Abomination (update)

I present to you the beginnings of an abomination. A tanuki created with the carcass of a huge, collected J. chinensis "Pfitzer" and J. chinensis "Kiishu" affixed to it. Laugh if you want. Ridicule me. Call me low names and describe your disdain for my character. I can take it.



In 20 years time I'll either have a very cool composition or a laughable farce. Time will tell.

Kind regards,
Andy

I laugh. I ridicule you. I call you low names and my disdain for your character goes beyond indescribable.

But then again ...


I suspect we may all be laughing on the other side of our faces in that 20 years' time. Hope we're still around to see which way the coin falls. Don't forget to post pics on whatever inter-galactic hologrammic plasmatronic molecular regenerating picture posting system we have in 2031.

The original juniper was collected by Mike Martino (now living in Saga, Japan) and myself sometime in the late 1990s. We found the awesome and huge juniper growing on neglected land and collected it, but a bit too late in the season for optimal success. Despite the shade cloth and misting care, the plant succumbed to the 100F temps as summer arrived. We planned jointly to use the hulking carcass of deadwood to create a tanuki composition, but never got around to it.

I've kept the deadwood hulk all these years and finally decided to pull the trigger. Done.

I know "tanuki's" are generally frowned upon. But I definitely like the name "phoenix" graft better. Combining a beautiful piece of dead wood like this with living material gives homage to what it once was and could've been. In the hands of true horticulturists/artists, I believe "tanuki's" should be just as revered as any bonsai when done well. The key words here are 'done well', and with such great material I'm sure yours will be.

Hey Andy, great old wood. You have to use it. It would be a crime to throw it in the fireplace.
Tanuki is part of the art of bonsai. If well done, the casual viewer won't know. If very well done, you may fool the experts. Go for it!

Mike

Hi Andy,
I'm a fan of your tanuki's potential. How do you plan to attach the live tree to the dead as it gets larger? Will there be periods of growth, then carve and attach, followed by numerous other periods of growth, carving and attaching along the way?
Would you mind sharing your growing and styling plans for this tree?
Thanks,
Todd

hmmmmm........I have a suspicion I've seen something like this in a book by a japanese artist who's name escapes me....possibly Kkkkimura?????

enough of the fun. great deadwood. I hope you get a fabulous tree from it!

HI Andy,

Excellent deadwood to start a very credible Tanuki Bonsai. No two ways about it and certainly no laughing matter. Having said that, I'd suggest humbly that you should have gone for a better live tree to fit on to the Tanuki. A live tree as young and small as the one you have used would as you have correctly put it, takes about 20 years. You can however reduce this time to say 3-4 years to create the same end result by using a more mature plant.

And a crude virtual for your consideration.... Dorothy would do a much more convincing job.... I am sure



And as Peter mentioned in the passing, the deadwood does have a Kimuraesque look to it. All the best on this...

Ravi

Great Andy. What have any of us got to lose?

As Mike points out, "If well done, the casual viewer won't know. If very well done, you may fool the experts"... One might wonder whether the experts "frowned upon" it for fear of being fooled.

Here's the basic idea for where I'm aiming with this.



The deadwood would, of course, be carved a bit to address some of the clunkiness and raw tips, but basically this is what I'm aiming for.

Kind regards,
Andy

Todd,
The method I used for affixing the young whips to the deawood was to carve a shallow channel on the crest of a deawood "vein" and then affix the whip to the wood with wood screws at intervals. The screws will eventually be swallowed by the growing wood and the visual transition between the live and dead portions will be mildly convincing in a few years. I will not, however, be completely convincing.

Ravi,
It is important to note that while I could have used more mature stock here, it is mandatory that at least one live vein be seen on the front or front-side. No bonsai, normal or phoenix graft, is of any artistic value if a live vein cannot be seen from the front.

Kind regards,
Andy

Actually, this might be a better arrangement of the foliage (not blocking the deadwood so much)



Kind regards,
Andy

...you can see some Tanuki , on my french forum:
http://www.parlonsbonsai.com/forums/index.php?showforum=180

http://www.parlonsbonsai.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=43403

Have fun with it. I have several tanukis in work myself. However, I have stopped using juniper as the scions due to their growth habit away from deadwood. Rather I have been using Premna cuttings which seem to fatten and swallow the deadwood much more readily.

Hi Andy,

I am aware of what you have said about the visible 'Live Vein'. I also like the second virt you have done better than the first. It is very nice. All the best with this tree...

Ravi

Andy , I think it will look great ! I'm not sure there's a whole lot of difference between a phoenix graft and a regularly grafted tree except that the phoenix graft is " easier ". I have a cal juniper that was killed by a record low freeze and thats exactly what I'm gonna do with it.