Johnathan
Omono
Very cool! Thanks for sharing!
Bonsai forest material and tips
- Thread starter SuperMarioZZZ
- Start date
Walter Pall
Masterpiece
This is not too heavy - the slab is of srtyrofoam. Two men can carry this, no problem.
SuperMarioZZZ
Mame
I am determined to go on the right path, that means I would start collecting trees (a slow process which I will start soon, first to get used identifying the right trees, and in autumn I will make the collection), get the slab, read as much as possible, take care of the collected trees, start a few much easier forest platings and so on. My dream is to make the forest by myself, of course with help from anybody willing to offer pieces of advice.
Thanks for sharing the resources, are very useful. I have the Saburo Kato book, I read it 2 times.
The youtube video is great also.
Mike Hennigan
Chumono
Walter, I am totally in awe of your hornbeam forests. Really amazing work.
It was mentioned earlier that you could buy bundles or bare root seedlings and plant those in a forest composition and they will mature over time. Not to poo poo this approach because it can produce nice results if developed correctly. But I have seen many forest started this way where every tree is almost the same thickness/size. And in my eye this is the hallmark of a mediocre forest planting.
What makes a forest really great in my opinion is a wide variety of tree sizes. In the case of Walter’s hornbeam forest, a drastic difference in tree sizes can create an incredibly dramatic image. The argument can be put forth that this is also about perspective, trees with similar sizes implies you are viewing a forest from far away, perhaps a grove of trees atop a hillside. And the more dramatic size differences in a forest suggest you are viewing the forest from close up, perhaps as you’re walking into the forest. So there is something be said about perspective.
If you decide to start with a bunch of seedlings though, I suggest that you grow some of them out more to be larger trees, and then combine the trees into the forest planting after a few years of developing them.
It was mentioned earlier that you could buy bundles or bare root seedlings and plant those in a forest composition and they will mature over time. Not to poo poo this approach because it can produce nice results if developed correctly. But I have seen many forest started this way where every tree is almost the same thickness/size. And in my eye this is the hallmark of a mediocre forest planting.
What makes a forest really great in my opinion is a wide variety of tree sizes. In the case of Walter’s hornbeam forest, a drastic difference in tree sizes can create an incredibly dramatic image. The argument can be put forth that this is also about perspective, trees with similar sizes implies you are viewing a forest from far away, perhaps a grove of trees atop a hillside. And the more dramatic size differences in a forest suggest you are viewing the forest from close up, perhaps as you’re walking into the forest. So there is something be said about perspective.
If you decide to start with a bunch of seedlings though, I suggest that you grow some of them out more to be larger trees, and then combine the trees into the forest planting after a few years of developing them.
barrosinc
Masterpiece
styrofoam??? really??!! wow
I have a ton of high density styrofoam.
Do you use something to prevent it to break?
Walter Pall
Masterpiece
I did not make it. The guy used steel bars.
leatherback
The Treedeemer
This is exactly the point Walter is making, and that I have realized too. The best forest is made out of trees that could also turn into specimen bonsai. Which mean.. Hard work to get together the right trees. I suppose a bonsai nursery growing their own ttrees for decades, or a good area for collecting are needed, unless you want to spent 25 years growing your base material?!
Mike Hennigan
Chumono
Yea exactly! I actually have access to land with a lot of single seed hawthorn growing on it. Craetagus monogyna. I have collected almost twenty trees of various sizes and have collected seed last fall and started seedlings this spring. I have gathered enough material for at least two forests probably that will have dramatic contrast of sizes and age.
Right now I am concentrating on getting the roots strong and developing primary branching on the trees. They probably will not be combined into a forest planting for at least another two years. Pretty psyched about the project, I will be posting a thread on it at some point.
Cable
Omono
Styrofoam? No! You've ruined my illusions! Everything is coming apart. Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! 40 years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes! The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!
Leo in N E Illinois
The Professor
- Messages
- 11,437
- Reaction score
- 23,652
- USDA Zone
- 5b
@Vladimir13
Nobody replied with a ratio of tree height and thickness to pot, slab, or tray length because there is no set ratio. A near image would be larger diameter & taller trees, a distant view would be smaller diameter, shorter trees.
So first you decide what you want to create, near view, or a distant view, then try to get material for such a project. Sometimes the material you find will make the view decision for you.
So basically what I'm saying is that "there are no set rules".
Nobody replied with a ratio of tree height and thickness to pot, slab, or tray length because there is no set ratio. A near image would be larger diameter & taller trees, a distant view would be smaller diameter, shorter trees.
So first you decide what you want to create, near view, or a distant view, then try to get material for such a project. Sometimes the material you find will make the view decision for you.
So basically what I'm saying is that "there are no set rules".
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Well, OF COURSE you can make a forest out of specimen bonsai--That's a given mostly.
But, anyone catch the estimated price tag on the material being used? $10,000?
Leo in N E Illinois
The Professor
- Messages
- 11,437
- Reaction score
- 23,652
- USDA Zone
- 5b
The OP made it clear that that sort of money was well within their budget, so why bog down the thread with details on how to do a forest on the cheap? The OP already spent 1100 euros on an Erik K. pot, for their first forest. So let them discuss how to do it where money is not an issue.
We could do that in a separate thread, forests on the cheap.
Last edited:
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Mainly, I bring it up because its a bit disingenuous to post a $11,000 (custom pot included) forest after saying "don't believe" the other guys about material.
"On the cheap" is not what I'm getting at. What I am getting at is that there are other ways to make a forest without that kind of commitment that can produce pretty nice compositions.
Walter Pall
Masterpiece
M. Frary
Bonsai Godzilla
Break out the wallet!
Johnathan
Omono
Tag me in that thread! Lol
coh
Imperial Masterpiece
Maybe try this thread: Your first forest where people have been posting forests mostly started with young seedlings...or at least, less costly material. Caution...they don't look at all like what Walter posted 
Jzack605
Chumono
You can get “whips” from places like arbor day foundation. They are relatively inexpensive and lots of plant material to choose from. They come bare root from Arbor Day. I have about 5 metasequoias from they I was thinking about making into a forest.
Jzack605
Chumono
AWESOME. Are the species beech?
SuperMarioZZZ
Mame
I want to create a bonsai forest like Walter, not to copy but to have it as a model.
Being a long time project, I wanted to get informed on which path I should go. Yes, I ordered today a 2,000 euro (including transport) custom slab from Erik in the end. It will be ready in September or October.
The biggest pleasure for me is to make the bonsai forest myself, not to buy masterpieces and arrange them as a forest. One problem here is that I don't have the experience to care for such trees and the second is that I won't learn too much if I go on this path. As Walter said, yamadori is the way and this is what I will do. Many benefits are coming from this:
- I will learn to collect. care for and prepare yamadori to become a bonsai at some point.
- The journey, the books, the forum and the articles will teach me much more than going straight to a shop and pick the best of what they are having.
- Hopefully, I will have better material than many shops and nurseries are selling.
- I will get prepared to take care of the forest as I will take care of each tree for several years.
- The project will take longer but it will be made by me with maximum attention and the cost will be much less than buying masterpieces made by others.
- Being a long project, I can play with sticks in a pot to arrange them as a forest and get used to. I can fail many times without losing important money and I will get some experience.
- I will spend time in nature.
It's a big dream for sure but the journey will be excellent even if it takes many years from now. Dream big, succeed big. Failure is not an option in this project, for me, it's the second important project after taking care of my newborn.
Being a long time project, I wanted to get informed on which path I should go. Yes, I ordered today a 2,000 euro (including transport) custom slab from Erik in the end.
It will be ready in September or October. The biggest pleasure for me is to make the bonsai forest myself, not to buy masterpieces and arrange them as a forest. One problem here is that I don't have the experience to care for such trees and the second is that I won't learn too much if I go on this path. As Walter said, yamadori is the way and this is what I will do. Many benefits are coming from this:
- I will learn to collect. care for and prepare yamadori to become a bonsai at some point.
- The journey, the books, the forum and the articles will teach me much more than going straight to a shop and pick the best of what they are having.
- Hopefully, I will have better material than many shops and nurseries are selling.
- I will get prepared to take care of the forest as I will take care of each tree for several years.
- The project will take longer but it will be made by me with maximum attention and the cost will be much less than buying masterpieces made by others.
- Being a long project, I can play with sticks in a pot to arrange them as a forest and get used to. I can fail many times without losing important money and I will get some experience.
- I will spend time in nature.
It's a big dream for sure but the journey will be excellent even if it takes many years from now. Dream big, succeed big. Failure is not an option in this project, for me, it's the second important project after taking care of my newborn.
Similar threads
- Deleted member 47471
- The 2024 Vance Wood Memorial Mugo 4 Year Contest
- Deleted member 47471
- General Discussion
