Monday, March 31, 2014

Progetto Futuro weekend with Enrico Savini

Finally it was again Progetto Futuro time. Janez, Vid, Matjaz and me spend a great weekend with Enrico Savini in his Bonsai school Progetto Futuro. As usual we had a great time with lots of fun, laugh and also lots of serious work and learning. I learned some new techniques, worked for two days on my two Mugo Pine and at the end of the day, despite that I was very tired, I went home happy with some new knowledge and experiences.

Working in the sun :)

Vid 

Matjaz (Modri)

Janez (The Ham Guy)

Enrico and Janez working on a Mugo Pine

Vid and Matjaz

Enrico Savini
Magic touch

Matjaz and Vid ware working on two Pinus Sylvestris. On the first one a heavy band was made, a new graft was added and then the tree was put to a rest. The other Sylvestris  was ready for its first serious styling. I think the end result of the styling is really promising.

Pinus Sylvestris before the workshop

Pinus Sylvestris after the workshop

Janez also stlyed his Pinus Mugo which was transformed in a very nice tree. When I look a at this tree it is obvious that preparation of a Pine yamadori is one of the key elements for a successful styling with a good result. 

Janez's Mugo Pine before the styling

Janez's Mugo Pine after the styling

I was also working on two Mugo Pines. On the first one we only grafted some new branches to improve the structure of the branches for the future. 

I'm especially happy that I learned the grafting technique because I have a feeling that grafting enormously expands the area of possibilities for a good styling. 

Graft on a Mugo Pine
Graft on a Mugo Pine

The goal of the styling on the other Mugo Pine was to define the future design and prepare the tree for this direction. We made a branch selection and styled the deadwood. In the next steps I will work on the foliage and 
balance the energy with the goal to develop a strong, healthy basis for the branch positioning and definition of the crown and pads.

Mugo Pine before the workshop

Mugo Pine after the first step





Overall I think it was a great new experience where I gathered new knowledge and experience.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Carpinus Betulus 4-year progress

This Carpinus Betulus is with me from 2010 when I collected it in a forest near to my house.

Carpinus Betulus before it was collected

Carpinus Betulus - 2010-03

In four years of development the tree made good progress and I'm happy with the current image. 


Carpinus Betulus - 2014-03

Of course the tree needs a lot of additional development and many things can be improved. For instance in the upper right area a primary branch is missing. To improve this area I had to "borrow" one branch from the left side and in a couple of growing seasons the new branch will be the same size and in complete proportion with the left side.

New branch development