ofBonsai Magazine

Entry: Dwarf Santan – Ixora sp. – Philippines

2012-05-17T13:37:46Z

Before

I choose this Shohin material because it’s very rare to find a big base with branches like this in dwarf ixora. Another reason is dwarf ixora is not common bonsai material because it is very hard to find a good material with solid base and have a branches. this ixora is very old, and live in very harsh place where there is flood always.

Entry: Dwarf Santan – Ixora sp. – Philippines

2012-05-17T13:37:48Z

Before

I choose this material because it’s very hard to find a dwarf ixora have movement and make it literati bonsai. And it is very rare to find sizes (diameter of the base) like this in dwarf ixora. this material has been planted in the backyard for a very long time. The place is very old town.

Entry: American Larch – Larix laricina – USA

2012-05-17T13:37:49Z

Before

The larch is a conifer / deciduous tree, with small soft slender leaf bundles on side spurs, scattered on terminal shoots 1/4 to 1 inch long; autumn color, bright yellow.This species is very well suited for bonsai because of the already small leaves of the tree. with pinching back the side spurs will develop in new branches.

I found this tree along side of the road mostly out in the open that gave it lots of natural ramification. I collected last spring of 2011 and it has been recovering in a nursary pot since then. As you can see it has an “Christmas tree” look to it right now and it has a nice taper to the trunk. What I would like to do with this tree is: well I have always admired the Coastal Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) and I want to style this tree as one of them.

Entry: Logwood – Haematoxylum campechianum – Mexico

2012-05-17T13:37:51Z

Before

Haematoxylum campechianum (Logwood) is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae. The old wood from this tree is extremely hard, one of the hardest I seen, the wood is dark red (haematoxilin is extracted from this tree) and that’s why it was called the blood tree. This particular specimen has a nice spuky (Yugen) feeling more like that of ferrytale books, which I would like to enhance to provide this interesting feeling and this is why I choose this tree. The tree will have a central trunk and a fist division close to the base. Currently it measures 120cm tall and 127cm wide. The main problem with the species is that once is potted it takes many many many years for the branches to thicken. Since the tree was collected only 2 years ago it will be safer and faster to work on it on the ground. Also due to the high temperatures in the summer the tree will benefit from having roots that are somewhat colder than if they would be in a pot. However for refinement, and to become an actual bonsai it will be repotted later in the year, once all the primary and secondary ramification have been set into place.

Technics – Correcting reverse taper, radical tree surgery

2012-05-16T12:58:43Z

Entry: Logwood – Haematoxylum campechianum – Mexico

2012-05-17T13:37:55Z

Before

Haematoxylum campechianum (Logwood) is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae. The old wood from this tree is extremely hard, one of the hardest I seen, the wood is dark red (haematoxilin is extracted from this tree) and that’s why it was called the blood tree. This particular tree call my attention due to its interesting movement, heavy trunk and amount of dead wood that can be preserver due to its hard consistency. The two large chops have to be carved and the branches put in to an asymmetric two main canopies in slanted form. The tree will look much larger once it goes into a shallow container. I have a Blue pot that will allow to show the nice trunk and character and will be in accordance with the red of the starting shoots and leaves. This is one species that is slowly gaining acknowledgment in the world of bonsai. A species that has a good character and can survive for hundreds of years (or more) however it has its problems. One particular is to increase the thickness of the branches and that’s why this large deep container is useful so it can collect enough water and nutrients to grow fast.

Entry: Black Olive – Bucida spinosa var shady lady or Terminalia molineti – Mexico

2012-05-17T13:37:59Z

Before

Terminalia molineti var shady lady or as it is better know black olive or Bucida spinosa var shady lady. This species has a very strong lateral growth with a geometric growth that makes very nice pads. Due to this geometric growth the pads may look a bit man made. Almost to perfect at some points. Also due to the lateral growth the branches then to drop down, so for people in the north the growth looks more like that of a Cedar or some junipers in high mountains. Not so much like what some people are used to broadleaf’s (not all broadleaf’s have the same growing habits). I collected this large tree a some 5 years ago, from a construction road that would have turned it into firewood.

I selected this tree because of its large base and nice dynamic movement in the trunk, due to the size of the trunk and the location that it was growing it should be very very old. Which can actually be senced when looking at it? I would like to show this and bring this tree to an appreciation point, I think when people can see the beauty of a tree they can appreciated and then they can think about not burning them as they do in my country. Currently it measures 3 meters20 cm tall and 3 meters 10 cm wide. Rather on the large size. Due to the time line and in order to set the branches in position in short time during the next few months the tree will remain in the ground. The reason is simple. Since the roots are untouched the small stresses of branch bending and wood work will be minimal and the tree, therefore it will continue to grow quickly which will set the branches into place, and also will thicken them a bit more. The main problem with making this tree into a good looking bonsai is to have a proper taper of the branches and good enough ramification to provide and pleasing sight.

Entry: Chintok – Enriquebeltriana cretinifolia – Mexico

2012-05-17T13:38:03Z

Before

Enriquebeltriana cretinifolia or known to the Mayan people as Chintok. This species has leaves similar to that of Terminalia mollineti (previously Bucida spinosa) but the growth habit is quit different, the branches usually can go in all directions, making clusters that are difficult to penetrate. The tree does not have thorns, but the growing tips are sharp like thorns. However, I believe this species is very good for bonsai art, as it can with stand 100% root pruning and rarely show any die back of branches, it has an nice yellowish rough bark, and creamy looking hardwood. It is susceptible to temperature below 10 degrees Celsius and it prefers humid soil. Currently it measures 110cm tall and 80cm wide.

What I saw in this particular tree when collected 3 years ago and loved, was the base of the tree and the old bark, which spreads nicely and provides a nice nebari with a good tapering and how the two trunks divide. I think this will make a very nice tropical looking tree. This upright tree will require a low pot, to provide a pleasing peaceful looking tree growing in a flat field, old enough to have endure the roughness of nature, shown by the dead wood, but strong enough to have regrown to a new balance. The tree will look more natural to some, although it will need much bending and branch selection to look that way. All the braches need to be placed in position and that’s why I decided to do the first branch selection and carving in the ground and then move the tree to a pot. Then new ramification is created and controled. The chopped trunks need to be carved so it will look more natural.

Entry: Buttonwood – Conocarpus erectus – Mexico

2012-05-07T12:09:21Z

Before

Bottonwoods are one of the few broadleaf species that enjoy the acceptance of freedom of movement in the bonsai world. They like junipers tend to twist and move in strange manners quite different from trees that grow in plane fields. Bottonwoods that live in the rocks near the cost adopt this strange forms and the broken wood gets to be carved by nature and preserve by the salt water, providing a white color also much like that of junipers that live near the cost. The large leaves can be reduce in time and the trees are usually quite strong in the tropics, where they can withstand heavy pruning of the roots and branches. They tend to bud back quite easily in older wood as they commun name stands. I chose this individual due to its strange twist of the trunk coming back on it self, and also due to the ease to handle. One tree I can easily carry. I think it will make a nice semicascading tree due to the weakness of the nebari, and therefore the focal point will have to overshow the trunk line as a main feature.

Walter Pall, Belgrade, Fagus sp. Critique #3

2012-05-07T15:48:06Z