Pine progression 2005-2009

Heya!

Here's a Pine I posted on the old IBC (actually one of my first posts I made there as a noob). It's a Pinus sylvestris that I collected 5 months after that precious x-mas eve when my sister bought me my first mallsai.

2005



crazy virt



2006




2007



another virt


Horrible attempt at some kind of styling


2008



2009



Thanks for looking!

Best regards
Emil

Does anyone know how to tell if a portion of bark has died, or does one simply have to wait for it to come off by itself?

You can use the tip of a sharp knife to just nick the surface between bark platelets, in an area that won't spoil the look of the trunk. Aim to take out a small narrow sliver. The wound will bleed a small amount of resin if alive.

Thanks Kev!

Does you or anyone else have any thoughts on the future of the tree stylewise?

Regards
Emil

Emil, I was wondering, in the last photo it seems that you have made a closed loop with the branch. Is this the way I see it? If it is, I was wondering why the closed loop? In your virt with the Crown above the trunk in a sort of semi cascade I can see the route of the branch and it does not seem to form the loop. Will the tree rotate to allow a look more like the drawing?

Maybe just me but I do not like the look of loops, they look too much like man.

Regards, Al

Emil, it looks like you were on the right track on the picture wich you have named "a horrible attemt at some kind of styling". What happened? Did the lower branch die back? I think it was a fairly decent material from the beginning, now there's much less to work with and the "loop" looks awkward.
Henke

Henrik Stubelius wrote:Emil, it looks like you were on the right track on the picture wich you have named "a horrible attemt at some kind of styling". What happened? Did the lower branch die back? I think it was a fairly decent material from the beginning, now there's much less to work with and the "loop" looks awkward.
Henke

Hi Henrik!

I cut the lower branch on purpose, simply because it was straight and somewhat leggy. It would have been next to impossible to make a compact tree with it in place. I consider what you describe as "less to work with" a quality in this case

al keppler wrote:Emil, I was wondering, in the last photo it seems that you have made a closed loop with the branch. Is this the way I see it? If it is, I was wondering why the closed loop? In your virt with the Crown above the trunk in a sort of semi cascade I can see the route of the branch and it does not seem to form the loop. Will the tree rotate to allow a look more like the drawing?

Maybe just me but I do not like the look of loops, they look too much like man.

Regards, Al

Yes Al, it's a closed loop. The reason it ended up forming a loop is because in the virt the tree is leaning away from the viewer. The new front (and loop) makes a much more compact tree. Another reason is that the present styling gives the viewer a much better view of the shari. I don't like loops either as a general rule, not so much because some think they look man made, but because they're hard to incorporate into a design without them becoming the focal point. I was hoping that when the right branch develops it will take away some of the obvious "loop-ness". I'd agree with that area being too much of a focal point atm.

Thanks to both of you for your comments!

Best regards
Emil

Emil Brannstrom wrote:Yes Al, it's a closed loop. The reason it ended up forming a loop is because in the virt the tree is leaning away from the viewer. The new front (and loop) makes a much more compact tree. Another reason is that the present styling gives the viewer a much better view of the shari. I don't like loops either as a general rule, not so much because some think they look man made, but because they're hard to incorporate into a design without them becoming the focal point. I was hoping that when the right branch develops it will take away some of the obvious "loop-ness". I'd agree with that area being too much of a focal point atm.

Would an approach graft have any chance of success with Pinus? That might allow you to eventually cut off the loop, maybe keep some of it as a jin.

I think its time to go collect something a little better. Unless you an make a shohin of this with some grafting, it doesn't have much future. Maybe if you applied some artistic rules, like using the golden mean, it would improve.

Rob Kempinski wrote:Unless you an make a shohin of this with some grafting, it doesn't have much future.

It is a shohin, measuring 24cm from the soil line to it's highest point.

Best regards
Emil

Just for fun I decided to do a "golden mean-test". I don't know if I think it's better or worse.

This looks like Pius Notters P tree. I see en E Emil!