Richard’s Larch – John Hanby Bonsai

The transformation of a small Larch bonsai.

July 2023 – The tree had suffered in the past and lost some branches leaving a large gap between the lower branches and the apex.

Problem solved! ? – well to some degree yes. So now we can just let the tree grow freely for the remainder of the season

December 2023 – The needles have dropped and you can now see the growth the tree has put on in the past few months.

The tree was too flat so now we have to consider changing the angle to give a much more plausible dynamic design.

The tree after pruning and now ready for wiring.

January 2024 – The tree now wired and styled

Notice how the old jins have been broken and bent to create better lines in sympathy and harmony with the new design.

We had a tree that was uninspiring and looking as though it may have no future as a credible bonsai. With drastic pruning, a change of angle and some wiring we now have a dynamic shohin bonsai giving the appearance of a much older tree. The two trunks have taper, movement and character which work well together at this new angle.

A relatively simple change producing a substantial transformation and one that was well worth doing.