ripsgreentree

I find this path interesting as I have followed it myself.
Fredl, I have had my boss become disgusted with material and toss it my way only to offer to purchase it back after I had spent a couple of years working on it.
The opposite is also true. I have given material away that was bad from the beginning and ten years later it was still bad.
Here are some things that I do know.
Not every tree is potensai.
Potensai is created by deligently working on the roots as the tree grows a trunk and nebari.
Fifteen years ago when I wanted to create good bonsai I could not find any good source for material. I did what everyone else does, haunt the nursery looking for nursery stock that I could convert to bonsai. Little of this material was ever successful.
What I have learned is that seedlings and cuttings need to be grown and cut for the bonsai container from the beginning. Recut every one to two years depending the material to keep the roots under control. If this is done faithfully when the trunk has achieved the size and shape that you want you can consider it good potensai.
All of us look at pictures of master class trees and this is what we want to create. The problem is that the master class tree has a master class root system to support the tree in its shallow container. I have found almost no one who is willing to teach the proper techniques to create the root structure that is required to do really good bonsai.
I have an excellent example from a Ted Matson work shop that I attended today. We were looking at an Elm that I had just finished potting. Ted settled on a style and front based on the nebari that he could see on the surface of the soil. When I asked about other possibilities he said no that the roots dictated this front. I suggested that we knock the soil off of the top of the pot and Ted said "why do you have roots" I hit the pot against the heal of my hand removing all of the soil that I had just packed into the root structure. Ted seeing this said "you do have roots" we found that because the tree had an excellent root structure there were four new possibilities for a front. This is the point. Instead of one root dictating the front of the tree we could now choose the best front and know that the root structure was there to support it. Excellent roots also allow the artist to succesfully establish the tree into the pot of his choice and not a pot that has to accomodate bad roots.
This I know to create excellent bonsai the artist must have all of the aspects of a good tree starting with the roots and their health, then the nebari and trunk line. Next is branch placement and last is ramification. Add to this balance form and feeling.When all of these aspects are present you will find that you have an excellent bonsai. Oh! also pot shape size and color. If any one of the aspects is not present or out of balance and your bonsai can go from great to good to ho-hum in a hurry.

Glenn

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ripsgreentree

It requires an open hand to give and to recieve.