MULTI-TRUNK SUBALPINE FIR

[MACH5]

Multi-trunk Subalpine fir. Originally collected by Jason Pampe and purchased last year from Jared Carrion. Fertilized heavily since it was purchased as it was on the weak side with many of its lower branches fading away. Now more than a year later and treated heavily with osmocote, the tree had gained a lot of vigor with all of its terminals now showing healthy strong buds with many more along the trunk and branches that popped throughout the growing season.

Subalpine fir are native to the PNW but do extremely well in the Northeast as well. Great bonsai material as they are very cold hardy, can grow under a variety of lighting conditions and back bud profusely. Below a few pics. Note the buds along branches and trunk.










The tree was finally ready to be worked on. A few fronts and design options were present. In the end I decided on preserving most of its trunks and apices.

Before the work...






And after. Next year it will be repotted into a nanban style pot although a slab may also be a possibility.

 

[Cruiser]

Nice reiterations.
Keep an eye out for balsam woolly adelgid if you have landscape firs nearby. They love sa fir.

 

[canoeguide]

The styling of the largest trunk is unexpected and interesting. I keep coming back to look at these photos.

What was the main thing that you saw in this material that led you to obtain it?

 

[Scriv]

Really well done

 

[MACH5]

Nice reiterations.
Keep an eye out for balsam woolly adelgid if you have landscape firs nearby. They love sa fir.

Yes, thank you. Well aware of adelgids on fir. Already saw that on another fir I had some years ago.

 

[MACH5]

The styling of the largest trunk is unexpected and interesting. I keep coming back to look at these photos.

What was the main thing that you saw in this material that led you to obtain it?

The multi-trunk form with different trunk girths and the idiosyncratic main right trunk with its broken top and two side branches swooping up to form two apices. Probably those two aspects was what I initially liked most about it.

 

[Deleted member 47471]

Beautiful and creative

 

[Viridian Bonsai]

Excellent design; I’m looking forward to seeing it mature over the coming years! I thoroughly enjoy this species as bonsai and I am very impressed by the great deal of back-budding that you were able to foster!

This is a species I am very familiar with seeing in its natural habitat whilst skiing at Sunshine Village in Banff National Park since I was young. These grow straight up to the tree line here along with Pinus albicaulis and Larix lyallii. The variety in our mountains tends to have very thin, scaly, white bark but only on the oldest of trees with the younger ones having the smooth, whitish-grey bark you usually expect from the related Abies balsamea.

 

[NateDyk47]

Fantastic budding! Are you rubbing the ones you don't want off?

Great initial styling. Can't wait to see where you take this tree.

 

[Nybonsai12]

Nice work as always. Multi-Trunk Master!

 

[MACH5]

Excellent design; I’m looking forward to seeing it mature over the coming years! I thoroughly enjoy this species as bonsai and I am very impressed by the great deal of back-budding that you were able to foster!

This is a species I am very familiar with seeing in its natural habitat whilst skiing at Sunshine Village in Banff National Park since I was young. These grow straight up to the tree line here along with Pinus albicaulis and Larix lyallii. The variety in our mountains tends to have very thin, scaly, white bark but only on the oldest of trees with the younger ones having the smooth, whitish-grey bark you usually expect from the related Abies balsamea.

They are indeed beautiful. They grow straight like arrows. Like rockets ready to blast off. Incredibly resilient species. I had a collected one that burned down in a forest fire and sprouted several trunks from the base!

 

[MACH5]

Fantastic budding! Are you rubbing the ones you don't want off?

Great initial styling. Can't wait to see where you take this tree.

Yes, most of the ones on the trunk were rubbed off. I left many on the branches specially the lower ones.

 

[MACH5]

Nice work as always. Multi-Trunk Master!

Well Brian you know me like multi-trunks!

 

[Dabbler]

I love it - very natural feel to it

 

[Nybonsai12]

Well Brian you know me like multi-trunks!

Oh i know it! lol. Even some trees that show up to your garden as single trunks after a year or two and POOOF, multi trunk. They're all fantastic.

 

[MACH5]

Anyone has a preference for container? Nanban, slab, something else?

 

[Scriv]

Anyone has a preference for container? Nanban, slab, something else?

This looks like it wants to be on a slab.

 

[NashsMan]

It definitely wants to be on a slab.

 

[Tycoss]

Looks great. This reminds me of some of the SAF I've hiked among near the tree line in the Alberta Rockies. The ones with multiple apexes often look very similar to the trunk on the right. I'm still looking for a good legal collecting spot for these.

 

[Lazylightningny]

Nice subtle movement in the trunks, prolific back budding, and cleverly styled. I see a bright future for this tree!