Candelabra Larch #2

Thomas Urban Mon Feb 05, 2018 10:59 am

Here's another strange tree I dug out a couple of years ago. The whole time I was lacking any ideas as to what this could be and finally last weekend I decided to jump in.

This also needs a re-pot this spring as the current container is packed.

I used some 1100m Alpine larches as inspiration for this one. I am happy with how it turned out and I enjoyed the opportunity of not giving a s*it about any rules. The jins were there when I found the tree and I will use a dremel to make them look a little older, although the sun and freezing have done a decent job so far with the cracks.

Have a good one!

Thomas Urban Thu Mar 15, 2018 5:36 pm

First re-pot of the year. This tree is the last to change into fall color and the first to bud out two years in a row now.

I hope you're all excited for the spring as I am.

MrFancyPlants Thu Mar 15, 2018 9:15 pm

I like it. I was looking at the before pictures thinking.. I'm not so sure about this candelabra style and all the right angles. But it works the way you have done the planting angle in my opinion and nice pot. Looking forward to seeing it with some needles.

Thomas Urban Mon Mar 19, 2018 10:40 am

Thanks Fancy Plants, yes it's an ugly and not a traditional one, but there is something about it I like. I will post again once the needles arrive, then depending on how the needles look and the positive/negative spacing is, I might remove something.

Thomas Urban Wed Mar 17, 2021 10:26 am

Another several year update. Happy with some decisions made before but some of the styling was silly but that's how we learn.

Vlad Mon Mar 22, 2021 6:42 am

Trends are great. They do have an important role in exact science such as statistics. But not only that, in general they must be very important to mankind - you can find them everywhere: art, mode, silicon crazy... So why not in bonsai? I guess this is not that much about trends but rather about something that has been deeply imprinted in our genes: copying successful behaviour/patterns.

Your larch has started as an exception to bonsai trends, Thomas, and it has a reasonable potential "to copy" some forms of subalpine larches.

Well, but it holds just for the main structural branches though. The steep inclination of the finer branches clashes with the idea and they rather refer to a "standard" fishbone concept of shouhaku trees. In my view more horizontal position of these branches with growth affected by prevailing direction of wind/sun woud be more realistic.

Well, for sure - that is just my idea. And it is my bad habit to say what I feel without too much thinking. No real fight here, though Cool

Greetings from sunny Prague

Thomas Urban Mon Jan 03, 2022 2:04 pm

Vlad wrote:Trends are great. They do have an important role in exact science such as statistics. But not only that, in general they must be very important to mankind - you can find them everywhere: art, mode, silicon crazy... So why not in bonsai? I guess this is not that much about trends but rather about something that has been deeply imprinted in our genes: copying successful behaviour/patterns.

Your larch has started as an exception to bonsai trends, Thomas, and it has a reasonable potential "to copy" some forms of subalpine larches.

Well, but it holds just for the main structural branches though. The steep inclination of the finer branches clashes with the idea and they rather refer to a "standard" fishbone concept of shouhaku trees. In my view more horizontal position of these branches with growth affected by prevailing direction of wind/sun woud be more realistic.

Well, for sure - that is just my idea. And it is my bad habit to say what I feel without too much thinking. No real fight here, though

Greetings from sunny Prague

Sorry for the long delay in replying. Thanks for your thoughts . Yes trends and patterns are what elevated humans to the apex. Once you see the trends though and understand them, it's nice to break away from them in some context while respecting the fundamentals. And I agree with you that these trends have been very deeply imprinted within us. As respecting natural law is rewarding and going against it is painful, i.e. not respecting gravity will hurt

It's interesting that you would prefer to see the branches in a more horizontal plane or more swept to one side.

To give you my perspective. It's a Tension design. The mass of the tree moves to the right while the apex and primary branch move back to the left. Thanks for your thoughts and have a great day

By the way, have we met at any CZ event before?

T

Vlad Wed Jan 05, 2022 6:34 pm

Thomas Urban wrote:
By the way, have we met at any CZ event before?

not really, Thomas. i am a lone wolf, doing my best to avoid crowded places full of smart guys:)

This is my favourite larch
https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/che/vallese/iserables/4323_cheesefarm/

Just look at it and compare with bonsai manufactured at the czech bonsai classes Cool

. ( As said above: No harm pal )

I do love stories and I want to see/hear one if I look on a tree.

Thomas Urban Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:42 am

I completely understand what you mean by avoiding the crowded places of smart guys. Unfortunately there is a lot of politics and shit talking, it's really sad. I am hoping to change this attitude as the next generation here and I think many in my age group will also be different but time will tell Smile

.

Thank you for sharing this gem, what a group of trees, I hope to visit CH one day but until this current madness stops my rights haven't been granted back.

And I understand what you mean of the comparison to the trees manufactured in the traditional style. I think with wild trees that can and do have multiple apicies in the wild as with Larch, it shocks me when I see a tree with interesting potential, be reduced to the single trunk traditional pine tree. I hope this trend makes way for other ideas. Like beer in CZ in the past decade! It went from Lager only to now almost everything I enjoyed growing up in the US Smile

.

Thanks again for the Larch Champion tree link. What a being and I'm sure that photos cannot do justice.

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