Tag Archives: bunjin

Pinus densiflora Styling

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Some of the clients at Kouka-en have species and styles they gravitate towards.  We have one customer who tends to buy the largest pine bonsai we have in stock a few times a year to account for something……  Another client loves bizarre exposed root bonsai.  In early June, a client whose collection is filled with bunjin style red pine and shimpaku was clearing some space on his benches and sold this tree to Kouka-en.   Now that almost every notable blog on the planet has covered shoot removal, I thought it would be nice to highlight what is also possible during this time of the year.  Peter Tea’s post on the matter was especially well laid out HERE.  The matter was also partially covered in the Bonsai Art of Japan Series Episode # 7.

Just after pulling needles and cutting candles, black and red pines are very sparse looking; a wonderful time to wire.  Because I needed to style this tree between shoot removal and the next flush of new growth, shoot cutting was carried out in the all-at-once method of cutting weaker shoots all the way to the base and leaving a small stub (a few millimeters) when removing the more vigorous shoots.  This allowed for wiring to start immediately.  Again, Peter’s post as well as a few dozen others cover the processes that work reliably.  Amazing how far we have come from starving pines of water and fertilizer to get shorter needles and inter-nodes; thanks to Daiju-en and others for little tweaks in the currently accepted techniques.  Last year’s needles were also thinned at this time.  I must say, this is the most full and healthy red pine I’ve seen so far.

Shoot removal was nice and simple with no major surprises (dead interior branches, heinously bad wiring, etc).  A few branches had been removed recently that I would have liked to use, but oh well.

Talk about a happy tree!

Old Front

After shoot removal and a few thin branches unnecessary to any design were removed, the tree’s potential was much easier to evaluate properly.  Due to the time of year, angle changes or other actions requiring repotting were not possible.  If I had my druthers, I would lean the tree more to the left.  The new front Fujikawa-san and I both liked was about 30-45 degrees to the right of this one.  The ideal viewing angle we liked had one issue though; the lowest branch……..

                                                                    The Problem
This branch was likely kept to increase the feeling of depth when the the was younger, but now it is too thick and takes all the power out of the bend in the trunk it emerges from.  So, how to proceed?  Leaving this area and styling would require heavy-gauge wire and no matter what bends I added, something would still stick out as “heavy”; not desirable in a bunjinji tree.

Cutting this off would remove about 30% of the branching. But, no guts no glory!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a photo progression of the how the branch was removed and tissue reduced to turn an issue into an asset:

        

The final photo is the “before”.  Although the zoom is a bit different, you get the idea.  Leaving parts of the secondary branching would have made the jin too busy.  Wood was removed to accentuate the bends while also making the jin look more thin.  Complete removal of the whole branch was also an option, but in time I felt it would add character to the tree when the wood aged.

The new front (about 30 degrees to the right of the original).

Wiring was quick and painless with so few needles and shoots to watch out for.  The goal here was to compact the tree, space secondary branching to fill out the desired form, and accentuate the good points of the tree by balancing the overall visual weight.

Another issue with this tree was the lowest right side branch is too long.  If dropped, a full and rounded canopy would again cause this tree to look like it did before styling commenced in the future.  We are going for a new direction and feel here.

This long, uninteresting branch with branching only at the end (viewed from below). Leaving it would require dropping it low and crossing the first major bend in the trunk.

With this branch removed, styling was straight-forward.

Wiring the apex of many trees can be a challenge. I was fortunate not to have a leggy apex with this one requiring the "deceitful coiled snake technique".....

Having so many branches to choose from is a good problem to have.  It is often overlooked that styling a crappy tree and producing something of worth is much harder than taking a well maintained tree and getting a good resulting finished product.

 

 A few more small branches were cut.  Any needles I broke were quickly and quietly cut with some really sharp scissors before the final “thumbs up” from Fujikawa-san.

The Final Product before new buds initiated.

 

The tree looks pretty good as it has a nice trunk line, reasonably old bark, and is definitely healthy.  There are some faults that warrant note and as usual, these are shown so you the reader can avoid similar issues while working with your trees.

 

 

Issue 1:  When viewed from the left, the whole tree is leaning forward too much; an issue to resolve during the next re-potting.

 

 

 

 

 

Issue 2:  The lowest left branch had no fork but is solo.  Developing branching in sets of two allows for options during future cutting back.  Not sure why this was cut but it happened last year by my guesstimation.

Issue 3:  It’s not mine : )

After taking 100-some-odd photos of this tree, seems like a waste not to share a few more.  The final tree after a few months of growth is coming up soon I promise….

  

Before work started.

After shoot removal on the back half.

 

After major branch removal and wiring.

Amazing just how much can be cut off in order to set a tree on the right path.  It is important to note that this is the initial styling and this tree will not be “ready” for a while.  Another round of shoot thinning later this year and potentially 2-3 more years of fine tuning are required.

A few months have passed and the tree has responded very well to the work.

 

Thanks for reading.  I apologize for all the spam in the comments section.  This has been resolved.  Any comments or constructive criticism are welcome.

Juniperus rigida “Test”

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Since arriving in Japan, I’ve done full styling projects on a a ton of trees.  The majority are what we refer to as “lesson trees” that aren’t spectacular bonsai by Japanese standards, but have issues needing resolution to be set on the right path.  This particular Juniperus rigida, aka “Tosho”, was a slightly different project.

Every now and then, I’m given an opportunity to take a rough tree and do what I like.  There is an understanding that I must make it marketable of course, and as with most things related to apprenticeship, it’s a test.

If the project turns out well, all is well in the the world.  If I fail, well, you don’t fail : ).  That would mean constant reminders of what mistake you made for the next week or so ad nasuem.  ”Please water that maple.  It’s dry.  Oh, and don’t forget that your spacing between branches on oak bonsai needs to account for the size density of the leaves”.    You get the idea.  On to the tree…..The inital shape of this tree had some serious issues to resolve.  The lowest branches were straight, lacked interest, and did not match the rest of the tree.  The top half had not been pruned in a while.  Choosing a great “front” for this tree was important.  This particular tree was field grown and a bunch of twists and turns were put into it in a predictable manner.  The “barber pole” twist in the middle of the trunk line really bugged me, so this took precedent when picking a front.  The front I chose best links the base of the tree to the apex by softening the curves.

This is the "rough cut" version. I made it look pretty after repotting.

Bunjin to me are all about the trunk line,feeling of age, and embodyment of a life of hardship.  A trunk line that is too curvy looks contrived while one too straight (in this particular instance) would be boring.  I must admit a bit of an addiction to bunjin trees.  However, my first inclination is not to slice and dice to force a style on any tree.  Doing so is not only risky, but in my opinion you’re relying on your ego and not working within a reasonable framework.  This tree was asking for it though : ).  The main reason being the top and bottom halves did not match.  A pet peeve I have is jins that look like a branch that used to be part of the design just died.  Not all dead branches need to be jin.  On this particular project, the lowest right branch was completely deleted as a jin there would conflict with the line of the trunk.  Wiring bunjin bonsai is always a joy and an ordeal at once.  You may only have a few branches to wire, but every bend and tweak must be precisely calculated.  Drastic re-stylings like this are also risky for the health of the tree.  I left a few extra branches in the apex and more branches along the base of the trunk to give the future owner some liberties in choosing the future direction of the tree.

I apologize for the lack of progression photos;  I was filming this project for the Bonsai Art of Japan Series before it  became a blog post…..Two weeks later, a new flush of growth has popped and that signals a window to repot safely.  Tosho are one of the last species of plant we repot at Kouka-en.  If you ever wonder how to care for a species new to you, one solid lead will be to look into where it’s native to.  What altitude can it live at?  Does it live near water?  How hot / cold does it get there?  Another solid lead is observation of the plants behavior.  In the case of Tosho, the Spring flush is later than most.  So, repot later than most.  The first flush of growth tells you sap is flowing and the tree is physiologically active.  Many species are repotted as new growth emerges at Kouka-en.  One exception is Fagus japonica, as beech do not respond well to the procedure and should be repotted just before the buds swell.

There is a convenient window to repot Tosho after you pinch the first flush of growth back. Wait until the second flush of the year is emerging and get to it.  Tosho in general do not like to have aggressive repotting work done to them.  I pushed this tree as far as I felt comfortable after removing over half the branches.  Review the following pics and think about what stick out as being “off”.

Issue #1 What is wrong with this section of the tree?

Issue #2 How about here? (apex view from left side)

Issue #3 One more. How about here?

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the future, the live veins that feed each branch will swell and shari can be made up and down the tree. The barber pole twist in the middle will then become an asset instead of a fault as the deletion of the likely half the bark on the trunk will give the tree an even lighter feeling.  I may not get a chance to do this work as Mr. Sakamoto came to Kouka-en today and purchased the bonsai.  He’s a bit of a bunjin fan too.

It was definitely not alright for me to interrupt, so a covert shot of the deal will have to suffice.  I passed the test by the way  : ).

So how about the three issues above?  Issue #`1 refers to the gap between the dropping branch and the trunk line.  ”Holes” like this draw the eye and are distracting.   The bends I put into the tree were a compromise of what I hoped for and what was possible with the material during the first styling.  Issue #2 is the funky bend I used to make the branch look shorter than it actually was from the front.  Bunjin trees often have what some people call “character branches”.  Something unexpected or unconventional that makes the composition interesting.  Issue #3 is that the apex is too full and there are not enough spaces between branches.  In the future, I’d remove about half the apical branches to lighten the feeling and bring a better harmony to the whole tree.

Bonsai is not a cut and dry event, but about forward progress.  This tree is a good example of that.  It is by no means ready to rock, but has been set on a new path.

Thanks for reading.