Hollow trunk_birch carved by a larva...

2009.  A year possibly two after the collection




2015.  Major part of the trunk hollowed naturally by an unknown larva.  All the carving job has been done under the cover of the bark.





2015 winter image




2017.



Height +/- 90 cm.  Despite the fact that the little birch looks quite close to my plans for the current level of its development  it doesn´t look well.  And here I am not thinking about the apparent bonsai craft flaws.  What I mean is that the tree doesn't look as the birches in the local woodlands.   I am really struggling how to convey the natural look of wild birches on a birch in a pot?  I am sure it cannot be too realistic because of the different scale, but how to strike the right balance between the reality and bonsai dreams?     

The 2018 will be a year of searching for the answers

Its getting there isnt it Vlad....just needs more ramification. Going to be a great birch, great movement in the trunk. Its got that creepy look which suits it.

BobbyLane wrote:Its got that creepy look which suits it.

Exactement Bobby. Thats why I have posted it today...

Lovely tree, I love the curves.

Very nice progression Vlad....lovely tree...

Regards,
Tom

Very nice, I love it!
Lovely 3rd photo, beautiful shadowing.

Vlad wrote:... ... What I mean is that the tree doesn't look as the birches in the local woodlands.   I am really struggling how to convey the natural look of wild birches on a birch in a pot?  I am sure it cannot be too realistic because of the different scale, but how to strike the right balance between the reality and bonsai dreams?

Dear Vladimir, let me be daring and say that in bonsai dreams in order to recreate the magic of those wild birches which speak to your soul, you should recreate their details.  
With this in mind, you can use the existing physical features of your beautiful tree as the available structural elements of your design and then create more new elements that will be used for the final synthesis.
Your vision will guide you, no doubt
But perhaps it's the intense movement in the trunk which bothers you...? Birches are such straight and high trees... Just wondering... Mind not my rant...

Thank you guys for your kind comments.

my nellie wrote:
But perhaps it's the intense movement in the trunk which bothers you...? Birches are such straight and high trees... Just wondering...

You are right Alexandra. The movement is one of my "happy troubles" with this tree.
I do like trees with some dynamics, but the second curve of the main trunk is a bit excessive, even for me and there is also a thickening on the main trunk that creates a reverse taper. So it attracts too much attention to this area.

I will cover my attempts to adjust the flaws on my blog next year. And I will share the results here in a due time

I do visit your blog, not very often though...

I wonder if the sense of loss of balance is not due to the curves, but the planting angle:  The tree seems to be off centre?  THis is the angle that the centre line from the apex to the middle of the trunk at ground level looks like:

2017-11-10_08-56-44 by BrendanR2012, on Flickr






By contrast the tree has its angle over to one side, as if tipped over:




2017-11-10_08-59-10 by BrendanR2012, on Flickr





It might help a lot just to change the planting angle very slightly?




2017-11-10_09-00-17 by BrendanR2012, on Flickr

@Brendan:   Thank you very much for your time to make your proposal.   You are right.  The planting angle really bother a number of my colleaques

8° to the right?

I think so?

Great. this is going to be fixed.  Then some other styling/cultivation flaws will be also addressed in a couple of next seasons.  

Nevertheless the main point raised by Alexandra is still there:  How to transfer the feminine beauty of birches in the pot?

Vlad wrote:Great. this is going to be fixed.  Then some other styling/cultivation flaws will be also addressed in a couple of next seasons.  

Nevertheless the main point raised by Alexandra is still there:  How to transfer the feminine beauty of birches in the pot?

Its a feminine tree, just put it in a soft oval?................i personally think you've nailed it, it looks like a birch, there really isnt much more you can do here, it doesnt look contrived like some birches where you can see the bend in the branches has been forced. it looked even more feminine in 2015 when you had some of the branches turning back at the ends. Ryan neil recently did a vid on a weeping tamarisk when he had what he called a 'stepping arc' different planes where the branch rises up and down and up down again, on the tamarisk this resulted in a more fairy tale/creepy tree. you could try that maybe if going for the more creepy look
this birch here https://www.flickr.com/photos/63957852@N06/16968254696/in/faves-138823275@N03/ some of the branches are going up down up down
i think you could try getting more movement in that fits with the flow of the trunk, instead of following the natural arc to the letter, try keeping the arcs, but getting some twists in there, note the birch above, as i say in 2015 there was more sinuous, feminine movement where some of the branches arced twice?

re the inverse, maybe next time youre out in the woods, look out for a fitting rock and plant it against the tree, ive seen a lot of birch growing out from rock

@Bobby I do like your database of images. There are great trees. Very inspirational.
"stepping arc" Interesting and very true. You can definitely find it on the trees in the nature. Thank you for your ideas.

I am planning to put together some of my thoughts on birches - sorry, only on my blog as I will use a few images from other guys. Nevertheless the progress of this birch will be updated here.

Just for now I have highlighted the most challenging points - for me - that I need to take care of.
I. The pic = cross section of the lower trunk that should indicate a callus formation there. If I leave it alone, it will just cover the existing wood - brownish arrows. I need to "raise" it as indicated by the red lines - so in the end there is a real sizeable hollow. This will make the trunk more realistic and it will also help with the taper ( But I do believe that the taper will be solved by the time as the lower parts will get thicker )
II. Position of the back branch - a shame on me letting it grow into this angle
III. A reverse taper and the angle of the trunk line there.

Ill let you get on with it Vlad, much clearer having the tree in front of you anyway

Obviously you should come to Prague, Bobby...

Krasna Birch, Vlad : )

I was reading through some of the former comments and I don't feel there is a loss of balance just because the apex is not directly above the base or nebari. The nebari by the way is excellent, how you managed to find them like this is amazing. I have a Betula waiting for me this spring but it has the ugliest base one could imagine.

Thomas Urban wrote: The nebari by the way is excellent, how you managed to find them like this is amazing. I have a Betula waiting for me this spring but it has the ugliest base one could imagine.

Thank you, Thomas.

The surface roots were improved by a threadgrafting to some extent . You can find some details either on my blog or on bonsaigreenhorns. In fact both of my birches presented here have a number of grafted roots to improve the nebari.

Sunny day in mid October...

Somewhere in the middle of the leaf fall...




Height of the rod: 110 cm

i would cut it like this... sorry about my bad english...

Thank you, Holger, for an interesting drawing. What is your rationale about the reduced size of the crown?

In my opinion, the tree is more in balance. Height fits so better to the trunk diameter. Greetings from Germany

Do you mean balance = stability or balance = better trunk diameter x height ratio?

definitly better trunk diameter x height ratio!
But it´s only my mind... greetings from Germany Holger

Different views and open discussion are engines of our development.

Thank you, Holger, for your time and effort.