Beautiful Literati Find

october

Hello everyone,
I recently purchased this tree from Ne Bonsai Garden. I went a couple of days after they opened for the season so the stock was very good.

The tree is a 3 foot tall, pre bonsai stock, Blue Atlas Cedar, Literati with a trunk of almost 2 1/2 inches.

The nursery owner gave me a little history on the tree. He said it is a somewhat older tree......probably over 30 years old, by guessing. He also said that it has been in training for a very long time. Which definitely shows. The branch placement and ramification look like they have been trained for many years. It needs to be repotted. However, it needs to go in a grow pot for 2 years first.

I got this for an absolutely amazing price. Hitoshi ( NE Bonsai owner ) got this tree in California. He said there are some Japanese people who do bonsai to pass the time and for something to do. They do not get paid for their time. So, he gets trees from them and then brings them back to NE Bonsai and can sell them for a great price.

Also, don't be fooled by any branches that seem out of place or above one another. They are not, it is just the way the pot is turned. You will see in one or 2 pics that the branch placement is nearly perfect. Also, the trunk goes down about 6 inches more into the pot, which is not visible in the pics. This tree has incredible potential

I should mention the absolute incredible health of the tree. There is pretty much not 1 yellow needle on the entire tree. The needles are very small, probably about an inch all over the tree.

New England bonsai enthusiasts are very lucky to have NE Bonsai Gardens. Their commitment to constant stock rotation, teaching and great prices make them an incredible nursery and worth the travel from almost anywhere you are coming from.

Comments welcome......

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MattO

Oct,

Did you measure the tree, or estimating? Judging by the pics (the relationship with the door scale, etc.) it appears more like 4ft. tall above the pot.

Nice tree. I wish there was a bonsai nursery close by me.

october

Hello MattO, yes, I did measure it, from the base of the trunk to the top is exactly 36 inches. I think with the 6-7 inches of soil its in makes the measurement from bottom of container to top of the tree a little over 3 1/2 feet. So yes, the whole package in nearing 4 feet.

I have pretty much delt with shohin and medium bonsai for the last 7-8 years. This will be a nice change for. When I first got it I was like wow.......... Look at all that space to wire, not like my shohins where I have like a 5 inch tree and practically no space for wiring lol....

bonsaikc

That's a beautiful piece of material. Good luck with it!

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irene_b

WOW Rob,
What a great find! Iwould say you got a dang good deal for that one!
Irene

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SiNguyen

I agree with everyone here. This is a good find. It has a lot of branches for you to work with, and the trunk is still moveable. As it is, it is not pretty, but with just a few changes, you should have a fantastic literati. It is like a puzzle waiting to be solved. That's the fun of it.

Good luck!
Si

Hannah

what are you thinking for the front - it seems like the trunk line is a little distracting in some of the photos. I thought something around the photo 5559 angle??

Dav4

Love the tree, Rob. I've already been there twice since it opened last Friday. I assume you'll be bring this tree in to Johns workshop some Wednesday nite this spring...I'd love to see it in person.


Dave

october

Thanks you everyone for commenting.....

Yes, Hannah, the 5559 angle will be the front. Maybe not the exact degree as in the pic, but close to it. I will repot it this weekend into a big grow pot. I will do the wire work next month. I plan to maybe shorten a branch or two. Wire the apex into the position that I want and wire pretty much all the branches down and coming forward. Which will make the branches look shorter.

Hello Dave, I have also been to Ne Bonsai 2 times since it opened. They have some pretty nice pre stock don't they... I think, like you, I have already blown my bonsai budget for the season lol

I do intend to take many workshops with John this season. However, I may not bring the tree. One is because, I am going to repot it and I would rather not move it around for a while. Not to mention that it is going in a huge grow pot. Couple this with the fact that the whole package is about 3 1/2 feet. It is tough moving it around and would be even tougher getting it in my SUV. However, I may towards the end of the season. I know that John had repotted 2 of these large Atlas Cedars very recently.Tthey are at the nursery in huge pots. Can't wait for the first workshop in May.

Rob