Clump Style

FredL

OK, Bonsai experts, I'd like your thoughts.

At present I have 5 trees in grow boxes that I estimate are within 2-3 years of being ready for bonsai pots. One is a pine that looks like a candidate for literati (bunjin) style. I'll send in a picture when I work up enough energy to take on the technical complexities of digital photography and internet transmission of pictures. But, it's not a problem, other than getting it stronger and healthier. The others are 2 Boxwoods, a Flowering Quince and a Blueberry. These 4 specimens all have one thing in common: they all appear to be basally dominant and want to sucker rather than develop a trunk and alot of branch ramification. All four are, nevertheless, quite interesting and I think should make very fine bonsai.

It seems to me that the right "design paradigm" for these four specimens is what I've seen termed "clump style", with the ruling vision being a small clump of trees or thicket of shrubs. I haven't seen alot of examples of this style in more recent Bonsai Texts, but do remember it from several years ago. It doesn't make alot of sense to me to try to force these specimens into having a traditional trunk with lots of branch ramification, especially the Quince and the Blueberry. I think the only result of that would be lots of branch die-back.

I'd certainly welcome comments on these species and this style. I expect all four will be well rooted in 3 months or so when I expect to begin basic formation of the major structure of each of them.

Fred

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bonsaial1

Use the major search engines and type "shohin bonsai". That should get you quite a few web sites to look at. The clump style seems to show up in shohin tree a lot more often, then in their larger cousins. I think alot has to do with the image of a tree. It is a little easier to pull off a convincing clump style in shohin then a 30 or 40" clump bonsai. The larger they get, the less ordered they become.

Most examples of larger clump styles still have very definate trunks. The wood is fairly large and seems to dictate how the finished product looks. A 30" tall tree with a dozen pencil size trunks is not going to convey a very powerful image.

Move those pencil size trunks down to a pot 5" across and 1" deep, and the power factor moves up expotentialy.

Bonsai-al

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Walter_Pall

Fred,
I would call this a clump form. It is a European field maple, Acer campestre.
best regards
Walter Pall

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Walter_Pall

This is the same clump in 1993

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FredL

Very helpful, fellas, especially the pictures, Walter.

Clump style rules!!!

Fred

Vermontoise

Wow, Walter... This neophyte is duly impressed. Do you have a photo with leaves on?

Walter_Pall

summer 2000 still in training

Walter_Pall

new try

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Vermontoise

Phew! Gotta say, you had me scared there for a minute... But it was lovely!!!

This one too. I'm quite attracted to clump and forest, actually, and hope to move up to that one day. The photography is also good - nice use of light.