FIRST POST: Larch winter images

Hi All,
My name is Robert Nocher, I am a new member, I live in the south of Scotland and this is my first post. I have kept a few bonsai trees in my garden for about 12 years now but I only became passionate about the hobby 2 years ago when I retired from my day job. Since that time the number of trees in my collection has grown considerably and continues to do so, although most are in the very early stages of development. I have never entered any of my trees in a show but I would like to do this in the coming year. I would like to show the following two larches and would appreciate some advice as I have no experience of this.

The first one has been in my care for at least ten years. It is 19 inches high ( 48 cm.) from the rim of the pot. I am looking for a slightly smaller pot for this tree at the moment


I have owned this tree for about 2 years now. I acquired it from Peter Snart of Willowbog Bonsai. It is 28 inches high (71 cm.)



I would welome any constructive comments

Robert Nocher

Hello and welcome to the forum, Robert. Glad to see another member from the chosen people!

There are currently no real exhibitions in Scotland unless you are part of the Scottish Bonsai Association in which case you could put either or both of the larches in to the big bonsai competition that is part of Gardening Scotland at Ingliston. A better option would be the bonsai section of the Ayr Flower Show which is organised by Peter Thorne who is a member on here. (drop him a PM to check this is still on this year though). Both of these are flower shows and the bonsai element is run under RHS rules which differs significantly from the bonsai exhibitions such as Best of British Bonsai, Joy of Bonsai etc.

They have potential but would need a bit more refinement in terms of ramification IMHO. Do you go to the Willowbog Chat sessions at all? If so, I may see you there in February.

Regards

Fiona

ps I have sent you a PM

Hi Fiona,
Thanks for the feedback. I joined the SBA towards the end of last year but as there is no local groups in my area I haven,t attended many meetings yet. I try to get down to Willowbog as often as I can, in fact I am sure I was introduced to you at an event there last year.
Thanks again
Robert Nocher

Beautifull trees! Just a sugestion...you shoudn't take photoes of your trees with flash, because the shades of your branches make the picture loose....
Friendly Manos

robert nocher wrote:Hi Fiona,
Thanks for the feedback. I joined the SBA towards the end of last year but as there is no local groups in my area I haven,t attended many meetings yet. I try to get down to Willowbog as often as I can, in fact I am sure I was introduced to you at an event there last year.
Thanks again
Robert Nocher

Hi Robert, good to see you here. Hope to catch up at the BSA Show, if you are attending.

Fiona, so you can put a face to the name, I met you and Robert on the same day.


DSC_0464 by Bonsai eejit, on Flickr

Ah right! He was the good-looking one I met that day then.


Robert, you need to come to the BSA (British Shohin Association) show on the weekend of March 10th and 11th - especially if that wee beauty you're worknig on in the pic is yours.

Both are nice trees, but as Fiona says they do need some work on branching (ramification). If you take the trees to a meeting, I'm sure you will get a lot of advice.

Both do need new -- and nicer -- pots. Pots are the bane of most bonsiests existence. When we have a good tree, we want a good pot -- but then, when we price a "good" pot . . . You gotta bite the bullet, though.

And you'll be spoiled for choice pot-wise at the BSA show.

fiona wrote:Ah right! He was the good-looking one I met that day then.

By quite some way Fiona

Hi Manos,
Thanks for your kind words, I see what you mean about the shadows from the branches, unfortunately the daylight in Scotland is very poor at the moment so its difficult to get a good picture without the flash

Hi Jim,
Many thanks for your comments. The first of the 2 trees has undergone some major surgery in the past year. I removed the three largest branches from the bottom of the trunk to try and improve the profile so those that remain still have a bit of growing to do to achieve the image I am looking for. The second tree has much better ramification than the photograph would indicate. I will post some more pictures tomorrow from a different angle

Hi Ian and Fiona,
I will definitely be attending the BSA show in March as part of my ongoing quest to get all of my recently acquired shohin material out of their training pots and into something better. Look forward to seeing you both again

Robert Nocher

Hi and welcome Robert.
If your future vision for the first one is a mature or ancient looking tree then I think it has too many branches (all the way up, not only on the bottom 1/3). With the second tree there is something distracting (to my eyes) around the lower bole/two branches. The trunk moves left then straight up....I wonder if removing one or both of the lower branches might help (that might meet the basic rule of the first branch being one third the height of the tree).
It will be interesting watching them develop over time.
Cheers Graham

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Hi Robert welcome aboard, and great wee trees to show to... I hope to make it up to the BSA show again this year so will see you there!

Hi gman and abcd,
Many thanks for your ideas, I think your proposed alterations go a bit further than I would like to at the moment but I will keep them in mind for the future

Robert Nocher

Hi Tony,
Thanks for the encouraging words, I look forward to meeting you at the BSA show. By the way, I watched your latest adventure on the mountain with the big hawthorn on You Tube.......... fantastic stuff!

regards
Robert Nocher

Robert,
Your Larchs are nice and hold some promise. I couple of small things to consider. Both trees share a lack of negative space. Negative space can create interest and can direct the eye to area's of the trunk that you find appealing. Negative space well placed can also help create rythme. The second tree seems to have some bar type branchs or branchs on inside and outside of curves which are close. You might consider removing or jinning a few. I think the first tree has an excellent nebari which many larch don't but it appears to be planted high in the pot. It might look more stable and mature if you settled it a bit deeper. I also noticed you have a lot of wire but don't seem to be getting that much fine movement in your branches. I think it is difficult to do with aluminum wire on conifers.
It is great you were able to work with Peter Warren, he has a great understanding of the nuance of Bonsai. His teacher's Bonsai are great examples and some of the best in the world to study. Good luck and enjoy your journey!
Best Regards,
Mark

Hi Mark,
Thanks for your observations and comments. I agree entirely that the first tree needs to be planted lower in the pot and I intend to do this in the Spring, when I find the right pot.

Negative space, thats one of those big concepts in bonsai styling,that I must confess I understand poorly at present , but I can assure you that I will probably ponder it obsesssively from now on.

Peter Warren is an excellent teacher. On the day I spent at his workshop at Willowbog, I learned so many new things about bonsai styling in general and junipers particular that I would not have gleaned from books alone.

I have had several comments on the branch structure and ramification of the trees I posted so here are a couple more pictures, taken in haste today, which hopefully show more of the branch structure than the original photographs. Apologies for the poor picture quality

Regards

Robert Nocher

Fantastic taper on that first larch. May I ask how did you achieve this?

Hi Fore,
In the ten years that I have had this tree, it has always had a good taper. I suspect that this tree was collected as a sapling and has been growing slowly in a pot for about 20 - 30 years. For most of the time that I have had it, it had 3 larger branches on the lower part of the trunk, these were removed last summer I am sure that they have contributed to the thickening of the lower trunk and the nebari. I have attached the earliest picture I have of the tree taken just after I acquired it for comparison

Regards

Robert Nocher

Robert, Thanks for the explanation. This was a great find on your part, you just don't see that much taper on most larches.
I love it!

Chris