Early Xmas Present to Myself

[misfit11]

One of REBS' senior members, Gene Lynch, is selling off most of his trees because of health reasons. He's a really great guy with a whole lot of bonsai knowledge and a whole bunch of great trees. When I heard he was selling his trees, I immediately thought of this spectacular Wild Plum forest of his. It's the same species of Plum that I posted on here just recently (he lives in Petaluma too!). Unfortunately, someone had already snapped it up. Gosh darn it! His wife told me that Jonas was just there the other day and had bought six trees and was possibly coming back for this giant CA Juniper. One of his amazing Oaks was donated to the Collection North in Oakland. His wife was cursing Kathy's decision to repot it. I hope it lives!

Anyway, I decided on this San Jose Juniper. I wouldn't normally go for a San Jose as I'm trying to get away from juvenile foliage Junipers and only do Shimpakus from now on. I made the exception with this one because the branch structure was fantastic and much of the foliage is adult. There was an amazing cascade Shimpaku but it had recently developed a pretty severe fungal infection and it's survival was questionable. Anyway, this is the tree I got. Who knows, maybe someday it will be grafted with Shimpaku.




Cory

 

[misfit11]

Just a thought

 

[MrWunderful]

Wow thats great. Love your virt too, if you thin the apex a bit (maybe?).

I saw Jonas right after he got those trees. If I didnt already have too many, I would have loved to carry on a local enthusiast’s tree. I met him once at a REBS show.

 

[misfit11]

I wonder if Jonas was the one who got the Plum forest. Grrrrrr!

Yeah, Gene is a really nice man and his trees are fantastic. I really am glad I was able to get one of them. I hadn't seen him in probably close to a year. He's really declined. His wife said he had a stroke a while back and it's really effected his eyesight and also his hearing. It's sad. I guess he just felt like he's not able to care for his trees now. There was just two trees that he's keeping (another plum and an awesome JBP which I absolutely would have bought if it was for sale). He doesn't want to get to the point that he's unable to care for them and they die.

 

[MrWunderful]

I wonder if Jonas was the one who got the Plum forest. Grrrrrr!

Yeah, Gene is a really nice man and his trees are fantastic. I really am glad I was able to get one of them. I hadn't seen him in probably close to a year. He's really declined. His wife said he had a stroke a while back and it's really effected his eyesight and also his hearing. It's sad. I guess he just felt like he's not able to care for his trees now. There was just two trees that he's keeping (another plum and an awesome JBP which I absolutely would have bought if it was for sale). He doesn't want to get to the point that he's unable to care for them and they die.

The ultimate goal for any Bonsai enthusiast (IMO) is to pass down your trees to someone who will continue them and care for them so its in good hands!
And I didnt see the forest the last time I was there, but would have loved to see it.

 

[MrWunderful]

I wonder if Jonas was the one who got the Plum forest. Grrrrrr!

Yeah, Gene is a really nice man and his trees are fantastic. I really am glad I was able to get one of them. I hadn't seen him in probably close to a year. He's really declined. His wife said he had a stroke a while back and it's really effected his eyesight and also his hearing. It's sad. I guess he just felt like he's not able to care for his trees now. There was just two trees that he's keeping (another plum and an awesome JBP which I absolutely would have bought if it was for sale). He doesn't want to get to the point that he's unable to care for them and they die.

The ultimate goal for any Bonsai enthusiast (IMO) is to pass down your trees to someone who will continue them and care for them so its in good hands!
And I didnt see the forest the last time I was working on trees there, but would have loved to see it.

 

[Shima]

I remember Gene from my early REBS days. He'd brought a fruiting wild plum indoors. I still can see it! I wonder if it's one he kept. Such a nice guy.

 

[misfit11]

I remember Gene from my early REBS days. He'd brought a fruiting wild plum indoors. I still can see it! I wonder if it's one he kept. Such a nice guy.

He's a really good man. It's sad to see him decline. He's a real asset to the club.

 

[rollwithak]

It’s a fine lookin tree ya got there laddy!

 

[misfit11]

Well I took the plunge on this tree. Making this major change was one I didn't take lightly. Gene, no doubt, spent many years developing those branches I lopped off in an instant. I hope he's not rolling over in his grave with my decision. I want to do right by his legacy as he was one of REBS founding members and did a lot for the club over the decades.

I plan on grafting Kishu Shimpaku next spring to begin replacing the San Jose. The crown will ultimately be smaller and the overall look of the tree will be more Bunjin-esque.

What do you think Nuts, think? Did I go too far?

 

[LuZiKui]

I think it looks great, looks super healthy this year too! To my untrained eye, removing the lower foliage really helped to draw attention to the beautiful trunk you have on there.

 

[Colorado]

I think it was a good move, it looks great.

 

[Crazy Diamond]

The foliage don look that bad for a San jose, nice tree

 

[misfit11]

I think it looks great, looks super healthy this year too! To my untrained eye, removing the lower foliage really helped to draw attention to the beautiful trunk you have on there.

Thanks! That was my thought also. The trunk is this tree's nicest feature and the previous styling wasn't really giving it the emphasis it deserved, IMO. I think it's more of a focal point now.