Mind Mapping ... Never Heard of It...

Well, Today I learned a little bit about mind mapping and even downloaded some mindmapping software to Chrome.

Mind mapping is a graphic way of representing relationships between ideas or topics.

I'm going to attempt to use it to map the idea of Bonsai, which is a huge idea, encompassing many ideas.

Here is where I got my software:

http://www.mindmeister.com

Check it out:

CLICK HERE for MindMeister

Mind Maps

Well the sun did come back out and stay out for a while. It was also sunny most of Monday.

Today was the first of my Basic Building class (clay).  I built three bonsai pots.  #1 is for a medium small Bunjin style tree. #2 Is a half-moon shape for a juniper or other evergreen.  #3 is a small rock-shaped accent pot.

I'll try to get pictures next week!

Sun Is Gone Again - Rain is to be continued indefinitely

Well, the sun is gone behind the rain clouds and I'm back to today's Sudoku Puzzle.

Let's try inserting the link a bit better this time:

Summer Sudoku

The Sun Won't Come Out - Tomorrow!

Well, we saw the sun for a while today - Long enough for me to comb out the roots of the enormous (to me) Mulberry tree Bobby and I dug up three day ago (Thurs. 4 July). I sifted enough wet soil to pot it. I prefer dry soil, but even the soil I keep underneath the bench, supposedly out of the rain, was saturated.

The plastic pot it is now in is about sixteen inches (40 cm) wide. It has been cut down by our fair city's highway department numerous times because it blocked the stop sign on the corner of our house lot. I've been trimming it down a bit more gently and it actually developed some decent branches over the last two years. It's a multiple trunk, sort of. The base of the tree is actually over four inches in diameter at its widest point.  I think this will end up being some sort of clump style, unless we cut of all or most of the secondary trunks coming up out of the base.

Here are the pictures.

The tree base at its widest view

Tree side - narrowest view but show some of the branching. 

Back view. The small branch lower right is probably going to have to be removed. 

Including the small ugly low branch there are seven live trunks. Maybe I can take it off and one other trunk and make a five-trunk clump.

Rain, Rain - GO AWAY! Part II

In my last post I intended to talk about the fact that I was bored, because I can't go out in the rain in the garden, and even the bonsai videos are beginning to sound all the same so I've been playing Sudoku - here's the game - it's a good one!

<object width="800" height="500"><param name="scale" value="noscale" /><param name="salign" value="t l" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#F9D449" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.summersudoku.com/sudoku6.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed src="http://www.summersudoku.com/sudoku6.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="800" height="500" scale="noscale" salign="t l" wmode="window" bgcolor="#F9D449" ></embed></object><br/>a game by <a href="http://www.summersudoku.com/">Sudoku</a>

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Well, it has rained for several days in a row. I don't think we have had more than an hour free of rain in about a week.

I've been watching bonsai videos on YouTube. I particularly recommend OrlandoBonsaiTV and Graham Potter of Kaizen Bonsai in the U.K. who makes great videos. There are quite a few bad ones, made by men who seemed to have learned the art of bonsai from a dude who works at a roadside bonsai stand.

Where are our female bonsai growers?

Two things to look for in good bonsai videos:

1) If the subject of the video (the plant) is from a nursery, does the grower actually look at the roots and tree base before they start hacking away at branches? Good bonsai stylists almost always begin at the base and work up (sometimes this is implicit, sometimes explicit).

2) Although I have seen someone who should know better merely hack off roots without combing them out (or using a root hook to remove excess potting media), the worst of the amateurs invariably do this. I think this comes from the mistaken idea that getting the plant into a bonsai pot, no matter what, is the first thing one does. WRONG. The first question I must ask myself is:  Given the season of the year, and the health of the tree, what would be best to do right know. Sometimes the answer is NOTHING, and merely set the tree aside for it to grow on a bit more.


Here is a draft of the hierarchy of bonsai I use to assess a plant:

1) Is this plant beautiful - do I like it?

2) Is it a species or variety that I am familiar with and which I know would make good bonsai?

I am still trying to identify a few interesting plants in my collection that are actually in the process of becoming bonsai. I think both are small-leaved Viburnum species, but even knowledgeable nurserymen don't know what they are either. Some common plants rarely make good bonsai, for instance oaks, cherry laurel, and pittosporum.

3) Given the vigor of the plant, how long will this tree take to develop into a bonsai at least 14 inches (36 cm) tall?  Some things are worth spending a lifetime doing, others not.

4)  Gently removing the plant from the pot, I assess the roots. Does this tree need to be in fresh media?  Does it need to be in a larger pot? Given the time of year, what can be done to advance the growth of this plant to the next level?  If the plant is in full active growth, with a lot of fresh new leaves, it is better to leave it alone until the leaves harden off and I can then more safely work with the soil and roots.

When working with pre-bonsai in nursery soil I assess the health of the top of the plant:

• Is the plant vigorous, growing lots of leaves and branches?
• Does it look like it has been in this pot a short or long time?
• Does the soil appear to be of a type that is suitable for this type of plant?
• If I want the plant to develop a heavier trunk or branches, is there enough room in the pot to support this growth? If the roots are actively growing the top can be supported, if not, the plant may simply not  do much until it can be repotted.
• When can I safely repot this species? For instance Bald Cypress should only be repotted in January (in the northern hemisphere).

5) If the roots are healthy, I will scrape away some soil at the trunk base until I can see the root flare (nebari). I ask "Is this tree planted at the correct angle and depth to look its best?

6) Given the appearance of the tree base, where are possible viewing fronts of the tree?

7) Given the lower branching, which of the possible fronts will make the most beautiful arrangement of branches?

Small forest planting of Dwarf Hinoki Cypress - Chamaecyperus obtusa var. nana

Bonsai Blog Post No. 001

My First Bonsai Blog - Rosewood Bonsai

Inspired by the following blog post of Laser Beam Bonsai, I have my own take on this.

bonsai rules?

Of course it does ;)

Okay, what I mean to say is The Rules of Bonsai
Or more accurately Bonsai Considerations

1.The tree will appear in a formal container, relatively small compared to the tree. Now, I don't disagree that presentation is key, however many of my containers as of today are considerably less-than-formal and with developing trees it can be beneficial to hold off on too small of a container. This is true for me anyway.

Rosewood Bonsai:  My take on this is the character of the container must harmonize or compliment the plant. Notice I said container, not pot, and plant not tree.  Beautiful formal Japanese bonsai take an enormous amount of discipline, time and care to create and maintain, and I admire and hold these as an ultimate example, something to work toward. 

In the meantime, here in Rosewood (the part of Columbia, South Carolina where I live), we have to make the best of what we have.  What we have is a huge number of tree seedlings coming up everywhere I look, in my yard, in the grocery store parking lot, and the parking lot of the nearest pharmacy as well.  Until I dig them up they are weeds - maples, elms, mulberry, sweetgum,  nandina, and others.  When I offer to remove them, almost invariably people say "Please, be my guest"! 

It also so happens that I love forest plantings.  I've discovered that these should be of a single species (and a single variety of a species). Invariably when I've tried growing more than one type of plant in a pot, one or another always suffers, because one plant will always grow better in the conditions present and over-compete for root space.  

Forest plantings are best displayed in very low wide trays, created for this purpose. 

In Chinese Pensai plantings and Vietnamese landscapes called Hon Non Bo, special areas are created to make sure each plant has its own place, where the roots won't have to compete for space. 

I also love root on rock plantings, and have created quite a few, though I have a shortage of actual rocks, so sometimes I use a good-looking piece of broken cement or even (as a joke) a red brick.  Surprisingly the privet I placed on the brick is outgrowing all the other plants in this style, and I have no idea why. 

I will be taking a pottery course soon and hope to be able to make decreasingly amateurish-looking pots as I go.  The internal excitement is mounting as I anticipate the coming first class next Monday! 

2. Except for the tree(s) and optional patches of moss, no other plant should appear in a bonsai container. I don't know why this should be the case except for emphasis. What about harmony and expression of nature. I sometimes allow grass to grow in my bigger pots because I just enjoy it as I also do enjoy moss. Why not?

Rosewood Bonsai:  Except for actual moss, almost all the other plants that I have used as surface plantings in my bonsai have hurt the health of the tree, including the tiny grass-like Irish Moss and microscopic Pennywort.  I think their presence actually may make the potting media break down faster, and I know they rob nitrogen from the main tree. I have also had to be cautious about planting course aggressive mosses which can actually eat into the trunk of slow-growing trees.  It tends to be light green and each fiber is about the size and shape of a grain of rice.  For lack of a better name I've called it Rice Moss or Trunk-eating moss. This kind of moss doesn't seem to bother fast growing plants such as Privet (Ligustrum). 

3. Except for the vegetation, soil, and natural-looking rocks, no other object should appear in a bonsai container. This I agree with to some extant although I did have a little plastic dinosaur that would find its way into one of my pots from time to time. I enjoyed the irony of the dinosaur being plastic and also it was an aquatic plesiosaur[sic] which, in life, would have probably never left the ocean. I am delighted by dinosaurs! The dinosaur does not appear in any of my photos because of extinction on its part.

Rosewood Bonsai:  Jokingly, I have in the past put whimsical things in my pots as a conversation starter, but would not do so for a bonsai show.  I think it's good to keep my sense of fun, whimsy or even silliness, because, God-knows, I can sure take myself WAY TOO SERIOUSLY at times! 

4.The tree will have a distinct "front" from which it is intended to be viewed. Ha! Why not multiple fronts? I know I'm not the only one thinking this. Or even a 360 degree tree, viewable from all sides? 

Rosewood Bonsai:  Part of the beauty of bonsai is creating a sense of age and depth in the tree or trees.  This illusion is hard enough to achieve from one vantage point, never mind many. However, the beauty of the tree should be able to be seen from any angle - sides, front, back and even the top - but BEST viewed from a designated FRONT (or FACE of the tree as a few people say). 

5. The trunk should taper significantly from base to top. I have tried to challenge this notion in my mind. In general it seems to hold true depending on what you consider "significant" in terms of taper.

Rosewood Bonsai:  I agree, but this varies from tree to tree and species to species. 

6. The tree's rootage should be exposed at the base of the trunk and should flare wider than the trunk as it enters the ground. Trees in nature seem to usually do this. 

Rosewood Bonsai:  Well many or most trees do this in nature, but some such as the famous but now endangered Baobab trees, never do. 

7. No visible roots should cross each other. why not? In nature this happens. 

Rosewood Bonsai:  Yes, but they are often ugly and it does effect the health of tree in certain circumstances.

8. Branches should begin about one-third of the way up the trunk, and be continuous from there to the tip of the trunk (this guideline is specifically broken for the literati, or Bunjin-gi, style). I still think the branches can start lower on many trees. Makes them easier to climb.

Rosewood Bonsai:  As a general guideline, yes, but I've seen it broken a number of times with good effect. 

9. Branch size should diminish from the base to the top of the tree. This is true but one or two branches should go against this rule in my opinion. This will make the image look more natural and less bonsai.

Rosewood Bonsai:  It is important in general to make sure that the branches appear to be more slender than the trunk from where they arise.  The opposite  looks very unpleasant to me.

10. No major tree branch should cross the trunk when viewed from the tree's "front". 

Rosewood Bonsai:  Yes, at least in the bottom two-thirds of the tree.  I have sometimes seen a smaller branch cross lower than this, in order to hide a scar or reverse taper in the trunk.

11. Branch ramification, particularly in deciduous trees, should increase towards the tip of each branch. I don't know about this one, it seems to make sense but I just don't know.

Rosewood Bonsai:  It doesn't usually work any other way, since the tips of most branches is where the most light hits.

12. Branch shape should reflect the weight of age, particularly in conifers, and branches may be shaped to tend downwards toward the tip in support of this practice.

Rosewood Bonsai:  Yes, but there are species which naturally break this.  In Florida's swamps the young bald cypress trees (Taxodium disticum) are cone-shaped (conical) and as the trees age they grow most branches upward, not outward. 

13. The trunk may be a straight vertical shape or may be contorted in different directions over its length, but in styles where the tip of the tree is above the container, the tip should tilt slightly forward at the top (toward the viewer). Ok sure, so it looks like you're looking up at the tree? 

Rosewood Bonsai:  Most good bonsai (especially the larger onese) lean toward the view slightly, with arms (main branches) extended toward the viewer, in greeting, as if to hug the person.  This is the way my instructors described it to me and I certainly like this idea. 

14. Foliage (leaves or needles) should be small and to scale with the tree and its branches. This is the one I hate the most. Especially in mini-bonsai I believe that out-of-scale leaves are just fine. Even in large ones I feel that if the leaves are out of proportion the essence of a tree can still be conveyed.

Rosewood Bonsai:  Especially in micro-miniature bonsai, each leaf may represent a branch.  I also have a style which I like in small bonsai, I call "Palm Tree" style.  Having grown up in Florida I really like palm trees, especially coconut and royal palm trees.  Since there is  only true palm used in Bonsai (Lady Palm - Rhapis excelsa), I am using small single trunk Loquat trees to imitate these palms from my childhood, in which each leaf represents a single palm frond.  It's silly but it makes me happy. 

15. All trees in a multi-tree bonsai planting should be of the same species. I don't agree. Maybe it will have to be done with some serious grace but most of the world's forests are mixed. 

Rosewood Bonsai:  see comment to No. 1 , above. 

Here is my take:
Bonsai should be a personal expression and communication with nature or the universe. There should be infinate [sic] considerations for expression and communication.

Rosewood Bonsai:  I could not agree more, but realize that the "Rules" are guidelines to get beginners to an intermediate stage where artistic understanding may begin to blossom.