bonsaiTALK Community - View Single Post - juniper squatmata, x2 informal upright update

I noticed that you reduced the top, which is a positive step in the right direction. What is necessary for you to do at this point is to determine what future you see in this tree and then do the things necessary to get it there. If it is your desire to make a show-able bonsai out of it now the only good option open to you is the Literati/Bunjin style. This tree is almost there, understanding that there are not a lot of rules about this style.

If you want a Bunjin you need to reduce the foliage masses back even further and closer to the trunk, especially the top two, they also need to be thinned out so that some of the branching can be seen. Bringing the branches and growth in will bring them into proportion to the trunk giving the tree the appearance of an old tree and more like a finished bonsai. If you leave the branches long as they are now it will look like a young tree styled into a bonsai shape.

The other option is the informal upright. If it is your desire to have this style you are going to have to put the tree into an over-sized growing situation and allow the trunk to thicken. If this is not done you will have the same result as above; a young tree styled into a bonsai shape.

What I mean by a young tree styled into a bonsai shape is simple. You have made some great moves with this tree, you have an eye for balance and understand what a bonsai is supposed to look like. You have trained this tree into a shape recognizable as a bonsai but if it were to remain the way it is, it will take twenty years in a pot before it starts to look like a really good and mature bonsai. This is a common error even intermediate growers make, assuming that you grow trees up into bonsai where the truth is that you actually cut them down into bonsai. The key to all bonsai art is in the proportions between branch and trunk. These proportions define the visual impact of the tree as to whether is looks like a beginners attempt or a partially finished bonsai.

Where you are missing the boat is that you are not looking down the road far enough to understand that this tree is way to young for the form you have in your mind but you are hoping it will grow into that form in time, (the informal upright) or you are not seeing the proportions of trunk to branch that make the tree look young that could be corrected now; referring to the Bunjin style.

2-Oct-2007	#4
Vance Wood bonsaiTALK ArchMaster Join Date: Sep-2002 Location: Roseville Michigan Country: USA USDA Zone: 5/6 AHS Heat Zone: ? Posts: 2,398	I noticed that you reduced the top, which is a positive step in the right direction. What is necessary for you to do at this point is to determine what future you see in this tree and then do the things necessary to get it there. If it is your desire to make a show-able bonsai out of it now the only good option open to you is the Literati/Bunjin style. This tree is almost there, understanding that there are not a lot of rules about this style. If you want a Bunjin you need to reduce the foliage masses back even further and closer to the trunk, especially the top two, they also need to be thinned out so that some of the branching can be seen. Bringing the branches and growth in will bring them into proportion to the trunk giving the tree the appearance of an old tree and more like a finished bonsai. If you leave the branches long as they are now it will look like a young tree styled into a bonsai shape. The other option is the informal upright. If it is your desire to have this style you are going to have to put the tree into an over-sized growing situation and allow the trunk to thicken. If this is not done you will have the same result as above; a young tree styled into a bonsai shape. What I mean by a young tree styled into a bonsai shape is simple. You have made some great moves with this tree, you have an eye for balance and understand what a bonsai is supposed to look like. You have trained this tree into a shape recognizable as a bonsai but if it were to remain the way it is, it will take twenty years in a pot before it starts to look like a really good and mature bonsai. This is a common error even intermediate growers make, assuming that you grow trees up into bonsai where the truth is that you actually cut them down into bonsai. The key to all bonsai art is in the proportions between branch and trunk. These proportions define the visual impact of the tree as to whether is looks like a beginners attempt or a partially finished bonsai. Where you are missing the boat is that you are not looking down the road far enough to understand that this tree is way to young for the form you have in your mind but you are hoping it will grow into that form in time, (the informal upright) or you are not seeing the proportions of trunk to branch that make the tree look young that could be corrected now; referring to the Bunjin style. __________________ The only finished bonsai is a dead one; me 1992 MABA Des Moines Iowa