Sapling Division: AC Golden Larch forest

[Adamski77]

Ok… so here I come… kind of 2.5 years late… but better late than never
I purchased these golden larches this spring… really wanted to have European larches but the seeds I brought from Poland didn’t do very well so had to start somewhere. Purchased 4 separate bigger ones and one pot of smaller ones… happened to be 7 of them… so we started with nice 11 number…

Here is the starting point… April 8, 2023. Together with the pot… I liked the shape… and dark blue color provided nice contrast to light trunks and fluorescent green foliage.

 

[Adamski77]

Subsequently put them all together on one rainy day (April 23, 2023)… put some bends to the smaller ones to match the group… used my classic bonsai mix… akadama/lava rock/kiryu 1/1/1. Obviously as this is my first forest I had to look for some inspiration… first photo is inspiration… second my “interpretation” of that (just in case you would have doubts )
Put it in my classic place for my trees after repot… morning sun till 11.30am… shade for the rest of the day.

 

[Adamski77]

Had some problems after 3 weeks... 2 out of 11 larches died... kind of expected as they had very little roots at initial repotting so hopes were slim. Bought bunch of new ones (photo) and replaced two dead ones. Have to say replacing trees in the forest is probably like performing lobotomy... took a lot of time and patience but ultimately managed to get there. So now we are back to 11 and they seem to be happy for now.

 

[GGB]

It sort of looks like the 4 larger trees are golden larch (psuedolarix) and the seedlings are all Dawn redwood (metaseqouia). Excuse the spelling, it didn't look it up

 

[Adamski77]

Thank you for pointing it out... I bought them recently (and I'm no expert at all)... kind of from the same shelf so assumed all of them are the same... but now looking at the growth patterns as they started to grow I think you're 100% right. Plus the purchase was done using my limited Chinese skills . Initially I blame different age... 4 of them are bigger... the other saplings are younger... so assumed they will be "catching up".
Well... after all said... seems I might have non-uniform forest... might be more fun to learn two types of trees in one go.

 

[GGB]

Thank you for pointing it out... I bought them recently (and I'm no expert at all)... kind of from the same shelf so assumed all of them are the same... but now looking at the growth patterns as they started to grow I think you're 100% right. Plus the purchase was done using my limited Chinese skills . Initially I blame different age... 4 of them are bigger... the other saplings are younger... so assumed they will be "catching up".
Well... after all said... seems I might have non-uniform forest... might be more fun to learn two types of trees in one go.

So far I like the composition, hopefully the redwoods stay in scale for you. Come to think of it, neither species is overly delicate/ramified so they might be good ones to mix. Don’t know anything about the care of golden larch though

 

[Adamski77]

So far I like the composition, hopefully the redwoods stay in scale for you. Come to think of it, neither species is overly delicate/ramified so they might be good ones to mix. Don’t know anything about the care of golden larch though

Thanks a lot for words of comfort… now need to do some reading about redwood … and more importantly comparable rate of growth for both species… as you said forest is all about scale.

 

[Adamski77]

To keep the documentation going… redwood seems to be heavily outgrowing larches so had to do something. (learning… don’t mix the species when making forest). Went heavy… hope redwood will make it… seems to be growing very well here in Shanghai. Wired trunks even more to get more shape… redwood tends to straight up itself quickly. Roots are growing through the bottom of the pot so it seems trees are happy… hence the decision to go hard. Let’s see what comes out of it.
Sorry for pictures quality but it’s really hot here so gave up on setting up my usual “studio”

 

[Adamski77]

So did winter revision of my forest… only buds on the tress so really good opportunity to do some minor cuts and wiring. Contemplated, put fee wires here and there and marked the chops for spring (when buds will break) primarily on red wood. Larches need to grow fast up as I want them to overlook redwood trees on the final design. Also wired some branches that I intend to keep in long run. Next update in spring should be much more descriptive of what my intentions are.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

From your posts, it looks like there is a whole lot of learning going on!

A thought crossed my mind while looking at the bends and inclinations of trees in the forest for the future is that one might want to look at the overall harmony, or perhaps more rightly stated, the natural theme the trees are expressing when looked at together.

For example, what environment influence(s) are being expressed on all the trees in this forest? Individually and as a group. Just a few example might be. Erosion, predominant wind direction, harsh temperatures, struggle for sun, etc

Anyways, my two bits.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[Adamski77]

From your posts, it looks like there is a whole lot of learning going on!

A thought crossed my mind while looking at the bends and inclinations of trees in the forest for the future is that one might want to look at the overall harmony, or perhaps more rightly stated, the natural theme the trees are expressing when looked at together.

For example, what environment influence(s) are being expressed on all the trees in this forest? Individually and as a group. Just a few example might be. Erosion, predominant wind direction, harsh temperatures, struggle for sun, etc

Anyways, my two bits.

cheers
DSD sends

Thanks for thoughts… very valid and appreciated… also came through my mind “what story is behind this forest” but didn’t figure it out yet. At this stage I would consider myself as a solid “doer”… all of my bonsai have not much of an art in them… that is something I yet have to learn. Hopefully one day