Mugo Pine Quasi-Raft

bwaynef said:
Are you then in agreement with me that removing that trunk would make it harder to show it this year?
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It might----if I cared, but I just might show it because I can. If I do this you guys will be the first to know. It may change the entire nature of the tree and it will also add a deadwood feature that may or may not be self justifying.
 
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I'm sorry; it was my intent to post an update after some work on this tree today and that's not going to happen. I had some work I had to get done and by the time I got done with the Honey Do stuff the 95* weather got to me and that was the end of that. I am not used to being dizzy in anything other than temperament. Physically dizzy, is a sign to take a rest.
 
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It's amazing how deep on of these post can get buried if neglected for a while.

Any way I was able to get back to the tree today, after contemplating that major branch removal. There is no going back after that. There are no do overs in bonsai.

I removed that center branch/trunk and I believe it made a positive impact on the tree. I still have three or four more days of wiring; I'm slow and if not slopy. My hands do not work as well as the used to so I do what I can do for as long as I can do it.

[video=youtube_share;Ls8GaMluTUY]http://youtu.be/Ls8GaMluTUY[/video]
 
Outstanding. The removal of that branch in my eye has improved and simplified the whole image. Much more open but still a healthy full canopy. Very, very nice Pine!
 
An absolute improvement....good go Vance!
 
You got some big ones for sure! (sorry ladies). I just can't seem to bring myself to cut those big ones off of mine because as you said there is no going back. But your tree looks so much better now! You've given me some much needed courage. Now, if I only had a brain.. Thanks!
 
Vance, it looks great! Which is the front? I'm in favor of the side where you can see more of the trunk line of the shorter "tree" of the raft.
 
thumblessprimate1 said:
Vance, it looks great! Which is the front? I'm in favor of the side where you can see more of the trunk line of the shorter "tree" of the raft.
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This is one of those trees that will have no preferred front. A friend and myself spent a lot of time contemplating this possibility enough to the point he (my friend) wrote a very controversial article originally published on the site Art of Bonsai entitled the Myth of the One Front Tree. It was the contention that a good bonsai should look good 360*. Of course there are a few exceptions to this because of the extreme nature of some styles. This tree had at least two fronts from which I would not hesitate to display the tree. There is another aspect of thinking in these terms. A tree styled with this in mind will be a better tree, try it you will see. Your preferred front will even be better because the tree will have a balance easily ignored when a tree is styled with one point of view in mind. When I style a tree I work it all the way around from every view possible.

Some of us (me in the beginning) tend to do our bonsai in much the same way some of the Western Towns built for the movies were actually nothing more than a false front held up with scaffolding not meant to be seen, and certainly not photographed.
 
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An example from nature

In case anyone questions the naturalistic qualities of Vance's tree... I took this about six years ago on a hike on my birthday, not long after I joined this forum.
 

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plant_dr said:
In case anyone questions the naturalistic qualities of Vance's tree... I took this about six years ago on a hike on my birthday, not long after I joined this forum.
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Did you take this picture in Utah or in Europe? It does look like Mugo but again Lodge Pole and Pinyon look like Mugo.
 
In Logan, Utah. When I saw your video, I said to myself, "That looks familiar!" so I went searching though my pictures, and viola- there was a wilder looking version of your tree.
 
plant_dr said:
In Logan, Utah. When I saw your video, I said to myself, "That looks familiar!" so I went searching though my pictures, and viola- there was a wilder looking version of your tree.
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The only replies that seem to apply are really dated: Far Out, neat, cool, out rageous and really nice. But there you go, I appreciate your input and can't wait to get out in that part of the country once more. My family comes from Utah. I was born in Salt Lake City and have relatives living there since the coming of the Mormons. I moved away from there in 1957-58.
 
I'm curious to know what your plans are for the remaining (attached) part of the branch. Guy wire anchor, the ever-popular jin or just hadn't got around to cutting it off (which I find unlikely)?
 
Vin said:
I'm curious to know what your plans are for the remaining (attached) part of the branch. Guy wire anchor, the ever-popular jin or just hadn't got around to cutting it off (which I find unlikely)?
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It will for the time being become support for guy wires. Eventually it will probably be jined but in the mean time I may have to think about what to do if it back buds. This is not an impossibility on Mugos, it is unlikely but not impossible. It should dry out for a year or more before I do anything with it or I run the risk of losing a portion of the trunk.
 
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Very nice tree Vance! This might just be my favorite Mugo I've seen in the states. I liked the tree with the middle branch, but it did seem to move counter to the flow of the overall tree. Now the tree feels much more balanced. Great work, keep it up!

Let me know if you're going to be out this way this year. I may have something for you to pick up. ;)
 
Dan W. said:
Very nice tree Vance! This might just be my favorite Mugo I've seen in the states. I liked the tree with the middle branch, but it did seem to move counter to the flow of the overall tree. Now the tree feels much more balanced. Great work, keep it up!

Let me know if you're going to be out this way this year. I may have something for you to pick up. ;)
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I will let you know but I am not sure we are going to make it out that way this year. Something tells me this might not be the year to make this trip.
 
Did some work on the Mugo today. Got most of the right side done two-thirds the way up the crown. Now I have to reduce the left side of the tree and consolidate everything to give it some continuity. Hopefully it will be worth the effort.

[video=youtube_share;ISJM64muAIg]http://youtu.be/ISJM64muAIg[/video]
 
Early on in this thread someone gasped and asked how anyone could critic this tree. The answer is obvious by the work being done to it and how much better it is looking day by day. Trees have seasons of growth and health and times to be reworked.

Vance, I love the airy feel as you thin it out. Growing up in CO, pines don't have a thick canopy. It looks so much better as you thin it and reveal the great trunk. Taking out that middle section was an "oh crap" moment, but I love the depth and perspective it gives to the composition.

Sometimes I have to put the tools down and walk away because I am tired if making decisions! It'll still be there tomorrow.

Looks great Vance.
 
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