AusBonsai

Everybody gets an Artistic block. When you have a tree you have had for a while and then, one day, suddenly realise you are totally at a loss with it that is when you need input. This is quite an old Juniper and believe it or not has had a lot of work done on it. As your experience grows you start to analyse trees through different eyes. I had a .."What was i thinking".. moment with this one. I took it along to a workshop and a more experienced eye looked at it and said, what about a Semi cascade, just like that. I looked and looked, and looked again, struggled with my ego which had designed the tree and conceded that they could be on to something. I had thoughts of compressing the tree, cutting it down into shohin, everything but the way the tree ended up.All of our input, believe it or not, comes from those around us and we have to be prepared to listen. Finally after subduing all the alternatives in my head i set about with the suggested design. Did i hit snags, you betcha, I had to change things on the run. The board made it easy to attach all the pulldowns and hold the tree in place. Not pretty but damned useful. The lower branch is an.. just in case..branch. Just in case the top one dies as it was severely manipulated. It will probably come off or be jinned. The one in the middle with no foliage is definitely a jin. Did i learn stuff YES. I learned it is very important to listen and develop the ability to decipher the good info from the bad info. This was definitely good info. What do you reckon.

At the moment it looks a bit "battered" but when the foliage is developed it will be a real eye catcher.
Smaller, more compact and more interesting.
It takes a shot of courage but the reult will reward you.

I reckon tighter, tighter, more, more Maybe next time but I do think it would be better more compressed

Did you just file that under bad advice

Well done Bohdi, the lesson learned we are all as good as we think we are, but not as good as he thinks we are.

With that thought, improvement is always the result.

Well done mate.

Gerard wrote:At the moment it looks a bit "battered" but when the foliage is developed it will be a real eye catcher.

Thanks Gerard, i was not prepared to wire out all the pads. I guess you could say i had enough for the day. Let it recover and grow and then start refining.

Bretts wrote:I reckon tighter, tighter, more, more Maybe next time but I do think it would be better more compressed

I cant see what you mean Bretts Are you talking down more or compressing it more length wise

Pup wrote:With that thought, improvement is always the result.

Thank you Pup. i will see you this year to, Twice i hope. I will go down to the AABC as a visitor and i will also be travelling to Perth in July/August.

I mean bring the foliage back in towards the trunk again so that the image looks more like the front from all directions.

Hi Bodhi

Very nice bit work you done there will be a really nice tree in a few year's, what did you rap the trunk with before bending it

Regard's The Hacker

The Hacker wrote:, what did you rap the trunk with before bending it

Hi ya Hacker. It is a sisal or hemp rope. It is hard to wrap but once done you can do amazing bends. It holds it together very well

Hi Bohdi, definite improvement What's the plan? ... is it to have the foliage branches cascading further and keep all foliage below the horizontal line or is a small crown to be developed? or just condensing the current pads?
Whatever it is, good luck with the new direction!

And just to add ... Yes we have to be willing to listen especially to experienced advise, but preceeding that, firstly we must be willing to ask ...

Hi Bodhi, I may be wrong here and there could be reasons for it However this is how i see it. The wiring is very sloppy, there seems to be too much where not needed and not enough where should be needed. the top branch is what i would have like to use it seems like there is more usable foliage there. some raffia and less neater wire should have done the trick. More heavy wiring and guy wiring through the main trunk to in turn get tighter compression and bring that foliage closer in for a more pleasing focal point. A good example of this type of work is what Salvatore Liporace did to Skippy's Juniper at the AABC 2010. I tried to find photos but failed. What you have is certainly better but still has a long way to go IMO.

cre8ivbonsai wrote:. is it to have the foliage branches cascading further and keep all foliage below the horizontal line or is a small crown to be developed? or just condensing the current pads?

Hi C8V, I have no idea at this time and i will let it sit and recover. It needs a lot more foliage before i construct a plan. The whole lot could change yet.

anttal63 wrote:Re: The importance of listening..Shimpaku Juni.

Post by anttal63 » Today, 11:25 am
Hi Bodhi, I may be wrong here and there could be reasons for it However this is how i see it. The wiring is very sloppy, there seems to be too much where not needed and not enough where should be needed. the top branch is what i would have like to use it seems like there is more usable foliage there. some raffia and less neater wire should have done the trick. More heavy wiring and guy wiring through the main trunk to in turn get tighter compression and bring that foliage closer in for a more pleasing focal point. A good example of this type of work is what Salvatore Liporace did to Skippy's Juniper at the AABC 2010. I tried to find photos but failed. What you have is certainly better but still has a long way to go IMO.

Hi ya Ant. Thanks for viewing it from a higher level and next time i do this amount of work on a tree i will do it with a second pair of hands. Its difficult trying to hold everything together and creates frustration.(read..pissed off)The foliage will change dramatically but as explained to Ryan, that was enough for this round. The tree is also quite large and holding it where i wanted it was difficult. Where is the wife when you need her..Oh, thats right, she was out earning a living

anttal63 wrote:Re: The importance of listening..Shimpaku Juni.Post by anttal63 » Today, 11:25 am
Hi Bodhi, I may be wrong here and there could be reasons for it However this is how i see it. The wiring is very sloppy, there seems to be too much where not needed and not enough where should be needed. the top branch is what i would have like to use it seems like there is more usable foliage there. some raffia and less neater wire should have done the trick. More heavy wiring and guy wiring through the main trunk to in turn get tighter compression and bring that foliage closer in for a more pleasing focal point. A good example of this type of work is what Salvatore Liporace did to Skippy's Juniper at the AABC 2010. I tried to find photos but failed. What you have is certainly better but still has a long way to go IMO.

Hi ya Ant. Thanks for viewing it from a higher level and next time i do this amount of work on a tree i will do it with a second pair of hands. Its difficult trying to hold everything together and creates frustration.(read..pissed off)The foliage will change dramatically but as explained to Ryan, that was enough for this round. The tree is also quite large and holding it where i wanted it was difficult. Where is the wife when you need her..Oh, thats right, she was out earning a living [/quote]


Mate you are dead right this kind of work needs four hands !!! otherwise yes it gets extremely fustrating... Again credit to you for having a good crack at it and getting this much done. Sometimes with this kind of work, wood clamps come in handy as substitute hands. Read somtimes... but nothing like the wife bein there rackn the tree with ya !!!

The tree has been unwrapped and has held together well. I have repotted and added a jin which i will refine later. The foliage is SLOW to develop and, upon advice i will create a head on the tree. See you in ten years with this one.