re pot and change front

poor base, poor trunk, poor foliage mass, styled like pine tree.









the workshop



some wood works



some bending. after lump removal and unwanted major roots




change branching style, and little help from the "rock" to have tapered trunk illusion



the outcome. hope you like it....

looks very nice to me. what kind of tree is this?

Thanks,
ahh... i think its called yellow doggie ( forgot scientific name).. il verify.

hows your elm? its a good tree if your just starting the hobby. its a very stable tree, its one of my starting tree too.
dont think of any design for it yet, just let it grow. the tree will guide you later...of course with lot of research.

your friend from asia,
jun

my elm is doing great. we are going to hollow creek this weekend (hollowcreek.com) i really want a pine of some sort. i think one of the things that i lack is patience. it seems i want to do a hundred things at once.

..then you are on the right track, working with bonsai will teach you to have patience...a lot of patience and concentration or focus at the same time. i think that's the first requirement with this ancient art.

This looks like what I have and sold as a Chinese Privet.

Billy M. Rhodes wrote:This looks like what I have and sold as a Chinese Privet.

Privet (Ligustrum) has opposite leaves, this has alternate. In the second picture, top left side, you can see thorns too.

It's pretty Jun, what do the flowers/fruit look like?

Russell

Hi Russell,
for several season that i have it, it didnt produce flower or fruit, probably i think not yet. and yes i has lot of thorns specially on the younger branch.
its part of my first plant collection that i have forgotten in my garden. before im not much concerned with plant species name so i just left it there to grow...it has some local names here but no scientific name.
should i post it in the question forum, or is it ok here?

It looks really familiar, maybe some of the other members that live in tropical climates will recognize it. I bet Jose Luis Rodriguez would know what it is. Post the pictures on the questions forum and mention the thorns on the younger branches, and anything else important. Maybe you'll get a bite.

R

How about Chinese Sweet Plum - Sageretia theezan

thanks Russell, il post it.

Thanks Billy, im not so sure, until i get some flowers if ever.

Billy M. Rhodes wrote:How about Chinese Sweet Plum - Sageretia theezan

Sweet plums (Sageritia theezans) have exfoliating bark. This looks like an old tree, but
i don't see any exfoliating bark. The leaves look like sweet plum though.

Good morning and good evening (for our Asian friends)

Yellow Doggie (Tahid Labuyo) is a common plant used for bonsai in Indonesia and the Phillipines. Its roots have medicinal properties, and in folk medicine it is used to alleviate cough and gastrological discomfort. Sometimes the ground wood is made into a paste to alleviate fevers. Latin name: Vanieria Cochinchinensis, formerly known as Cudrania Cochinchinensis

In Indonesia the local name for this tree is Sisir. In China it is known as Gou Jí (构棘) or thorny mulberry.


Kind regards,

Jose Luis

Thanks Jose Luis.
all i know is the yellow doggie name. thanks for the verification and latin name.

regards,
jun

Jun,

Good idea to carve the base of the trunk.
I feel you don't need the rock. Rocks placed next to a trunk like that almost always look like an afterthought.
The change in direction in the trunk is fine and the rock really doesn't add anything.
Exposing or developing some roots might be a better means to improve the tree.

Also, if you were more aggressive and daring you might consider mimicking the shari further up the trunk by chopping the tree and making it shorter while adding a scar at the site of the chop. This would improve the taper and give the design rhythm. I am not familiar with this species but hopefully like most tropical trees it will grow quickly.

PS Your alcove looks like a great place to appreciate bonsai. My wife really frowns on my doing bonsai work in the living are of our house though.

thanks Rob.
il consider your wise advice seriously. this tree like i said, is one of my first... what makes thing worse, this is my wife's favorite tree...i dont why, its one of my not so pretty trees. So il be needing to pass through a lot of "redtapes" in order to chop this one down. i really do want to shorten this tree for almost a year now, but my boss wife wont allow me... i guess i need a separate advice on this issue.