Sneak Preview Next Years Olive

treenut

I'm sorry Juliet but you are being way too hard on yourself and this tree.A lot of people would love to have this tree in there collection.I know it would be easy for you to go out and get a better one but that doesn't mean that this tree is "a waste of bench space".As for "stuff up's thats a bit harsh,I think you would know more about Bonsai than a lot of people judging from your previous post's.Another mistake,I think not!

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juliet-of-oz

Well thank you matt and treenut for those words but reality check time. This was not a good choice to dig up, but i guess at the time i didnt know it or else i saw something that wasnt there, who knows. Its all a learning game, and learn i have, so in that respect treenut, you are correct, its not a total waste. Also you have to be able to judge your own trees as if they were someone elses (without getting hysterical about it). If someone else posted this tree I would say (or at least think), its too straight, it lacks movement..its an elephants foot. It is not an interesting tree to look at. I would think, can it be fixed, can i turn it to make it more interesting as Matt suggests (which btw i cant due to a bit of a reverse taper issue, wanna see a side pic )

I do not think it is or will ever be a good bonsai. An ok tree maybe, impressive due to its size maybe (i forgot the coke can) but not a good one, and i want good ones

I posted it to try to show people in a picture what others here have been trying to say in words. I really belive it is important to say look, this is why it looks wrong..and i know it and i wont do it again.

i do plan to post pics of some trees this spring that i actually like, but I dont mind showing where i went wrong if it helps others to see where they may be going wrong too.

If you like it with the straight trunk, great. but take a really good look at the tree, is it interesting? I am well and truely past growing trees for the sake of having trees, but im keeping it to mess with some more, see how we go with branches. I doubt I will have this one in the future though, there are many more olives in the olive patch!!
cheers

juliet
Its only an olivus weedus anyway gee

ripsgreentree

Jules: You are correct when you apply your cryteria to your invironment and ability to go scrape up another tree. Your little elephant footed strait tree is everything that you say that it is.
On the other hand out here in california to aquire an olive with any charictor your choices are to go out and dig one out of an old orchard which will give you a huge nebari and a thick trunk and a 3in to 7in chop to carve out.
I have not yet found any other becides myself who is trying to grow olive that is exceptable as bonsai material. Our local nursery would offer to sell your olive for well over $100.00 and judging on what he has sold in the past he would get his asking price.
Matt: I want you to know that your comments and openions do carry weight, but I also look at and listen to every sorce that I can. I judge the value of the material that I grow by what I can find in the market place and at the shows. I look at what I can find in others collections. I have tried to point out the fact that this is only one of several hundred trees and that we are trying to keep some individuality (as much as is possible) to our trees so that they don't look all the same. If I have missed your mark on this tree, I have another that is more sutible.


Thank you all for your comments and openions.

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ripsgreentree

It requires an open hand to give and to recieve.

treenut

"Its only an olivus weedus".How could you talk about are wonderful Bonsai olives like that!.This is as good as it gets around here.No weekend California Juniper hunts for us.No scratching around a Japanese mountainside for some incredible Bonsai Driftwood for us.No this all we've got to look forward to on our weekend Bonsai hunts (sad isn't it).We have to thank our wonderful European migrants for thinking of us in advance and introducing all of the feral trees that they did.