cmu's JBP 'Mikawa'

[cmu268]

First tree I'm posting here! I picked up this JBP 'Mikawa' at a workshop I went to this past weekend at New England Bonsai Garden. Did a little work to it to thin it out and prune some branches I didn't want to keep. I changed the angle of it but not sure exactly where I want to go with it just it. Maybe a semi-cascade but maybe not we'll see. I think I have some good options I can develop a bit.

 

[johnl445]

I love that place

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Great start! I would continue to wire every last branch to lay them out appropriately. Right now your design is getting lost because you have a lot of small branches (that you want to keep) that need to be wired out. But otherwise I wouldn't do any more work on this tree for a year.

 

[cmu268]

I love that place

I love it anytime I can make it over there. I think I spent 45 mins or so walking around the greenhouses after the workshop.

 

[cmu268]

Great start! I would continue to wire every last branch to lay them out appropriately. Right now your design is getting lost because you have a lot of small branches (that you want to keep) that need to be wired out. But otherwise I wouldn't do any more work on this tree for a year.

Thank you! That's what I was thinking - we only had so much time at the workshop so was able to get wire on the primary lines but I was thinking I'd do the rest of the wiring in the next couple weeks and then let it do it's thing for the rest of the year.

 

[cmu268]

This one had a slow start in Spring but is growing in nicely now. About a week after I first posted, a squirrel did some digging and knocked it off the bench while it was still a bit cold out and I was away for a few days so that didn’t help it

 

[clem]

you could lift your tree up, to get a larger base of the trunk, and to hide the reverse taper on the base of trunk, inside the soil ?
And maybe a shari on the base of the trunk, to give more movement of the trunk too ->


same principle with this very famous juniper (your tree is a pine but it is the same principle) ->

 

[cmu268]

you could lift your tree up, to get a larger base of the trunk, and to hide the reverse taper on the base of trunk, inside the soil ?
And maybe a shari on the base of the trunk, to give more movement of the trunk too ->

@clem appreciate this. Will definitely consider it at the next repot, I was thinking it would probably grow freely next year and then maybe repot the following Spring. I had been thinking that allowing a sacrifice leader and branch would help thicken the base and start to get rid of the reverse taper, but I like this idea.

Definitely agree that a shari on the base will accentuate the movement of the trunk.