the top. 2. The lowest branch is the thickest branch and every branch above it gets smaller all the way to the top. 3. The spaces between the branches coming off the trunk progressively gets shorter as you move up the tree. 4. The apex of the tree is in perfect alignment with the center line of the trunk.These are some of the key rules to what a formal upright is, though I’m sure there are many other small rules as well. So why all the rules? First off, the style is formal. Usually things that have the word formal attach to them tends to have many rules, which is why it’s so formal. Note that rule 3 is not set in stone. Slight deviations and the tree can still be considered a formal upright. I would say that if the tree at least tried to follow it, it’s a pass. If rule 3 is completely disregarded, then we have a problem.
Many times I hear people talking about formal upright trees and it’s never good. Phrases such as, “cookie cutter, boring, and straight,” comes to mind. Before we resort to name calling, I will set the record straight right now. There has yet to be a single Bonsai I have ever seen that looks exactly like another one. Silhouettes may looks similar but when you look deep into the tree (the important part) it’s a whole different perspective. When I see a good formal upright tree, they are always different and always amazing. Formal upright trees are the most difficult trees to create in Bonsai. I always take the time to look at the details and formalities of the tree. Not to mention a little respect for the time and effort put into the tree. For me, it’s like meeting a very respectable person. I want to stop and say hello.
Back to the tree and what I did
Haha, real funny Juan! This does give you an idea of the size of the tree though. Here is the tree after I pulled the old needles and cut new candle growth from last year to 1 or 2 buds. It’s a little difficult to see in this picture but the trunk is slightly leaning to the left. Since formal uprights are straight, that’s something I needed to address. Where’s the rebar?
Just kidding! No rebar this time. All I did was put a small wood block under the left side of the pot and straighten the tree out. For some reason, I didn’t get the wood block in this picture, but trust me, it’s there. 
) The trunk does look straighter thought doesn’t it?
(Picture courtesy of Juan) The next thing I did was get to work wiring the tree. How do you like my stylish knit cap? I wear it so that people can find me easily and because someone told me that I wore my grey one too often… Haha. Since it’s no fun watching someone wire a tree, while I’m wiring this tree, you can go visit a local show in Nagoya that occurred last weekend. D
Kihachikai Show
Back in the days when Mr. Kihachiro Kamiya was alive, he was the sensei of a local Bonsai club that he created called Kihachi-kai. Many of you may know Mr. Kamiya as Mr. Boon Manikitivipart’s teacher in Japan. Mr. Kamiya won many awards including the Kokufuten prize for his customers. Since Mr. Kamiya passed away, the club with left without a teacher and almost dissolved. One of the members a couple of years ago approached Mr. Tanaka and ask if he could be their new sensei and have been working with the club members once a month ever since. This last week was their annual two day show. The current direction of the club isn’t about strict bonsai rules and super high quality bonsai. It’s more of a fun environment for hobbyist and novices to get together and work on their trees. There is a broad range in the quality of trees and participating in the show is open to all members. Let’s see what a local show in Japan looks like!
The show was held at the Bonsai Museum at Shimpuku temple (remember those Kadomatsus that I made? yeah, same place). Here’s a mixture of visitors and club members roaming around. The table in the middle is a small sales area.
This is the largest chrysanthemum stone I have ever seen! It’s a permanent display item at the museum.
The lighting for the show wasn’t very good for pictures but gave a very nice atmosphere for visitors.
Here’s a meaty White Pine.
Japanese Black Pine.
Here’s a cool bunjin Japanese plum.
Close up of the white flowers. Japanese Bonsai people refer to this flower color and structure (only five pedals) as Yabai. If you want to know more about Flowering plum, I’m going to be writing a post about them soon.
Japanese Black Pine in a Chinese Antique pot
I can’t quite remember but I think this was an Elm. What a root ball and shallow pot!
Here is a very unusual Black Pine. What do you think? I like the combination of strange tree in stone. If this tree was in a regular pot, would it have worked?
Cascading Five Needle Pine
Nice Black Pine. Do you remember this tree from Meifu-ten?
Here’s a nice semi-cascade Shimpaku
Japanese Black Pine
The owner of that last Black pine used this wood statue as an accent for the tree. In his spare time, other then Bonsai, he hand carves these figures. Very detailed! Notice the rings on the staff? That’s actually copper bonsai wire!
Bunjin Black Pine. I like this tree.
Twin trunk Japanese Maple. This tree was at Meifu-ten as well.
Small bushy Jasmine. These trees don’t heal big scars and takes a long time to get thick. It is essentially a vine.
Cascade Black Pine
A very nicely develop root over rock Trident Maple.
Small Kumquat.
Tall Needle Juniper
Cascade Jasmine (normal leaf size)
They have spot lights pointed at each tree. The two accent in front of the maple wasn’t there for the show (just in case you were wondering about that).
Here is the museum collection. I know of four trees here that has won a Kokufu prize. So guest to the show was able to see this Bonsai collection as well.
I thought this moss and fern combo was very nice. Not sure what the flowers are.
Here is another cool succulent accent. Succulents tend to turn red when they get cold. This added some nice color to the display
Here’s a oddly shaped Flowering plum that belongs to the museum.
The last picture of the show is a formal upright red Pine that belongs to the museum. How appropriate for this post. This tree was in the last Kokufu-ten.
Now back to the tree I’m working on
Here is the results of my work. It took me about 3 days from start to finish.
What did I do?
I wired most of the branches an bent almost every branch coming out of the trunk down. Since all the branches had really nice thick bark on them, I didn’t want to put heavy wire and risk breaking them off, so I guy wired them down and wired the smaller branches. This seems to be the going trend now in Japan and the use of heavy heavy wire is going away. Though formal uprights are straight trees, they still have a subtle direction to them. This tree’s flow is to the right or the tree’s left. I achieved this by making the tree’s thickest lower left branch a bit bigger, longer and lower then the second branch on the opposite side. This is the first time this tree has gotten a wire job of the small branches. The main branches were wired years ago and the structure of the branches were achieved by pruning all these years. Since the small branches weren’t wired before, I had to figure how to arrange them into pads and cut out the excess branches that were either too long or too thick to use. I essentially had to clean up the branch structure. I removed about 20 percent of the small branches on this tree.
Here’s a shot of the base of the trunk and the thick bark. Do you see why I didn’t want to put big wire on the main branches?
Words on Bar Branches
The first thing I noticed on this tree before I started work was the bar branching that the first and second braches form. Ideally, bar branches don’t look very good on a tree and should be avoid. Having said that, do you really want to cut one of these branches off? The branches are older then I am! After closer examination, I found that the branches are actually growing at different levels but the bark formation makes them look like a bar branch. So what to do? I guarantee that every single professional in Japan would keep both branches and leave the tree as is. In this case, the branches are just too old to cut so they are both kept. This reminds me of a comment Mr. Tanaka made when I asked him about bar branches. He said, “the truth is that trees sometimes have bar branches. If it looks good, keep it. When it doesn’t look good, fix it.” Sure, this tree would look even better without the bar branch, but it doesn’t mean this tree is bad either.
I wasn’t lying when I said I used guy wires! P The anchor wire goes into the soil and out one of the drain holes and looped into another drain hole.
A shot of the underside of the tree.
A undershot of the second branch
My work
Here is Mr. Tanaka’s adjustments
What was changed
Overall, the shape of the tree didn’t change much. Mr. Tanaka pulled the tree’s lowest left branch down a bit more. He said that the directional flow was too subtle and needed a bit more. He also broke up the branch into three closely positioned pads. This kept the main branch as the biggest pad but with some more character. When natural trees form large pads, they are always made up of multiple small pads. This is still a technique I need to practice more.
Mr. Tanaka also cut off a long leggy branch off the middle of the right side of the tree (I have no idea why I kept it) and made it a bit less cluttered. At the top of the tree he cut off a couple of more cluttered branches. Other then that, a few branches tweaks here and there and we were finished.
After the adjustment, Mr. Tanaka turned to me and said, “next time don’t use 18 gauge on Black Pines. 16 gauge should be the smallest wire used.” He says that since Black Pines are strong trees, when it grows, the 18 gauge wire will not hold the branches down. The funny thing is that I know this, but didn’t apply it to this tree. Perhaps I was so excited in wanting to make this tree look good that I started wiring for show instead of for development. I feel that my focus on developing the tree’s structure has increased greatly in the last year here but every now and then I forget and make the tree pretty instead. I’m sure more training in the coming years will help fix that problem of mine.
The Future
This tree will either be repotted this year or the following year. We’ll continue to develop the branches and make the tree fuller. The overall shape is about where we want it and it’s all about maintaining that shape but with more branches. For now, the tree is inside the workshop resting until the nights no longer freeze here.
This was a long one but I hope you all enjoyed both the work I did on this tree and the visit to the Kihachi-kai show.
Thanks you all for taking the time to read!
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