Major restyle, but could I do it?

Larry

Just been thinking of everyones advice and ideas on here, finally its sinking in! Now, you all know my pathetic silver birch mame stick,and i agree it is too thin, but I thought, instead of trying to make a weird literati, how about a semi cadscade! (Please forgive for reposting but i want the comparison to come across)

Before and 'after'

A few years in the ground perhaps, or a big pot.
am i being too ambitious, or should I just keep styling it the way it is? Only I came to realise that if i want this to thicken its going to take a few years anyway (I've been too impatient) so I might as well go for something that just feels right, what do you all think?

Attached Images

	SB003winter03.jpg (12.9 KB, 84 views)
	sbmame virt semi cas.jpg (32.5 KB, 86 views)

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bonsaial1

Larry, I for one can die a happy man now. If I were to be struck dead by lightning at this moment it would have been for a good cause. Having one person such as yourself come forward and tell everyone here that this is finally sinking in, is the best news I have heard here in a long time.

I think that your plan is sound and you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Moving from what you have now to Han-kengai would be a natural move and one that should be easy to achieve. I would plant it out in the ground. A big pot carries too many negatives for growing out. The reserve capacity of the earth is the natural vessel for growing out stock. I would think about two years in the ground ought to do it. The first year will be light but the second year will really add weight to the trunk.

Hope you continue to find the light at the end of the tunnel!

AJK

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no.... really!

Larry

I feel positivelty excited about this now and just want to say THANK YOU TO EVERYONE
Phew!

down with sticks,lol

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BonsaiGreenhorn

Do you have a picture of the tree alone without any virtuals?
-Evan

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Larry

Yea the first pic above is the raw tree in winter 2003.
You can se its progress here:
http://members.lycos.co.uk/numanoid27/photoalbum14.html

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Will_Heath

Speaking from the point of view from a man who got heavily chastised for trying to explain the finer aspects of what makes a bonsai to you, welcome Larry!

We are now on the same level, each searching for better ways, knowledge, information and I look forward to walking beside you.

Will

The sky is full of pigs today and they are ice skating in hell

Carl_Bergstrom

Larry,

Now you're getting somewhere! I like general direction you're thinking to take this tree. Time to ask yourself a few questions, including:

1) How do I get the taper illustrated in the virtual, instead of simply growing a thicker cylinder?

2) Can I get the leaves and internodes down to the size that I need to develop the sort of ramification that I've indicated on my virtual?

Best regards,
Carl

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Larry

Right, this is my learning tree!
I could use some help with this conundrum here.
The pic is a close up of the bend in the trunk that i want to change, effectivley the point of the new leader, but I dont see any buds there. Should I just cut it where the blue line is, plant it out and then wait for buds to sprout from the red circled areas. Or should I just plant it out as is, and let it grow away and find its own path, with lots of shoots from me to choose one, while working on that taper?
Hmmm.

Attached Images

sb00cut.jpg (50.3 KB, 27 views)

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Treebeard

I can remember a time in the not too distant past when I could not afford to buy a little plant for £1.99.

I can remember the time when I was thrilled with a tiny little seeding that had self-seeded in my garden, and potted it up and proudly showed my new bonsai off to friends and neighbours and basked in the polite platitudes.

I can remember the time (last May/June actually) when I followed the advice of more seasoned practitioners here on bonsaiTALK and got rid of a lot of my little seedlings, saplings, bad buys and 'going nowhere' plants. Had a good clearout. HOW I WISH I HAD NOT DONE THAT. Luckily some survived the cull, right now they are as precious as a £150 bonsai purchase.

So, Larry, I can see where you are at. I can see what you find joy in. People will tell you that they wished someone had told them when they were starting out the things they themselves are telling you now, and they will tell you that they are trying to help you.

Keep on with the saplings, it is obvious to me that you get great enjoyment from them. Keep browsing the mini-bonsai site, study the trees on there in detail. Think about how they were created. Were some of them air-layers? were they cuttings? look at how their shaping might have been achieved. Find the ones you like the most and study them, and then compare with the ones you like the least and try to find out what it is about the ones you like that actually makes you like them. Keep doing that over and over. Look at the shapes of the trunks and branches and imagine how the wire would have been coiled and bent to achieve those shapes. Get hold of some hedge clippings and some old electrical wire and practice wiring, trying out your ideas. Look at the gradual taper on the trunks and imagine how it was achieved, how long in the ground was needed and how many chops were done, if any. Use your previous knowledge of plants to help you here. These advicelets are just the tip of the iceberg, but I hope they get my message across.

As I said in another thread, keep plugging away.

A couple of sentences and words removed any hey-presto! Positive, signed rep points

Regards,

Chris.

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