Itoigawa Shimpaku 6 years in training

Hello all, Well, I'd figured I'd post one more tree for today..This is an itoigawa shimpkau that I have been working on for about 5-6 years. The tree is not nearly as full as it looks in the pic. Actually, the foliage is quite thin in many places. I hope to add a shari this season. Please ignore the cheap stand .. It is purely to keep the tree off the floor for the pic. Comments always welcome.



Rob

Nice tree. Nothing wrong with the stand other than being too small for the tree.

I wonder if there is another front that doesn't show the sudden kink in the trunk at the top 1/3? Loose that visually and you have a very nice formal upright.

Thank you Jim.. Very good observation. This tree has always had 2 problems. One is the kink at the top and two, is that there is a straight section of trunk right in the middle. I have done much contemplation and assessing over the years on this tree. The tree is not very big. Probably only 12-13 inches tall. At one point, I tested bending the trunk a bit. However, I got a bad feeling about it. I heard some cracking and what not.

To lessen the strainght section of trunk, I tilted the tree towards the left when it was repotted this season. As for the kink at the top, I have grown and continue to grow a foliage pad in the front to hide the kink. It doen't work miracles, but it does help. I made the decision that for the health of the tree. I would just maintain the tree and accept that is a nice tree, just with some flaws.

Here is another pic of the tree

Nice looking tree!

Thank you Joseph.. The whole tree was recently rewired again. Seems like the tree looks good for a while after the wiring. Then, somewhere along the line, tt wants to grow wild again

RobC
That's a very nice tree, I like the trunk line and great branch placement. As far as looking good just after wiring then growing out of shape is just the nature of the beast. The tree needs to grow to store energy. If you try to keep it looking show quality all the time the tree will surely weaken and die.

Mitch

Hi Rob, it's a nice looking tree as is, but it sounds as if you're not happy with it? Have you considered a more extreme slant to the left, into a slant style? The branches are in all the right places, just a little tweakin' downward on the left and and up on the right, and I think you can negate those flaws completely as a slant. Looks like with the right tilt, that kink in the apex will put it right at the outer rim of the pot, a desirable feature for a moderate slant style.

Really beautiful tree
Thanks for sharing

Regards

Łukasz

Why do you want to hide the kink ? it adds life to the tree , I would go with what Ryan said

Thanks everyone...

Hello Ryan and thank you for the suggestions.. You made some good suggestions.. Actually, when the tree was repotted this season. I gave it a slight tilt/slant. This actually, made a nice difference in the trunk line. Actually, this is one of my favorite trees in my collection. However, when in bonsai, one must be prepared to learn, be ctiricized and approach things with an open mind. Although I like this tree very much, when the tree is critiqued, these issues come up. I suppose that when you have a nice tree and it is bordering on specimen/finished quality, you do tend to think of the little things that might make it even better. However, since I am happy with it and the tree is healthy. I will probably keep it like this. Of course, until years down the road when I may change my mind..

Rob

Great work!
Lotsa trees come out that way. I'll wager that - as you continue your bonsai ways a solution will come to you if you are not satisfied with what you have now.
My painting teacher shared this proverb with his students:
To become a great painter, follow these three rules. Know your materials. Study the work of masters. Paint.
This I think applies to bonsai...

All the best!