HAVING SOME WINTER FUN WHILE PREPARING MY LARCH (XL) FOR A SHOW.

Without long dead wood, a subject of much discussion I think ?
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abcd wrote:Without long dead wood, a subject of much discussion I think ?

Hi abcd,
no not realy, you are the first one ever! No just kidding, there was some debate in the beginning when years ago I showed the first styling pictures on the forum. But now it has come all together better and all who have seen this tree in real live in my garden over this last years do like it! If you look at the picture below (that I just made especially for you ) that section were the new top live section meets that large jin and shari, that section is all naturally created by mother nature and it shows perfectly, in miniature, what happens for real in nature when the top off a mountain tree like Pine, larch or spruce dies back after being hit by lightning or a avalanche. The tree wants to survive so from around that point many new branches will apear from which one branch will become the new top section. Just like you can see on hundreds of trees high up in the mountains. But that is not the only reason why I made that jin such a important part off this whole image, in my opinion it ads interest to the whole story of this tree and it makes it (in my view) more exciting to look at! I would not think about it to remove it or even shorten it! But I do understand that this is a matter off taste! But I also know that it all looks and feels much better in real live!



Hope this answers your question?

Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

Thanks Hans…… for not only answering my question but also for taking the time to answer all of them.
It’s enjoyable seeing posts of pots, trees, progressions... etc but the education that you've provided helps all to appreciate the aspects that you are trying to emulate and the vision you try to portray.
Cheers
Graham

Optimal Hans job, name XL is just right for this plant.

Regards , Daniele

OK, thank you for the détail and your comment , the head of the the tree is dead, an "apex of substitution" grow .

hi Hans,

lovely larch - a perfect combination of wild weathered mountain life and bonsai life - looking forward to seeing it at the show

in time..........i think a pot that would allow the trunk to be set slightly right of center would balance the total view. At the moment the tree trunk sits perfect center and the rest of the upper tree is off to the left - but this is a small detail and takes time of course due to the roots of a wild tree not always being right where we want them.

see you at the show

Marcus

I LOVE this larch. Such an impressive trunk, and fantastic movement to it. Is there a thread to see its history? I couldn't find it.

Thanks, Mike

MikeG wrote:I LOVE this larch. Such an impressive trunk, and fantastic movement to it. Is there a thread to see its history? I couldn't find it.

Thanks, Mike

Thanks Mike!
Below: The story's of my Larch (XL) Part I to IV and some moving images, enjoy!

PART I
PART II
PART III
PART IV







Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

impressive trunk base, nice bark, wish the top part would allready have had a more mature look too it (thicker to match the powerful old look of the trunk below, and more bark) but you certainly did a good job with what the tree allready has to offer now. So this is not really a critique is it ;-). Time will prove to be a friend of this tree i am sure.

The hat ...'bonzaï records' , yeah that does ring a bell too , that was a famous belgian label where allmost all oldskool house music was born into the world. Remember "Jones&Stephenson's first rebirth" or are you too 'old' to remember that . Maybe you only wear the hat because it says bonZai . Anyway, fait divers, some nice nostalgics

Thanks so much for the links Hans. I'm even more impressed after seeing its beginnings. Great progression series.

yves71277 wrote:impressive trunk base, nice bark, wish the top part would already have had a more mature look too it (thicker to match the powerful old look of the trunk below, and more bark) but you certainly did a good job with what the tree already has to offer now. So this is not really a critique is it ;-). Time will prove to be a friend of this tree i am sure.

Hi Yves,
yes that top section looks still young, but it luckily fits the story off this tree were the top has died and new branches have formed from witch one has become the new apex, that a other reason why I am so keen to leave that dead top (jin) in this design! What bothers me more is the lack off taper in this new top and how that now, with out foliage is noticeable in pictures. In real live that new top is much more hidden behind the front branches! And yes this tree can only get better over time, unlike us!

yves71277 wrote:
The hat ...'bonzaï records' , yeah that does ring a bell too , that was a famous belgian label where allmost all oldskool house music was born into the world. Remember "Jones&Stephenson's first rebirth" or are you too 'old' to remember that . Maybe you only wear the hat because it says bonZai . Anyway, fait divers, some nice nostalgics

Do I know Bonzai Records? You bet!!! Besides being a DJ for many years (retired 3 years ago), we also use to run for more than 13 years "Second Sound" a Vinyl, CD and DVD store in Rotterdam Holland (sadly closed 3 years ago)! This hat was given to me by one off their more famous DJ's many years ago, but dont ask me his name now, most off the memories off my DJ time were made in a blur and I am still not much better these day's! Do you know how many times Bonsai people pointed out to me that Bonsai is written different?!

Below: Some pictures from our old store!





Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

MikeG wrote:Thanks so much for the links Hans. I'm even more impressed after seeing its beginnings. Great progression series.

Your more than welcome!
Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

marcus watts wrote:hi Hans,

lovely larch - a perfect combination of wild weathered mountain life and bonsai life - looking forward to seeing it at the show

in time..........i think a pot that would allow the trunk to be set slightly right of center would balance the total view. At the moment the tree trunk sits perfect center and the rest of the upper tree is off to the left - but this is a small detail and takes time of course due to the roots of a wild tree not always being right where we want them.

see you at the show

Marcus

Hi Marcus, I am glad you like it! And good to know that you are in with one off your own trees! Exciting isn't it?! Looking forward to meet you and your tree!
Yes the placement in the pot could be better, but was not possible just yet. But when the tree fills out a bit more in the future it will be less noticeable and honestly it looks better in real live! My open way off branch styling makes this tree look very light, open and flat in pictures, but that is something I have to live with. I prefer that it looks better in real live than how it looks in pictures! But we can discuss our and the other trees when we meet in a few weeks time!!
CU there!
Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

[quote="Hans van Meer."]

yves71277 wrote:Do I know Bonzai Records? You bet!!! Besides being a DJ for many years (retired 3 years ago), we also use to run for more than 13 years "Second Sound" a Vinyl, CD and DVD store in Rotterdam Holland (sadly closed 3 years ago)! This hat was given to me by one off their more famous DJ's many years ago, but dont ask me his name now, most off the memories off my DJ time were made in a blur and I am still not much better these day's! Do you know how many times Bonsai people pointed out to me that Bonsai is written different?!

Below: Some pictures from our old store!

hehe ;-)
you dont happen to know the vinyl/music store in Ghent, belgium 'music man'...now that was a name in gent and belgium, and had the best of the best of the vinyls on the shelf, for DJ's, lots of rare 'house' music gems on vinyl there. Sadly i discovered it too late when i was a student, and now the few old cd's i have left, are buried somewhere, some must be worth quite a bit. I just smile when i hear youngster talk about the cool retro house... haha and then its only about the retro stuff everyone knows, but we know the real retro stuff from back in those days. If you ever want a short list with top of the bill retro's from the early days, send me a pm.

BonZaï ??? you got it all wrong, its bonSai tongue-in-cheek

Hi Hans
You quoted “Without long dead wood, a subject of much discussion I think?”
Not too many direct comments on that but for me….
Having seen the progression of the tree helps one understand your idea of loosing the upper long deadwood.
To me that is also a reflection of the natural progression of an ancient tree in nature; against the environmental sometimes severe elements, time (decades) and fungal decay…. the form of a tree changes over time (as too does the image)….thus I like to see my own trees develop among those same lines.....and if I had lots of time left.... I could see some of my trees go from immature, to mature to ancient

“I prefer that it looks better in real life than how it looks in pictures!” …..
I couldn’t agree with you more…there is sometimes an allusion created by a photo that distracts from the actual 3D movement in real life……..although I do find that looking at them in 2D does help one tweak the overall image .

Cheers Graham

Hey Hans,
Good luck with the show.
XL is absolutely stunning ;-)

LELE wrote:Hey Hans,
Good luck with the show.
XL is absolutely stunning ;-)

Thanks Lele! I am glad you like it!
Have a nise Christmas!
Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

Hans I want your hat. Where did you get it made?................ Awsome tree by the way hahahahahahaha

Mikey P wrote:Hans I want your hat. Where did you get it made?................ Awsome tree by the way hahahahahahaha

Mikey, how's life my friend?! That hat is not made my man, it's a original from the mid 90ties!!!
I told you I know my tunes, I plaid and later sold their latest and old vinyl in my store! Dance, like Bonsai, brings and binds people together! This track is one off their softer cuts, but that '97 "Love Parade" made some everlasting memories for me...hubba hubba!!! Wide eyed wanderers, dancing "Lovestruck" trough the night...those were the day's! Like some one wrote about those day's: WOODSTOCK! Forget Woodstock, that was a one time event! We had a Woodstock every weekend!!!



I am glad you like how (XL) looks now! And you were right a year ago...it looks even better now! Will you be at Noelanders?! If so, shall I.....you know what, so that we can humhumm humm?!!

Stay safe my friend and CU soon!
Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

Hannnns. I am pleased the XL is looking much better now. It will be a delight to see it in all it glory. It truly was an inspiration to see this tree in reality and also visit your garden my friend. And yes the hum hummm hummm. i will match you on that one my friend as i have a gift for you.
By the way is there any chance i could get a photo of that pine of your i realy loved. The one we disscussed for almost an hour haha. Thank you

Hi everybody,
it was wonderful weather today so I decided to take a long walk along the sea dike that protects our coastline close to my home. Walking on this highly elevated dike gives you a wonderful view on the sea and the many different birds that seek protection and shelter on it. It is also a great place to find many varieties off mosses that grow on the black boulders that were used to build the inclining dike. These mosses grow directly on those rocks, with out any soil, so they are very thin, ideally for the use as ground coverrich on my Bonsai! Collecting the moss was not as easy as it sounds, because off the steep inclination and the slippery surface of those rocks, but I managed to get enough to replace the weathered mosses and to ad some mosses with yellow and orange colored long seed pots for more detail!

Below: The different mosses ready to put on, the top ones with the seed pots are the ones that I will use to bring more detail in the surface and dept to the whole image.



Below: The soil surface before I started. All off this moss was planted 2 years ago so that by now it is realy attached and grown over and in between the open soil structure and looks realy natural and not as if it is placed just before the show.



Below: After the new mosses were added. The green arrow shows what I meant by adding dept to the image and variety in the structure and color of the soil surface.



I did not use much off those silvery ball like pieces of moss, they are to symmetrical and round shaped and there for looked out off place and unnatural. And their color was to light as well. I think that now the soil surface looks old and natural so I am happy with it!

Below: This is how the deadwood looks now after cleaning and carfully bleaching it in several layers of different strength Lime sulfur.



Just two more weeks until Noelanders, I cant wait to show XL there and to meet all my friend from around Europe again!

Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

Very nice tree !!!
Good Luck at Noelanders.

You can also add china ink in lime sulfur to have a dead wood with natural color

abcd wrote:You can also add china ink in lime sulfur to have a dead wood with natural color

Are you sure you wanted to post this in this thread?