An open window into the comings and goings of students and their trees attending our regular weekend and midweek bonsai classes under the ever watchful eyes of John Hanby.
Classroom Corner – Conifers come calling…..
A few weeks ago I had a mixture of pines and junipers vying for attention on the turntable…. if only they had known……..would they have been so enthusiastic…..
This small but overgrown Ittogawa Juniper needed some drastic pruning before wiring could commence. Styled as a cascade tree this lends itself perfectly for planting on a rock.
The long cascading branch can be shortened during the season when the tree is growing well.
Seems obvious that the branch to the left has to go to expose a much more dynamic twisting trunk. The tree can now be wired and styled in more detail.
Typical Scots Pine bonsai raw material with multiple branching. You have to find a single trunk line and preferably one with more compact secondary branching that will enable you to style a tree with foliage closer to the trunk.
People often struggle with bushy conifers like this Juniper Blaauws. You have to get in there and find the trunk line, then you can start to select branches with heavier ones near the bottom and thinner ones at the top. The middle picture shows the tree after this selection and now ready for wiring.
This is a back to basics blog to try and encourage you to have a closer look at some raw material and have a go at creating your own image.
No wonder the trees were vying for position……..a quick haircut, some painless wiring………..and then a delighted servant to look after your every whim for the rest of your life……no wonder my wife says she is coming back as a bonsai!!!