Tsuga Mertensiana ( Mountain Hemlock Yamadori)

[wireme]

I'm not much of a woodsman. Maybe this indeed looks like a real tree.

I do love a good naturalistic thing, it’s my favourite but personally I don’t always care if I does look like a real tree as long as I like it. “Don’t make your bonsai look like a tree make your tree look like a bonsai” I read that somewhere sometime. Maybe got that backwards but anyways in moderation every now and then it’s alright I figure. Maybe it really does look like a tree like this though.. it’s got bark and needles and things.,
All fun and games till someone does cut branches off but I’ve never said I was an artist either so it’s still not my fault!

 

[River's Edge]

I do love a good naturalistic thing, it’s my favourite but personally I don’t always care if I does look like a real tree as long as I like it. “Don’t make your bonsai look like a tree make your tree look like a bonsai” I read that somewhere sometime. Maybe got that backwards but anyways in moderation every now and then it’s alright I figure. Maybe it really does look like a tree like this though.. it’s got bark and needles and things.,
All fun and games till someone does cut branches off but I’ve never said I was an artist either so it’s still not my fault!View attachment 179783View attachment 179784

Yup got that backwards, John Naka intended otherwise. To quote the authors words. " But most of all i want to thank my great silent teachers- the Sierra Nevada mountains, the Mohave Desert, the Monterey Coast, the Sequoia National Park here in California, and also the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, my birth place. They have offered a multitude of Bonsai models for me."
Taken from his forward to Volume II Bonsai Techniques.
Wireme thanks for the virt attempts, the last pic i posted with the right lower branch shifted to obscure the trunk shape did nothing for me personally.
I like and noted the small adjustment line drawn to the base angle. Would never consider a cascade from this quality of material and base as others have suggested. I am still going to spend some time considering the squash, bend, tweak aspect. One unexpected change could alter the dynamic considerably.
The right lower branch removal has solid prospects, specially coming from the inside curve and improving the overall shape at the same time. The branch above will in time fill in elongate and give a sweeping older vibe. I have removed considerable foliage this year so will let the tree recover this season before further reduction. I am not in a hurry the tree took a long time to get to this point, what is another year in the grand scheme. Thanks for all your input, would love to see your trees some day.

 

[just.wing.it]

I like C too!
Nice tree!

 

[defra]

How's this one doing?

 

[River's Edge]

How's this one doing?

It is doing very well. Some branches need to lengthen, positions will change over time. The foliage is filling in nicely and the tree is very healthy. Recently i thinned some area and reduced some branch length, wired some new growth out further and removed some older wire biting in. The lower branch coming from the inside curve has been removed and the overall balance of foliage for the size of the tree is better in my opinion. It will take two or three years for the foliage to grow out in some areas and fill in the form. I have begun developing some pads.

 

[W3rk]

This is a smaller collected mountain hemlock from vancouver island. Previously this tree has been acclimatized and given a rough style while adapting to an anderson flat. From collection to this point is five years. Some rough pruning and bending was also accomplished during that time.
This morning i decided to do some styling and wiring. Please keep in mind this tree is beginning refinement and collected trees all have imperfections. The base is 4 inches and the current height is just under 18 inches. The next stage will be to develop pads with fuller foliage. I am attaching pictures of all four sides so all the warts are visible. My current choice for a front is side a.

Great material - and you have multiple really nice looking fronts to choose from.