Blue Bell twin trunk first styling

Hi IBC!

first time styling of this tree.
Specie- Blue Bell/ Desmodium sp.
Height- 70 cm


I'm working for the photo below as front.





Removed the excess branches and Reduced the height of the the smaller trunk.




Rotated the tree a bit counter/anti clockwise to placed the dominant tree forward and lean a little forward to create depth on the trunks.




By the way its called Blue bell because of small bell shape flowers
This tree got flowers already when I started working on it today.



This specie is one of the best local trees to make as bonsai because of the natural small leaves and nice bark quality...but the specie I hate the most working on...the leaves got thorn at the tip and very sharp thorns on the branches, I still got thorns embedded in two my fingers and one under my foot (I work bare footed on trees most of the time)

regards,
jun

Beautiful tree... do you plan to do any work on accentuating the dead wood portions? I'm not very familiar with this kind of tree so I wouldn't know how it would respond to carving.

daudelus wrote:Beautiful tree... do you plan to do any work on accentuating the dead wood portions? I'm not very familiar with this kind of tree so I wouldn't know how it would respond to carving.

WELCOME to IBC!

Thanks!

Yes.This tree still needs lot of refining works...including carving that is.

regards,
jun

Interesting species. I agree it has lots of potential. If its a fast tropical grower I'd be tempted to cut the branches even further to create some taper in them and to get a structure developed closer to the trunk. How would the overall trunk look if the smaller trunk were moved to be in the front half of the tree?

PS I like how the hand rail in the background goes right into a tree trunk. Is the trunk a structural member of the house? Very cool. That house looks very interesting - like to see a shot of it if possible.

Hello Jun.
Have you considered to remove the big left branch?
regards, Sunip

Hey Jun.

What interesting material!

Does it HAVE to be a twin trunk? Looks like the big tree maybe would be better by itself, and tipped to the left considerably to even out the nebari.

R

Thanks Rob!

If the smaller tree would be moved infront it woul partially blocked the dominant tree. If I moved it to the side, it would be 2 dimensional looking and I would lost the depth of the trunks. I will post some photo shots again later on for you to see the other angles.
Yes, this is a very fast growing tropical tree. I planted this as bare rooted material with just the major branches 7 months ago.

I will also post the photo of my small workshop/ house. later on. The trunk you see in the photo is an structural member of the house planted on concrete foundation, came from mango tree which was removed from a construction project I did. the wall is weaved bamboo which air can pass thru, the air is cool inside even on the hottest time of the day.

regards,
jun

Hi Jun.

Thanks for sharing your progress.
I also think this is a tree with lots of potential (nice movement, nice bark, small leaves,..).
Maybe one way of future development is to rotate the tree even a bit more to the right side....

Hope to see some new photos from this tree in the future.

Sunip,

Yes. I was planning and still am planning to remove the extended horizontal branch. It is annoying me for a long time now...hehehe.

regards,
jun




Russell,

Thank you.

Surely the big tree can stand well on its own. but I'll try first to keep the smaller trunk. My problem would be, if I keep it as single trunk design, is the very dominant left side branches all leaning to one side. growing branches on the right side won't be able to catch up with the size of the current left branches. So, to create a visual balance I decided to make it as twin trunk...but I will still look for the single trunk possibility as the tree develops. The only way to do it though as single trunk is to tilt/lean the tree further to the right side and create two apexes but will exposed left side roots.

regards,
jun

Roland,

Thank you.
I'll share the progress of this tree in the future.

regards,
jun

Hey Jun.

Yes, I agree that growing branches on the right side to catch up won't work. I see a pretty windswept tree that takes advantage of those beautiful branches on the left and the dead wood on the right. To me the small tree looks stuck on and out of place - but it's hard to make judgments from photos!

Russell,

you are right. wind swept is very workable. in fact it is my initial design option.

regards,
jun

JUN,,I like this tree!! the little flowers are nice and the bark as well...I am slow so tell me if you are removeing the big branch on the left??? you said they grow fast so what about the back branch?? It looks larger than the rest...i am not picking at all,,i know it will be a good tree!!! i want you to keep it posted with the progress please..take care john

Jun,
Just having fun.
Done on the flat image, have no real idea what the tree looks like in reality. Okay.
If it offends I will remove.
Khaimraj

Mother and Chlid

...Lucky you Jun..you got the talent not every one get it...

I think this is first time I come across this species. Very nice.

John,
Thanks!
No. not the entire branch, probably the protruding horizontal branch only, the extended branch right after the branch that grows upward. but I will not do it yet. I will wait first until I got the whole structure of the tree. cutting branches can always wait.

regards,
jun



Khaimraj,

Thanks for the sketch! that's the idea I'm working on right now. with slight variation on foliage formation, with the small leaves the specie have it is ideal to have different foliage pads and layers.

regards,
jun



Iben,

thanks for the compliment!

...probably I'm just hyper active when it comes to bonsai. I'm just trying to learn (fast) just like the rest.

regards,
jun


ndleong,

Thanks.
I believe this specie is endemic to the Philippines and Indonesia only. and not highly exploited (...YET...) as bonsai material.

regards,
jun

Jun,

Desmodium umbellatum.

Kind regards,

Jose Luis

Thank you Jose Luis.

I am always at lost when it comes to latin names. I'm glad you are always there to provide the vital info.
Even in local shows and books it was always tagged as "Desmodium sp."

regards,
jun

jrodriguez wrote:Jun,

Desmodium umbellatum.

Kind regards,

Jose Luis

Jose,

What's your sorce for that name? All the links I've seen of that name don't look anything like this tree at all. It's a lovely tree none the less and I'm sure just a stunner when it flowers.

Randy

Hi IBC.

just 3 months growth, all of the initial wire are biting on to the branches.
I would like to share with you the second styling and progress of this tree.





I'planning to clip and grow this tree to come up with a more natural looking branches..








regards,
jun

Going very, very well Jun!
I like the bark!

Thank you Alexandra. I think this tree will be show ready in less than 2 years.

regards,
jun

Hi IBC.

Another update...just 5 months since the first styling.





regards,
jun