In the meantime I've decided it was time to start working on this little guy.
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| What I would consider to become the future front |
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| Previous owner was trying to train a new apex but I disagree with this approach. When this branch will thicken later I feel it would be too close to the deadwood already present. One has to go. |
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| There's an interesting natural uro (hollowed out area) on the lower area. The wood look already weathered and might need some treatment sooner than later. |
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| The old apex that dried out. I know lots of articles say that jin (dead branch, usually stripped of bark) is mostly for coniferous bonsai but being in a tropical context with lots of deciduous and broadleaf species, I see natural jin and natural shari on lots of deciduous / broadleaf species. |
Sketch
It always helps when you see something in a plant and put it down into a sketch. You don't need to be a great artist and it does not need to be a drawing. I can be notes or a description of what you see in your material.
In this case I see an african styled tree, slanted with the foliage pad growing away from the main trunk.
I also want to make use of that old dead apex .
Time to start working
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| Just for info I was working on the tree at night, that's the reason why the leaves are closed. Its not due to wiltering! |
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| If I go by my sketch, then I need to keep this section of foliage. |
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| If I go by my sketch, then I need to remove this section of foliage. |
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| There are various bud that have started to swell. For me that means that a new growth cycle is starting. |
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| The tree seems to display an apical dominance so I'll need to take this into account too. |
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| Those two branches need to be removed. |
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| Cleaning up done |
Carving the shari
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| Some of the wood carving tools I'll be using to create the jin. |
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| I found a cavity at the back of the trunk. It was not too deep but I'm glad I did that carving early. If I had waited another year before starting to work that jin this might have gotten worst. |
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| Back side cleared of its bark. |
Done for now
I'm done for now.I'm going to allow the jin to be worked by the elements and keep a close eye on it.
The bark is rather dark, so I might use some lime sulphur on the jin and uro to make them come out.
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| Future front |
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| Side of the tree |
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| What I'd like to achieve in the future |
Like and learned a lot! Nice documentation and vision!
ReplyDeleteHello Xavier de Lapeyre. I think that your drawing is the way to go. Thinking of the African Acacia, often viewed on the skyline, on the plains of Africa,comes to mind. Also, because of the habit of growth of the Acacia, it's not one that you can restrict to much, without spoiling it's natural appearance, and becoming overly contrived. If the foliage happens to grow outside your intended canopy, which it will, because of the nature of its foliage. You can allow it to without it spoiling it's Image.
ReplyDeleteThis is only my opinion for you to bandy about , if you think it's worth while. Hope you are open to suggestions..
I feel that with most other styles it won't work, because you will be continually fighting against the Acacias feathery foliage.
Hey Peter :)
DeleteHow's it doing? Thanks for the feedback.
I did take the tree's natural growing style and decided to work with it instead of against it.
The african bonsai community has been using this round domed shape for some time, and several have nicknamed it "pierneef bonsai style". I call it african style.
Lets wait and see how it turns out!
Cheers
Hi Xavier. Time will tell. IT will be interesting to see the result. Thank you for sharing your experience.
ReplyDeleteAll the best
Peter
hi i think your tree maybe a delonix regia not a false acacia.
ReplyDeletei am quite sure as i have both trees as bonsai.
cheers rod