Youpon Holly Styling

[Beng]

Anyone else have an opinion? I know there is no shortage of them around here.

I like one for the female and 1 for the male. If berry production isn't how you would choose to display this tree then I too would choose the male.

 

[jkd2572]

The female has berries. I would concentrate on that one as it shows more interest. Berries are like flowers. They provide their own interest at the right time of the year were trees with no berries or flowers can't do. The male has to do more to prove it self trunk wise.

 

[drew33998]

I am thinking the masculine tree. 1 shows more taper, 3 shows better nebari. I kind of like 1 bc of the taper and the way that first branch appears. 3 is really good too.

 

[drew33998]

4 isn't bad either. Hard to see what the first couple branches look like at the trunk from that pic though

 

[berobinson82]

That spare tire on the female tree is what turns me off. The male tree has a better base and taper. I like front 1. All he needs is a haircut and some better fitting clothes.

 

[edprocoat]

I still like the male tree, it has a much stronger trunk and it looks like better branching. Does that type of holly have stiff and unbendable branches? I have never had the Yaupon but have had two I got from Lowes ( sold as Japanese holly) and even the small branches would snap when trying to bend them. The first thing I would do is remove the very top if I were going to work with the whole tree, it seems to me from the pictures that once you trim any of the lower branches there will be a fairly large open area before the place where the upper three branches come off the trunk. Unless of course its flexible enough to wire and bend the lower branches up some to fill in that open area. If it is flexible I would tend to prefer a modified broom approach with this material.

ed

 

[bonsaibp]

Ok so it's looking like the male is the one we'll try to group style.
So where do we go from here.
A couple of things to keep in mind- wiring is for the most part not a good way to put movement in the branches because they are brittle and will easily break. It can be used to adjust the angle the branch comes off the trunk but not really for side to side or up and down movement. Young green branches can be wired but for the most part movement needs to be created by pruning.'
These trees will close over large scars or they can also support hollows and shari, jins aren't generally an option for these trees. They respond very well to drastic pruning. Like boxwood if you don't cut all the foliage then you need to leave some green on each branch. They will bud back if all foliage is cut but if some branches are cut to bare wood and others aren't there is a possibility that the leafless branches won't bud. They are relatively fast growers and in this climate we can get multiple flushes of growth so clip and grow isn't as long term a project as it may be in a different climate.
I'm hoping we can get some people thinking and maybe looking at things a little differently by having various ideas for the same piece of material. I know I styled the last juniper a little different then I originally intended because of the variety of input- different eyes will see the same thing differently. So I'm open to suggestions for the next step, virts would also be welcome. Who wants to play?

 

[edprocoat]

You asked for a virt, don't laugh. I would take off the top like I posted earlier and try to leave it like this and clip and grow it from there.


hollyvirt by edsnapshot, on Flickr

From what I could make out from the picture it looked like there were branches in these areas.

ed

 

[berobinson82]

Since it's apparent you'll be taking the branches in, could we have a LITTLE clean up before virts? Not saying brutalize, but rather take em in to 6 inches or so.

 

[bonsaibp]

6 inches is a bit much i doubt that too many of them are even that long. I will clean up a little more though if that helps.

 

[berobinson82]

Sorry if I was unclear. I didn't mean to cut 6 inches. Rather, cut the branches to 6 inches.. Do you imagine anything would be left longer?

 

[berobinson82]

Thank you for your consideration

 

[bonsaibp]

Sorry if I was unclear. I didn't mean to cut 6 inches. Rather, cut the branches to 6 inches.. Do you imagine anything would be left longer?

I seriously doubt it. I'll try to do it tomorrow.

 

[Paradox]

Bob, I think these group progressions are a great idea. It gives us all something to talk and think about.

I walk past my trees in the garage every day and its so hard not to grab one and do something! But I have to wait a couple more months for their sake. So thanks for providing a bonsai project to learn from. I dont feel so much like Im not doing anything..lol

Lets do both trees. Do the male first then the female. Id love to see what you could do with both.

Thanks

 

[Poink88]

My possible initial cut...then clean-up after.

 

[bonsaibp]

Bob, I think these group progressions are a great idea. It gives us all something to talk and think about.

I walk past my trees in the garage every day and its so hard not to grab one and do something! But I have to wait a couple more months for their sake. So thanks for providing a bonsai project to learn from. I dont feel so much like Im not doing anything..lol

Lets do both trees. Do the male first then the female. Id love to see what you could do with both.

Thanks

Thanks Glad you're enjoying it. I was hoping to get people thinking and talking.
I did the female already since the group concenus seemed to be the male. The pictures are here http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?13893-Female-Youpon-Holly-first-styling

I'll try to do a little more cleanup on the male today but I don't know if I'll have the time.

 

[bonsaibp]

As requested here is the male tree with a little more clean up done. Take a look then let us know how you would suggest styling it.
From all 4 sides

The base from 4 sides. I'm pretty sure that we can remove some if not all of the roots
that are crossing over each other.

 

[bonsaibp]

So lets hear those suggestions and see those virts.

 

[bonsaibp]

At this rate it'll be next year before this thing gets potted. Nobody has any ideas?

 

[berobinson82]

Back to my machine after an over-packed weekend. I'll give a virt a shot today during lunch.

also, bump