Just how many trees did John Naka have in his collection

[Cadillactaste]

Reading Naka's Proverbs related to bonsai. He makes a comment of Americans having more trees than they can work basically. I'm not home to quote it.

But as I sit and wait for school to let out...I tried to do a Google search on how many trees he had. With no real success.

Anyone know this answer?

 

[michaelj]

I'm sure the number varied, but was large.

Here's a photo of John working in his garden.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Wow...impressive! Thanks for the photo. Then a large collection himself.

 

[jquast]

Reading Naka's Proverbs related to bonsai. He makes a comment of Americans having more trees than they can work basically.

I can see how this can be true. Given that this is a "hobby" for most of us and not a profession, between a 40+ hour work week and other resposibilities that we may have more trees than we can devote quality time to and improve.

 

[Smoke]

It is estimated that there are about 100 +- trees in collections around the world attributed to John Naka. There are around 5 or 6 here in my town. I would say its safe that John probably worked close to a 1000 trees over his life time. He was a landscaper and collected well over two hundred trees from the desert alone. Mostly from Horse and Sand Canyon. Wally World is on the other side.

 

[Eric Group]

It is estimated that there are about 100 +- trees in collections around the world attributed to John Naka. There are around 5 or 6 here in my town. I would say its safe that John probably worked close to a 1000 trees over his life time. He was a landscaper and collected well over two hundred trees from the desert alone. Mostly from Horse and Sand Canyon. Wally World is on the other side.

Wait... There is REALLY A WALLY WORLD!? Ima load the kids up in the old station wagon and head that way! "Holiday rooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad"....

 

[Smoke]

ah...NO! The first movie was filmed at Six Flags, Valencia California. I still call it Wally World.

The new movie was filmed at Six Flags, Georgia.

 

[bonsaibp]

Last time I was at John's house about 8 months before he passed he still had 40-50 trees and that was after giving away a bunch of them. At its hieght I'd guess his personal collection had about 200 or so trees.

 

[michaelj]

Wow, that's less than I have. quality v quantity.... you can have at least one, right?

 

[bonsaibp]

Thats bonsai doesn't count trees in nursery cans , etc.

 

[0soyoung]

And are we counting 'his trees' that probably were never at his house or in the US? His famous mugo 'the Swiss Dragon', for example, stayed at Pius Notter's and, as far as I know, has never been farther west than England where Steve Tolley has tended to it since John's death.

 

[Mudroot]

A guy in our club says he has 300!

I would not even TRY to do that.

 

[Alain]

May be he wasn't speaking of number of tree per se? May be he was more looking at the 'philosophy' of bonsai? The ultimate Japanese way being to get just the one tree and try to bring it to its limit while the ultimate American way would be to try to have the largest amount of trees as possible? Something like that.

 

[cheap_walmart_art]

It is estimated that there are about 100 +- trees in collections around the world attributed to John Naka. There are around 5 or 6 here in my town. I would say its safe that John probably worked close to a 1000 trees over his life time. He was a landscaper and collected well over two hundred trees from the desert alone. Mostly from Horse and Sand Canyon. Wally World is on the other side.

We were discussing junipers in our clubs meeting last night and it was mentioned that many of John Naka's junipers are no longer around due to misunderstandings on pinching growth and care. Are there any good pictures of his trees today outside of Goshin?

 

[Smoke]

We were discussing junipers in our clubs meeting last night and it was mentioned that many of John Naka's junipers are no longer around due to misunderstandings on pinching growth and care. Are there any good pictures of his trees today outside of Goshin?

I am the guest speaker at the local club for the first meeting of the year this Sat. We have a few in the collection, I will try and get photo's.

You live in Tennessee, what makes you think John's trees are not around? Come to California every major show usually has a tree shown that was started by Naka.

 

[cheap_walmart_art]

I am the guest speaker at the local club for the first meeting of the year this Sat. We have a few in the collection, I will try and get photo's.

You live in Tennessee, what makes you think John's trees are not around? Come to California every major show usually has a tree shown that was started by Naka.

Hence the reason I was asking the question - we have members here that came out of the PNW and while Naka's trees weren't the topic, it was mentioned and I was curious, so I asked someone old school from California. If you have time to take the pics, I'd love to see them.

 

[Smoke]

misunderstandings on pinching growth and care.

Where did this idea originate. Junipers don't die cause you pinch them wrong. They just get ugly, you know same as that bad haircut you get every so often

Just for the record...John was the guy who invented the saying "do as I say, not as I do"

 

[cheap_walmart_art]

The person who was speaking about it was a student of Michael Hagedorn and mentioned the over pinching of junipers as being unhealthy for the tree. A bit of internet searching later in the evening on the topic came up with this blog post:

"But pinching, especially over-pinching where every growing tip is removed, has been killing junipers for decades. "

Never Pinch Junipers!

Basically, we don’t pinch junipers. We may cut new, long extensions with scissors…and I know that will raise some eyebrows. I think the idea of pinching junipers with fingers started lo…

crataegus.com

Regardless, it just had me thinking about John Naka's trees and what might still be left and viewable, since he had such an impact on Bonsai here in the states. Combined with the recent Ben Oki tree for auction I've got some of the old teachers on my mind and a new interest in seeing their trees today.

 

[PaulH]

I only visited John's back yard once back in the early 1980's. I remember being amazed at the number of really nice, BIG, trees an a pretty tiny space.

 

[Smoke]

I only visited John's back yard once back in the early 1980's. I remember being amazed at the number of really nice, BIG, trees an a pretty tiny space.

me too
I was at the SoCal convention....when John did Goshin III. I think around 94? Photo's somewhere. I'll try to find them. Here is the forest in 2009




Found um....