by Zach Smith | Oct 30, 2015 | Bald Cypress, Care, Sweetgum
One of the most useful – and underutilized – tools we have as bonsai artists is the camera. While it’s gotten pretty common in this age of smart phones to take photos of our trees, how often do we use the results to help us with our styling? I’ve made a conscious effort over the past several years to: 1) get better at taking photos representative of my trees’ actual appearance; and 2) make use of the photos to improve them.
There will, of course, be quite a bit of variation in how well your camera represents what your eye is seeing. What’s vital in getting your photos to properly reflect your trees is to learn the characteristics of your own equipment. One thing it took me a while to learn is that the closer I get to my subject the more it gets distorted in the frame. So when the photo gets loaded up for cropping and various adjustments, it doesn’t quite look like what I saw when observing the tree on the bench. Here are a couple of examples:
This is an eleven tree sweetgum forest I put together this past May. Now, if you look closely and count up the trees you probably only see ten. Why? Because one of them is hiding behind another one. Did I plant them that way? No. I do my best to follow the rules of forest plantings, a key one of which is that no trunk obscures the view of another. So what happened?
Well, as it turns out it was all in the photography. I took this shot from as close a vantage point as possible, and when taking it I was actually able to distinguish all eleven trunks. But that’s not what the camera saw and dutifully recorded.
Here’s my second effort at photographing this forest. If you count the trunks again, you’ll see there are indeed eleven. Yet when you compare the photos, they don’t really look all that different in how they’re framed. But take a closer look, and you’ll see there’s just a little more space between each tree in the second shot – or at least there appears to be more space between each, since they’re in exactly the same spots as before. The closer shot somehow ended up bringing them in toward each other, ever so slightly. I take it that the curvature of the camera lense was responsible for this bit of optical illusion, an effect that was mitigated by retaking the shot from a few feet farther away.
This bald cypress was photographed from three different perspectives. In this first shot, the camera is positioned relatively close to the tree but below the center of the trunk, in order to keep the pot profile on a more horizontal plane. From this angle, the “flat top” doesn’t look particularly flat; rather, it’s taken on a rounded shape (which, by the way, was not the way the tree actually looked).
Same tree, same distance from tree to camera, but now the flat top looks like a flat top, right? It’s not hard to see how this was possible. The photo was taken from a position above center-trunk. Now it appears we’re looking down at the pot. Yet I can tell you that in taking each of these photos, I was not able to see what the camera ended up recording. They appeared pretty much similar to the eye.
This final shot shows how to solve the problem of camera position distortion (which is more apparent in taller trees, by the way). You simply step back four to six feet, and take the shot a little below center-trunk. This keeps the pot on the horizontal plane while not distorting the appearance of the crown by “looking” up into it. In the case of this cypress, I’ve preserved the feel of the flat-top while also keeping the distance-perspective intact.
In Part 2 of this series, I’ll show you how to use photos to improve the design and appearance of your bonsai.
by Zach Smith | Oct 4, 2015 | Care, Chinese Elm, Elms, Sweetgum, Water Elm
Here are a few trees that will be posted for sale in 2016 (among many others).
I just love Chinese elm forests. This one is composed of five trees, with the largest having a basal trunk thickness of 1″. The planting is 19″ in height. Paul Katich crafted the beautiful tray.
This forest will continue filling in next year, and the trunks should take on that nice whitish appearance that makes them look old.
Where this one began this past February.
I’ve been working on this little sweetgum for a few years now. It’s been entirely container-grown. Trunk is just over 1″ in diameter, height 14″.
Here’s the same tree last year. How’s that for rapid development?
This water-elm clump measures 8″ across the root base from the front view, 4″ from the side. Height is 17″. Next spring it needs to go into a smaller pot.
To see the history of this water-elm clump, click here.
by Zach Smith | Sep 27, 2015 | Care, Chinese Elm, Elms, Oaks, Pruning, Sweetgum
While I love using collected trees for bonsai more than any other source, I also grow trees from cuttings and seeds. There’s really nothing at all wrong with bonsai grown from cuttings and seeds. After all, our goal is to create the impression of a larger and older tree in a small package, and this can certainly be done using material from any source.
I began growing material for bonsai in the ground some years ago. Ground growing results in quicker thickening of the trunks of your young trees, which of course helps them look larger and older. With the exception of the tiniest bonsai, the mame and shohin sizes, it’s really best to start with a basal trunk thickness of one inch or more. Growing small trees in the ground for just a few years can get you the thicker trunks you need. All it takes is a little guidance as the material grows out.
Here’s a good example of what you can achieve in just a few years. This is either a willow oak, Quercus phellos, or a water oak, Quercus nigra. It seems to have leaves of both species. Regardless, it grew as a volunteer in an old garden area I used years ago for vegetables. Isn’t the twin trunk awesome looking! With a trunk base of 1.75″, this tree could be lifted as early as next year.
I’ve had this blackgum, Nyssa sylvatica, in the ground for two years now. The trunk base is 1″ in diameter, and it has nice taper into a trunk line I’ll cut to next season. I plan to leave it in the ground for a while longer, as I’d like to fatten up the trunk some more before lifting it.
Next is a sweetgum, Liquidambar styraciflua. I had this tree in a nursery container up until two years ago, then decided to put it in the ground to thicken it up. I’ve cut it back a couple of times, then let it grow out wild. The trunk base is now 2″ in diameter. You can see I also have a secondary trunk growing out near the base, which I can let continue growing to further thicken the trunk. What I need to do while this is going on is to manage what will ultimately be my desired trunk line. So I’ll do some judicious pruning in 2016.
Last but not least is this Chinese elm, Ulmus parvifolia. I grew it from a cutting made a couple of years ago, and planted it out this year. The trunk base is just under 1″, and this has been largely achieved by leaving alone the long and thick main trunk you can see taking off to the right. I’ll remove this leader next spring, while allowing the one lower down the trunk on the left remain and grow untrimmed. This one can then be removed in another year or two, at which time I’ll have both a thick trunk along with very good taper. Then the tree can be lifted and grown from a bare trunk.
by Zach Smith | Sep 20, 2015 | Care, Potting, Pruning, Sweetgum, Wiring
I collected this sweetgum, Liquidambar styraciflua, in 2011. In 2012, with a season of vigorous root growth behind it, I decided to go ahead and put the tree in this very nice Paul Katich pot. The reason I felt comfortable doing this is with the trunk already “developed” naturally, all I had left to do was build the branch structure. This is easily done in a bonsai pot. I had no particular need to thicken the trunk of this tree, and it already had nice taper from the base to where I chopped; finishing out the tapering into the crown would be a snap.
As the new growth emerged on this tree, pretty much all I’ve got is a few tender shoots I’ve wired into position (the lowest branch came with the tree; I decided to keep it to get a head-start on at least one branch).
Two months later, check out the progress. Sweetgums grow fast! This is especially true with newly collected specimens. They want to regain their strength in order to get big and tall, just as they’re programmed to do. So they’ll push a lot of growth with this goal in mind. It’s our job to keep the growth in check and direct it as needed to build a tree structure.
Fast-forward to May of 2013, and I’ve got a complete set of branches. To be sure, there’s a lot of work ahead for this specimen. It’s one thing to have new branches that have been created from strong one-year shoots, quite another to have the secondary and tertiary branching vital to making a potted tree a bonsai. Nevertheless, this is a pretty satisfying stage of development for a tree only two years out of the ground.
Now we see the tree in Fall 2014. With another year of development behind us, the tree is starting to get some ramification. With sweetgums, this is a somewhat time-consuming process due to their natural growth habit. New shoots emerge as clusters of leaves with a central growing tip. While it’s all right to pinch out the growing tip on a developed branch/branchlet, you don’t want to do this during the primary development phase on any branch. You allow the shoot to extend for a bit, then pinch out the tip just before your internodes get too far apart. This allows for new buds to emerge from the leaf axils along the new branch.
Here’s the tree in May of this year, after I defoliated it in preparation for repotting and root work. If you compare this photo with the one just above, you can clearly see the tree is building ramification and taking on more and more the appearance of a real tree – a real bonsai is emerging. I’m getting closer and closer to that point where I can focus on refinement and, as needed, renewal pruning.
And a final shot from today. If you look closely you can see an issue with this tree that I’m dealing with: the sole right-side branch in the middle of tree weakened and won’t likely make it to 2016. To compensate for this I’ve got two adjustments in the works: I’ve wired down a branch higher in the apex, which looks like it’ll give me the balance I need; and there’s a new shoot emerging roughly halfway up the trunk on the right-hand side. I’ll let this shoot grow out next year to gain strength, wiring it into position.
You’ll find it’s not all that uncommon for your trees to lose a branch over time. The true artist is prepared to redesign in order to compensate. And quite often, what comes from a redesign is better than what you started with.
Let me know what you think of this tree. I’m really pleased with how well it’s developed.
by Zach Smith | Aug 9, 2015 | Care, Soil, Sweetgum, Wiring
We’re about six weeks away from the end of the 2015 growing season. There’s still some growth left on my bonsai, though the rate has slowed for most and we’re seeing typical signs of summer heat stress. Sometime in September will come the fall thickening in our trees’ branches, so any wire still on them will have to be watched closely and removed before it causes problems.
Today it was time to do a little trimming and cleaning up of a few sweetgums. Pots needed some scrubbing. Soil, a little top-dressing.
This tree is really developing some good ramification in its fourth year of training. I’ve got an issue with the first right-hand branch (the only one not in the crown); it’s weakened in the past year and isn’t likely to survive into next year. Pretty standard shading out, given the slant of the tree and nature. I do have a very small shoot that arose this past spring where another right-side branch once was; I’m hoping it’ll strengthen next year and allow me to rebalance the design.
The trunk base on this bonsai is 3″ in diameter. It measures 25″ to the tip of the crown. Pot is by Paul Katich.
Here’s my sweetgum forest I just built this year. The two replacement trees survived and are growing. Oddly enough, the weakest tree of this group was the main one. But I think they’ll all be with me come next spring.
There are 11 trees in this forest. The overall height is 36″, with the largest tree sporting a trunk base of 1.75″. Pot is by Byron Myrick
Finally, there’s the small bunjin specimen that appears on my Sweetgum Bonsai sales page. As with tree number one above, this one is developing nice ramification – but in only its first year of training. And the leaf size has reduced surprisingly well. Only a few leaves are 1″ in length; most are less than that, with some only 1/2″. Not bad for a species that sports 5″ long leaves in nature.
This one has a 1/2″ trunk base and is 19″ tall. Pot is by Chuck Iker.
by Zach Smith | May 2, 2015 | Care, Potting, Soil, Sweetgum
With May upon us, it’s time once again to do some serious things with sweetgums. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, collecting sweetgum in winter has not been a happy experience for me in times past. With a success rate of less than 30%, I would just end up scratching my head. Why would sweetgum not respond as other species do? I finally stumbled upon my answer: wait till May.
I’m sure you recognize this sumo-style specimen. I collected it back in 2012, and have let it grow out with some periodic training since then. I’ve been anticipating repotting time, especially because of the big “club” sticking out on the left-hand side of the base. Pretty unattractive – but it was more or less all the root that I was able to recover when I collected the tree. Today it was time to (hopefully) correct the problem.
My first order of business was to pull the tree from its tub and wash off all the old soil – which, incidentally, was too heavy for the tree. Here’s the result: an amazing amount of roots, all of which grew from nothing but the stump I collected and the awkward “club” root hanging off to the side.
For comparison sake, here’s a shot from the other side of the tree. You can see that when I collected this stump I literally sawed off whatever was projecting off the right-hand side. The tree has responded by producing nice roots directly off that cut. In a couple of years I’ll be able to carve the area to make the transition smoother.
Here’s the cut that needed to be made today. You may be able to see a smaller root that comes off this one toward the front. Since I had this to work with, I was much less concerned about just hacking the offending root off. But no matter, I expect roots to sprout at the edges of the cut.
Here’s a view from the front. Yes, it does look a bit abrupt, but to my eye it looks a lot better than what I started with.
The final step, with the tree potted into a much smaller nursery container. I think it looks a lot better without that big root emerging on the left side. What do you think?
