PROJECT: SHIMPAKU II (yea I'm Back)

bonsaial1

WOW! Thanks for all the e-mails and PMs. Sorry I haven't been here much, but I been busy! I was elected "web master" for the Fresno Bonsai Society. I had to build the web site from scratch, buy the software, learn how to use it, and then work. Two weeks straight, 5-6 hours a nite. Man, I'm tired of typing. My two index fingers have blisters on them!

OK, nuff about that. The tree. This is the last of the Mas Ishii "kishu" shimpaku junipers that I had left. This is a tree that I bought at the first of the year when I did the "nursery tour" thread last Feb. I bought three of them. I think I gave about 80.00 bucks for this one. This tree was in a small bonsai pot, and about 11" tall. It was basicly just as you see it, a round dense ball of foliage. I have no idea why I bought this. It had lots of branches to choose from, healthy, roots pruned back, and a shari on the trunk. But,... the damn thing was topiary ball on a trunk!! I brought it home with the idea that I might save this for a project to work on in front of the fireplace, and that is just what I did. I like to throw the trimmings in there while I'm working on it, they smell sooo good. Besides, if things don't go well I can burn the evidence.

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bonsaial1

In the last picture you can make out a guy sitting across from me and a small tree to the right. Last Friday nite was the club meeting. I decided to bring the tree and start it there. I started by looking from below to get a feel for the branches. There were lots of them. Sort of a broom style of sorts. I started by picking the front, which included the shari. The rootage is pretty much under the soil line and I did not go in for a look see. I will get a bonus in the spring I hope when I uncover it. I strted to prune away the first two or three eye poker branches.

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bonsaial1

In the last photo, you can see all the branches coming out from the trunk. It was hard to make decisions on which branches to keep and which ones to prune away. When building the design it is important to not only have great taper from the trunk, but each branch as it ascends its way to the top must also reduce in size to achieve the look of how a tree should grow. The second branch should not be larger in diameter than the first branch. This will constitute a fault at the judgeing table. I need all the help I can get. Best to pick the right branches now.

I continued to prune away on the tree untill I had pruned enough away to start styling the tree.

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bonsaial1

In the last photo, I thought I had achieved what I was looking for. I started to apply wire, and start bending some branches around. I quickly found out that I was in a pickle. The tree was not doing what I wanted , and there was no turning back now. Couple that with all the dudes at the meeting egging me on to take it off at the soil line, and you can see how I became ever more frustrated. The resident expert, Howard Latimer, retired botany professor for Fresno State University, is looking over my shoulder, and wondering if I know what the heck I'm doing. At this point I beginning to wonder myself.

I decide to take the plunge, and grab the big concave pruners. I mean business now. I take off about 6 more branches. Howard at this moment knows that I lost my mind. He looks at the scarecrow, and asks, think you did enough damage yet? I took off one more branch just to show him I was boss, he walks away shaking his head.

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bonsaial1

OK... I'm back. My bride called me for dinner.

Now I had reached a crossroads here with the tree. It looks like cr@p, but I have a plan. Do these guys need to be around when I begin wireing. I think not! I make a decision to take the poor tree as is. I will wire it another day. The club president asks me to give an update on the website. You know me. I talk for 15 minutes...BORING

OK.. here we go.Disclaimer: anyone with an aversion to loads of aluminum and copper wire, should click off now. This is terrible.

I started off with 4 kilo size rolls of wire and 3 pounds of copper wire. I may have enough to wire one more tree. I wired this thing to within one inche of it's death.
Here we go.. I hope you didn't think I had no plan all this time. Here it is all wired up!

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bonsaial1

This is a close up shot of the detail wiring on the first branch.

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bonsaial1

The tree finished out at seven inches tall, and a 1 inch trunk. I have tried it in a new pot. This is a photo montage.

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bonsaial1

This the tree in a drum pot.

I had a great time designing and styling this tree. I really like the powerfull taper that the trunk has. The guys at the meeting will get to see it next month. Ole' Howard will be surprised, I'm sure.

Comments welcome, and if you want to try a different pot, go for it, I have time till spring to buy it.

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DavidN

Bonsaial
Let me be the first to say what a great job you did. I think it is awesome from what you first started off with. I was sure when reading your step by step description that this tree would end up being another one of those puffy cloud upright tree as in your third picture posted. I'm so glad you went the chop and designed this resultant tree. Really great job.

The drum pot is great. I would go for that actually.

David