Bonllwyn auction Larch.

This is a larch i bought at the auction the Dragon bonsai society held. It is the first Larch i have worked on and i must say i enjoyed it. I was going to take it back down to their workshop to get some ideas but i haven't found the time yet so this is what i came up with.

Good first styling Smithy. Hope you dont mind but there's a couple of points on the tree that could be changed. I like the spiral carving but does it fit in with the rest of the tree? I would either remove the jin completely or add a spiral shari to the trunk maybe? The second branch up, is there one branch or two? I would suggest placing heavier wire there and bend down at the back so it is hidden behind the trunk and then out to the right to give the illusion that they dont start at the same place.

Hi Will,
No i don't mind the feedback . Yes you are right about the spiral and i did think this when doing . The rest of the tree is angular and not curvy. I had never created a jin like that at the top and got a bit excited.
Here is a photo of the back so you can see it is one branch splitting into two.
I was n't sure what to do with the branches going upwards off that second branch. I didn't know whether to cut them off completely.

Having seen the back, I think you could get away with bending the back branch upwards,steeply, rather than downwards[ stiill hiding behind the trunk] and then out and down, like the rest of the branches.This way filling in the canopy a bit more. Hope Im making sense!

Yes you are making sense , I can see what your saying so that on the left side then there is negative space up until the first branch on the left by the jin.
The branch after the moving up and back would end up upside down rather than trying to twist it round,if that makes sense.
I didn't move that originally much so if i go ahead should i let it rest for a while or will it take it more work now.

Larch are quite elastic and forgiving.Even heavily wire scarred branches will heal in no time. If your worried, take the wire off and raffia [ for piece of mind] and re wire again. Ill have to practice on photoshop to really get my opinion across.

I'm going to have a go at that branch soon and i will show you how i got on .We have all come down with flu here suddenly so everything has come to a halt.
Thanks for giving the time for the advice.

Look forward to seeing the results Smithy. Hope you feel better soon.

I did a little moving today and here is what i have done for starters . This photo shows a slightly different fronnt to before ,what do you think. If i keep it like this having now looked at the photo maybe i should reposition the bottom branch to show the trunk again.

This is it from the back

I just been out to the workshop and took another photo with the old front.
Its so hard to not keep tweaking it. The lights a bit bad but i don't have best light out there.

Smithy, a definite improvement with your new choice of front. Well done for hiding the bar branch.

Hi Smithy,
to see your larch has got off to a good start.
Just a few thoughts,
If you have a dead wood apex, I feel you should also have a balanced continuation of shari through the trunk.
Also a small niggle., the main right-hand branch, in you last pic, shows a little branch on the top trained/pulled down. To me it looks wrong and forced. Once allowed the larch will develop more buds / twigs, then I feel this stray branch will not be needed.

Finally, looking at your pictures, a few of the wired branched are a little too long for your overall silhouette . They appear to be a little too loopy and need cutting back and let grow new sub branches.


We at Dragon / Bonllwyn would love to see you and your trees at one of our Wednesday or Sunday workshops soon.
We have all had the bug, thanks John , so once you are well and have the time don't be a stranger.

Good dead wood work.

Hi Jeremy ,
Thanks for the comments, that branch has given me a few problems trying to get it right. I am going to leave it alone for now and bring it down to see you guys to get a bit of refinement.
I have a few things i need some hands on help so once i am well and have some time i will be down to see you.

Thanks for comment Nik.

will baddeley wrote:Smithy, a definite improvement with your new choice of front. Well done for hiding the bar branch.

Thanks for the help Will.

I repotted this one and made a few adjustments. I'm not sure if it looks better or not.
I would like to make a shari down the front to bring some interest to the front of the trunk . can some one help with suggestions as to how big and what shape.

Hi smithy,
Very nice start and I look forward to seeing it in green………very nice indeed!

Ok I know that this is a really late post but I just like going through and seeing what people have posted in the past. If you have not already done the shari on this tree I had this idea. Hope you like it (I just noticed that I did the twist the wrong way ooops )

I forgot this thread was here. I went and took a pic of the tree now. i'm not very happy with it now and would probably have done things differently now as i'm a few years wiser now .

The plan with the sari was to take make bigger every few years to get a natural flow of dead wood.

I'm going to take this tree with me to Burrs to get some input from others.

Ok well then this is my new idea . I like the first one, the second is suppose to be the branch structure you have now just more compact and the apex moved to the left. (sorry I messed the second one up) I also just wish I had ideas like this for my trees oh well

Smithy wrote:

I think you need a new leader. Maybe modify the first top branch after the jin and wire it up? The rest of that branch need to be bent down at the new leaders location as well. JMHO

Smithy wrote:I forgot this thread was here. I went and took a pic of the tree now. i'm not very happy with it now and would probably have done things differently now as i'm a few years wiser now .

The plan with the sari was to take make bigger every few years to get a natural flow of dead wood.

I'm going to take this tree with me to Burrs to get some input from others.

love this tree already, maybe move the apex back the left whilst the guide wires hold that branch down.

Thanks Jake for the virts. I had looked at planting it more upright and making the thing taller.

Dario. That is the solution that i think is the most obvious to do and would work well. I'm hoping to get this in front of Pavel at Burrs .

Thanks Crafty, I've messed about with the top so much this way and that . I just don't think the whole thing gells together.
I had even considered taking everything off except the top part or keeping the bottom right branch with it. I'm sure there is a really good and different tree in there.