Andre's Pierneef Style Acacia galpinii

Growing Acacia species (now Senegalia) in the Pierneef style can become quite a challenge.  But succeeding it can be one of the most beautiful Bonsai styles to me..
Through the last decade I came up with my won rules in growing the Pierneef perfectly, Like Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef painted this Acacia at the turn of the last Century..



This White Monkey Thorn was planted next to my neighbors Paddock where the horses grazed.  This was 1999, the tree was 2- 3 years old then.

Anyway the horses kept leaning over and chomped of the new growth,  this let to and irritable neighbor and a happy me..  I cut a trench around the roots 50cm deep and left it for a year after throwing back the soil. Then it was lifted, and put into this pot, I had to build the pot up , for the toots where still deep.  This was 2004

The tree in Summer 2005, this is basically what the horses did so far..



Autumn 2006



2010



2012  Bending down the branches with wire....




View slightly from the side to see the 'Overhang'  My theory in growing the Pierneef the best way, explain in the next photo..



Here you can see the balance of the tree to get optinum canopy size and perspective:
The Green line shows the Back bone, and this is short, with the smallest spread.  This is done in order keep the tree in the middle of the table, and also helps with the perspective, same way as in planting a forest with the bigger trees in front and the smaller ones in the back.

The two Blue lines are the side spreading branches.  Slightly longer than the Back bone but less so than the front..
Which is the Red line, and this stretches as far as possible.  Because we are working with basically a flat plane, it is very difficult to see canopy three dimensionally,  By extending the front branch as far as possible, 'Depth of field' is obtained and canopy looks vast.

 Its also better to View the Pierneef style either slightly form the top or from the bottom to see the ramifications and spread of the canopy.




Planning to remove the bottom right branch on the front trunk.  Big step for me...  This will make the canopy higher..



First I undercut the branch, in order for it not to tear off, and leave a long scar.



Cutting the branch...





After applying Tree Seal, I peeled of bark from other areas and 'pasted' them onto the wound as to conceal it whilst it heals..



And voila !  Wound gone Ja  






Looking up into the branches...



Another thing about the Pierneef Style, One has to see the Continent of African in its branches....




2015



White Monkey thorn in the Evening light, with the Black Monkey thorn (Acacia burkei) Pierneef.



Look how deep the canopy looks..



And the Morning Light....  I know the Elephants are blerry everywhere..


Love and Light

A very bold cut, Andre. Other than wiring branches down, does monkeythorn take to wiring individual branches or is clip and grow preferred?

i'm going to go to the banzai store and buy me a horse pruner !!!

really a crackerjack tree andre !!!

i would like to know if you have used that wound concealing trick before and if so, how does it proceed ?

Or...the blerrie elephants are everywhere

A great tree and post.

Or...the blerrie elephants are everywhere

A great tree and post.

Thanks Andre for one of the few step by step process to reaching this still unusual style. Will look forward to additional pictures/information. Thanks

Great journal on this trees' transformation; love the elephants!, Love the tree!

Love Pierneef, love your trees, great work!

Love Pierneef, love your trees, great work!

Man that is one BEAUUUUTIFUL tree. I'm absolutely green with envy. You are the man Andre !!!
I'm absolutely obsessed with Acacias and the flat top style. I have a few trees that I train that way..... even a 3inch by 3ft Spekboom  
Thanks for posting this. You made my day.

Is it just a myth or is the Pierneef style acheived in nature as this is the natural height that a giraffe can reach when eating acacia leaves. Anything that is below their max height is removed, leaving a flat bottomed canopy. Makes sense, but may be a bit of a romantic notion?

No Brendan there is flat tops in gardens and parks etc. that has never seen a giraffe. There are a few different species of trees in Africa that grows flat or umbrella tops.....
I always wonder whether the trees have evolved that way over time. It certainly has the effect because of browsing, and that makes the trees in the wild more defined, but if that was the only reason, there would've been flat tops everywhere. It will be interesting to know the theory/reason behind why some trees grow in a flat top/umbrella shape. I suspect that fire, browsing and seeking light all contribute to it. I have a feeling Andre will shed more light on the mystery.....

Thank you All for the nice comments and your time!

Kevin I never use this technique before...time will tell..

David, Monkey thorns take very well to wiring, if you don't mind the bleeding in the end....it is difficult to wire thorny branches  But I will have to face it this winter with his tree.

Kevin Milly Doug Todd Brendan, Freddie !

The reason for the Savanna Flat crown trees is because of three reasons, and you actually nailed all three Freddie!

Firstly the sun....  Because the savanna has only about 20% trees in spaces, there is no competition...trees don't need to grow tall for competition of light, instead they spread to get maximum sunlight.

Secondly Herbivory:  Yes its true that Giraffes and other animals shape the Acacia's Africa this way, but they can only reach a certain height, and most trees are even higher..

The third reason is of course the most 'shapely' phenomenon.... is  Fire!   Being savanna and grasses, it burn often, trees 'learned' to grow tall very quickly in order to spread above the fire line which is about 3-4m above the ground.  This means that the branches doesn't get damaged by fire and foliage can then regrow quickly after fires.

Love and Light

Hi Andre

I like what you do with the tree, it is becomming better and better
The style of the tree, and the 2 elefants is awesome together.

kind regards Yvonne

Andre Beaurain wrote: Kevin I never use this technique before...time will tell..

good enough - looking forward to seeing if that just sheds the camoflage as it heals or.... ?

Andre Beaurain wrote:David, Monkey thorns take very well to wiring, if you don't mind the bleeding in the end....it is difficult to wire thorny branches  But I will have to face it this winter with his tree.

it isnt "art" unless somebody ends up bleeding.

Andre Beaurain wrote:
The reason for the Savanna Flat crown trees is because of three reasons, and you actually nailed all three Freddie!

Firstly the sun....  Because the savanna has only about 20% trees in spaces, there is no competition...trees don't need to grow tall for competition of light, instead they spread to get maximum sunlight.

Secondly Herbivory:  Yes its true that Giraffes and other animals shape the Acacia's Africa this way, but they can only reach a certain height, and most trees are even higher..

The third reason is of course the most 'shapely' phenomenon.... is  Fire!   Being savanna and grasses, it burn often, trees 'learned' to grow tall very quickly in order to spread above the fire line which is about 3-4m above the ground.  This means that the branches doesn't get damaged by fire and foliage can then regrow quickly after fires.

nature and the way things are the way they are is absolutely fascinating and this explanation is no exception.

thanks andre !

Bothh your black and this white monkey thorn trees are great. Very well done. Thanks for sharing.

I love it Darling! You did well to chop that branch. You are a perfectionist.

O Leo thank you!....

but only one line, sis man, I always appreciate your well complimented and elaborate comments,   I now you give me one line....mmmmm  


Mamma Africa...glad you had time to view, you are so busy these days.......  hopping all over the world doing bonsai thingies

Love and Light

Andre Beaurain wrote:O Leo thank you!....

but only one line, sis man, I always appreciate your well complimented and elaborate comments,   I now you give me one line....mmmmm  

he must not be feeling very well

It is a very nice acacia.  You have done a nice job of pruning.  I have a few comments and suggestions you might consider for the future development of your  tree.

1]  The tree definitely should be wired to spread out the canopy.  Rather than have one large canopy you might consider the possibility of a number of intersecting canopies at slightly different levels.
 When wiring bear in mind that  in the case of a Pierneef styled tree ideally  each intersection  of branches should form a V.  On younger branches this can be accomplished by proper pruning.  On older growth the branches must be wired - never a pleasant task. However, it is worth the effort. It is this branch structure embedded in the canopy as well as in major branches which makes  for a truly spectacular tree.

2] When you next re-pot I would suggest that you make sure the trunk does not lean in either direction.  Also you might try to raise  the tree up.  Acacias  do not have good surface rootage.  The roots thicken up underground.   However, sometimes one gets lucky and one can expose some of these roots.

3] Lastly it would interesting to see different orientations of the tree. Sometimes even  a sllight  rotation of the tree in the pot may make a difference.

Regards
Hank

Lovely tree Andre. A bold step with a tremendous result. I like the camouflage by the way.

Cheers
Brent

Andre Beaurain wrote:... ...But succeeding it can be one of the most beautiful Bonsai styles to me..
... ...

Me, too. I love Pierneef style and I have a dream of buying an Acacia (unfortunately only nursery stock available for me...) and training it.
I do like this stone wall! Perfect built! Very clever mind!

HI Hank and thank you so much for your reply, I answer in green....

Hank Miller wrote:It is a very nice acacia.  You have done a nice job of pruning.  I have a few comments and suggestions you might consider for the future development of your  tree.

1]  The tree definitely should be wired to spread out the canopy.  Rather than have one large canopy you might consider the possibility of a number of intersecting canopies at slightly different levels.
 When wiring bear in mind that  in the case of a Pierneef styled tree ideally  each intersection  of branches should form a V.  On younger branches this can be accomplished by proper pruning.  On older growth the branches must be wired - never a pleasant task. However, it is worth the effort. It is this branch structure embedded in the canopy as well as in major branches which makes  for a truly spectacular tree

Yes this is the future evolution of this tree, as the pads at the end of the trunks get bigger I will lower and start to seperate them to form the 'valleys' in the flat canopy.  Exactly as you have in mind

2] When you next re-pot I would suggest that you make sure the trunk does not lean in either direction.  Also you might try to raise  the tree up.  Acacias  do not have good surface rootage.  The roots thicken up underground.   However, sometimes one gets lucky and one can expose some of these roots.

I will try it, but I personally do like the tree leaning to the front, its shows the 'weight' of the front branch.  I think it will look good either way.  And will definately try yours in the next 5 years.  
As far as roots go, another personal thing, Acacias doesnt look right to me with exposed roots,  but again I will do so in the future just for a change...

3] Lastly it would interesting to see different orientations of the tree. Sometimes even  a sllight  rotation of the tree in the pot may make a difference.

Also stunning idea,   but here you will tamper with my perspective of the tree, as the two back trunks are much smaller, giving the impression of depth and distance.  I will try though but I think this front of this tree will stay as such.....But my Pierneef black monkey thorn.......that I and will twirl around so often it will think its a carousel ... hihiihi hihih

Regards
Hank

Love and Light

-Brent- wrote:Lovely tree Andre. A bold step with a tremendous result. I like the camouflage by the way.

Cheers
Brent

Thanks Brent, at least somebody thinks my camouflage is genius.....or am I pushing it.....hi hi


Thanks Nellie, you flatter me, I moved the stone wall to my forest .........aaaaa the day when I will be perfect..... ya right!

Thanks again guys

Love and light

Senegalia galpinii,  This stood in the foyer, they couldn't fit it through the doors!





It's now more than a year and the covered up wound is still in tact.

Love and Light