AusBonsai

My camera does not show colour well (or is it my skills....quite likely)

This is my oldest group. Started about 20 years ago. It only extends about 5mm or so each year.
This one is much younger. (4 or 5 years) But made with some aged trees.

The 2nd group really resonates with me Treeman.

Great sense of perspective.

Question.

The 1st group looks to be very very high in the pot?
Will you consider reducing the mound and lowering the group or is this simply not possible at the age of this group?

I .. love .. these. Good work, im starting to grow one myself, but thinking of getting some older starter stock, im currenlty growing mine from cuttings, which will take a while obviously!!

Boics wrote:The 2nd group really resonates with me Treeman.

Great sense of perspective.

Question.

The 1st group looks to be very very high in the pot?
Will you consider reducing the mound and lowering the group or is this simply not possible at the age of this group?

Yes definitly. The reason they are so high is that last time I repotted, I took quite a lot of roots off the bottom which made them very unstable so I had to make a large mound in order to postion them correctly without them closing up into each other. Next potting will be low again.

I have no luck with maples either...

is there a reason to why 'group plantings' tend to go in a arc style??

xIIRevoEvoS wrote:is there a reason to why 'group plantings' tend to go in a arc style??

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe its due to two factors from what I can see.

First I can see is that many are planted on slabs with a raised soil level. Because the soil needs to drop lower on the ends you can't plant them level all the way along.

The second (which looks to be the more correct answer) being the simple fact that the trees used in group plantings are more or less in the shape of a triangle so to speak. To pot them all level you would end up with either quite the large spacings between the trunks, or the branches becoming intertwined if the trunks are too close.

As said this is just my presumption, so someone that actually knows what they're talking about please chime in before I make any more of a fool of myself haha.

Beautiful plantings by the way I particularly like the first. Can you tell me how many trees are in each?

Cheers,
Pearcy.

I think it's probably more to do with exaggerating perspective, which we do in bonsai to give the impression of scale.

Standing at the base of a large tree we see exaggerated trunk taper and branches that reach out to envelope us, hence we replicate this in bonsai to give a similar feeling but with a small tree. Standing in front of a small forest it may appear that the tree canopies move away from the centre as they get further away.

Maybe?

JaseH wrote:I think it's probably more to do with exaggerating perspective, which we do in bonsai to give the impression of scale.

Standing at the base of a large tree we see exaggerated trunk taper and branches that reach out to envelope us, hence we replicate this in bonsai to give a similar feeling but with a small tree. Standing in front of a small forest it may appear that the tree canopies move away from the centre as they get further away.

Maybe?

Ditto. The "arc" helps to promote perspective and create a group with a dynamic that you wouldn't get if it was planted flat. It's all in the 'eye'..... These groups are a great example of that.

I really like the first one, please update after leaf drop.

When you say 5mm per year, do you restrict growth through lack of water and fert or do you mean you cut back each year?

JaseH wrote:I think it's probably more to do with exaggerating perspective, which we do in bonsai to give the impression of scale.

Standing at the base of a large tree we see exaggerated trunk taper and branches that reach out to envelope us, hence we replicate this in bonsai to give a similar feeling but with a small tree. Standing in front of a small forest it may appear that the tree canopies move away from the centre as they get further away.

Maybe?

Thanks for clearing that up Jase!

Very inspirational. The one i have looks like a jumbled mess up top , and you can hardly see the trunks for all the growth ! Come potting time , i'm gonna get creative..... These maples can P me off with the continual "handle bar" branches !

Pearcy001 wrote:

xIIRevoEvoS wrote:

Can you tell me how many trees are in each?

Over 20

JaseH wrote:

Standing in front of a small forest it may appear that the tree canopies move away from the centre as they get further away.

Yep that was definitly intentional.

Scott Roxburgh wrote:

I really like the first one, please update after leaf drop.

Here Scott (I never forget )