hampton
Shohin
With a three day weekend I was able to abscond yesterday morning and take an hour to go look at trees at the (relatively) local bonsai nursery. I didn't head out expecting to come home with anything, my intent was pure of heart to just spend some time considering developed trees. On my way through the conifer greenhouse I saw a few shimpaku, mugo, and JBP pre-bonsai then continued on after taking a brief look.
Another spin around and I stopped back by the pre-bonsai - my desire to do more in the way of JBP bonsai technique lead me to picking up this piece of material. I was drawn to the slant trunk line and with a little digging found a decent root flare, just over an inch. I've included a handful of pictures of the tree + four front/trunk line options that I saw. I wanted to get some more experienced eyes on this plan (this is desperate plea for guidance)
I believe there are two moves that should come next: 1. repotting into a smaller container and 2. doing a first styling on the tree. I've seen various statements on the order of operations– style first to achieve an appropriate planting angle/front or repot first to reduce the root ball prior to styling. This is a dealers choice – whichever would assist in achieving the current goals?
If I'm correct in that assumption I think I would start with a styling this fall (late Oct/early Nov) and let the tree gain vigor in the current nursery pot through next growing season to follow up with repot/root reduction in 2024. Based on my meager understanding I believe this should begin with needle cleaning to open up a bit more of the structure and balance photosynthetic material, then wire application and bending, followed by some aftercare over the winter into next spring. All that said - I'm not sold on anything, if there's a better path forward I would be humbled if someone could point me in the right direction
In any case thanks for taking the time to peruse my ramblings and I hope everyone has a fantastic day
Best,
Zak
Another spin around and I stopped back by the pre-bonsai - my desire to do more in the way of JBP bonsai technique lead me to picking up this piece of material. I was drawn to the slant trunk line and with a little digging found a decent root flare, just over an inch. I've included a handful of pictures of the tree + four front/trunk line options that I saw. I wanted to get some more experienced eyes on this plan (this is desperate plea for guidance)
I believe there are two moves that should come next: 1. repotting into a smaller container and 2. doing a first styling on the tree. I've seen various statements on the order of operations– style first to achieve an appropriate planting angle/front or repot first to reduce the root ball prior to styling. This is a dealers choice – whichever would assist in achieving the current goals?
If I'm correct in that assumption I think I would start with a styling this fall (late Oct/early Nov) and let the tree gain vigor in the current nursery pot through next growing season to follow up with repot/root reduction in 2024. Based on my meager understanding I believe this should begin with needle cleaning to open up a bit more of the structure and balance photosynthetic material, then wire application and bending, followed by some aftercare over the winter into next spring. All that said - I'm not sold on anything, if there's a better path forward I would be humbled if someone could point me in the right direction
In any case thanks for taking the time to peruse my ramblings and I hope everyone has a fantastic day
Best,
Zak
