Large Trees
Posted by Rob Kempinski on Jan 09 2007
Melbourne Florida has a near tropical climate. We infrequently get freezes, therefore we can leave our bonsai trees outdoors all year. As a result, we can have large trees since we don’t have to move them. On top of that the Walt Disney World bonsai exhibition at the annual EPCOT Flower and Garden show requires trees at least 30 inches in one dimension. So local serious bonsai growers favor large trees.
Large bonsai trees make a statement. They show the artists commitment to the art – similar to other art forms. And they are impressive in person.
Here are some of my large trees.
Dante’s Inferno, a Buttonwood, Conocarpus erectus. The pot is Chinese and 32 inches across. This tree spans over 4 feet and requires 4 strong humans to move.
The Flying Buttress Ficus, a Chinese Banyan, Ficus Microcarpa Retusa, is in a large Tokonome pot. The tree spans nearly 40 inches and is shown here without leaves. The tree is only 16 or so years from being a cutting.
White Lightning, a collected Bald Cypress, Taxodium Distichum, at 32 inches tall wasn’t a real large tree but it had presence. The Pot is a nice modern Korean made rectangle. Notice I said had. It died last year while on display at EPCOT. We believe it didn’t get enough water. Oh well, I can use the pot for something else.
This is my largest Willow Leaf Ficus, Ficus Nerifolia. I call it the Trident Ficus as the triple trunk looks like a fat trident. (the spear and the maple 
) The pot is Japanese.
The Dragon’s Tale – This Japanese Black Pine now has about 80 + years. It was imported shortly after World War II into the northwest US. I am told the owner then didn’t speak much English and practiced bonsai on his own. I’ve had it for more than 5 years and it is a favorite of mine. The bark is one of its best features.
A collected Florida Elm, Ulmus Americanna floridanna, shown in the leafless state. This tree was collected in 2000 from a farm near Lake Okeechobee, Florida. Although still January, it is already leafing out for the year. Its about 31 inches tall. The pot is by Sara Rayner. This tree is well traveled, having been shown at EPCOT at Walt Disney World, The BCI Convention in Saint Louis, Missouri, and at the Bonsai Societies of Florida Annual Convention at Cape Canaveral Florida in 2005. In addition it won an award in the 2006 Art of Bonsai Photo Competition.
The Florida Elm is a great subject for bonsai. It grows very quickly, is easy to collect, and has small leaves. Here is a shot in leaf less state and one showing the first batch of spring leaves in mid-February 2007.
I found a few old photos of this Florida Elm.
Here it is one year after collection growing in a large masonary motar mixing tub. The roots actually escaped out the bottom of the tub in a few holes I had made and got to be about 1 inch thick. I believe this helped the strong growth of the new leader. It is shown before and after the second chop.
That’s the way to build taper!
Cedar Elm
Cedar Elm, Ulmus crassifolia, grow in and around Texas. This one was collected about 20 years ago from the Texas Hill County (a beautiful place to visit BTW) by Russell Coker. I obtained it in 2005. The tree is about 36 inches tall. The chop marks are pretty much healed. The foliage and branches however are incorrigible. It does not respond like a Chinese Elm or Florida Elm. So you have to work with what the tree gives and enjoy a more natural look.
One interesting thing is this tree’s caliper hasn’t changed since it was collected. Its probably more than 50 years old.
The pot is Chinese.
A Bald Eagle watching the border, eyes scanning the horizion, ever vigilant – a Sentinel. Bald Eagles range all over continental United States, from the mountains of Alaska to the swamps of the Everglades. This Bald Cypress, called the Sentinel, came from the edge of the Everglades on private land near Fort Meyers, Florida. It might even have had a Bald Eagle perch from it at some point in its life.
The Sentinel bonsai is a large Bald Cypress, what one would call Imperial Size. A virtual of what this large tree will be. IT now is in the collection of a fellow club member.
The Dragon’s Cave
The famous Japanese artist Katsuhika Hokusai’s paintings of pine tree groups inspired this bunjin group of Japanese Black Pine (Pinus thunbergii). The name, Dragon’s Cave, even comes from one of Hokusai’s paintings showing a group of pine trees. I see this bunjin group on top of a pinacle announcing the entrance to the Dragon’s lair.
The main tree in this group came from my front yard. It was planted in the ground as a landscape tree but wasn’t doing that well. In January 2006 after a few years of struggling I removed it from the ground and decided to use it in a bunjun group. The tree was long and lanky but had decent movement and some branches to work with up top. The second trunk was dead when I bought the tree from a landscape nursery. I kept the bottom portion for future interest. This would be a tall bunjin, about 38 inches tall from the pot top – perfect for a future Walt Disney EPCOT display, where one of the tree’s dimensions needs to be over 30 inches.
To join the group I used 6 other Japanese Black Pine seedlings I had grown. The smaller trees need quite a few years to catch the taller tree in bark quality but that will come in time. Each one was flexible enough to bend quite drastically.
After a year and a half of growth, I decided to do some refinement of the trees.
Here it is before the work. Quite shaggy and unkempt. The main tree isn’t as vigorous as I’d like. I’m hoping some thinning and opening the strong shoots to the light will help it grow. Also I need to get more Microrhizae to colonize the pot. For some reason the tree is lacking that.
The first thing I did was trim the bottom left branch on th main tree. I kept it there only to give the transplanted tree some greenery for growing. I never intended that branch to be part of the design. I jinned the stub once I pruned the branch.
Next I decided to add some movement into the jin that was the dead twin trunk of the main tree. The idea was to reduce that trunk to make it similar to the other smaller trunks. That meant I needed to carve some motion into a fairly straight and boring jin. Here is the carving sequence.
Here is a before and after of the carved jin. After carving with power tools, a carving knife, then torching the splinters with a propane flame, I sanded the wood. I will apply lime sulfur in a month or so.
The Jin looks like the Dragon emerging from the cave.
The next major cut had to address the bar branches halfway up the tree. After pondering those branches for quite some time over the past year, I decided to prune the right hand one. The left hand branch fits much better into the design of the tree. I made a shorter jin of the remaining stub.
Next it was a matter of plucking needles and wiring the branches. I wired most of the branches but not all at this point. The tree needs a few years to fill in. Once it does I can worry about needle length reduction and final pad development. This wiring was for secondary structure.
To get the branches in place this tree has had a variety of techniques applied to it – heavy wire, raffia, branch clamps, turnbuckles, branch reduction to aid taper, and the wedge technique. The smaller trees still need branch development so that is their main task for the next 2 years.
Here is what it looked like after wire application.
Still be bit unkempt but that is to be expected at this stage.
When making a group placement – trunk spacing and arrangement takes on a key role. I like the way the trunks are spaced in this planting as there is a good variety in the interval between each trunk – from virtually no space to a wide space.
Here is a close up of the tallest smaller tree with a loop de loop in it. This loop fills the negatve space underneath the gentle curve of the main trunk. There are some wire marks – gasp – in the smaller trunks. I feel bonsai artist worry too much about wire marks. With young trees its more important to me to get the branches in place. As the bark matures the marks will disappear.
PS If you’d like to learn a bit about Hokusai, the Sackler gallery has a great web page about his work
Check out this link. Click on the Hokusai exhibition.
http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/past.htm#
Old Bald Cypress trees, Taxodium Distichum, frequently have hollow trunks – perfect for small burrowing animals or even hobbits.
The one was collected in 2004. It had a few small port holes but I felt would look better with the hollow more exposed.
I decided to wire the branches in a sharply downward angle. Bald Cypress don’t really grow like this in the wild, but it’s art after all. This tree is about 30 inches tall above the pot. The trunk caliper is 8 inches.
The pot is a large Chinese one (19.5 inches across and about 7 inches deep) and quite heavy even without soil.
A close up of the hole.
Here is a shot a year after collecting, after some carving, and after initial wiring.
Later in 2005 it had recovered from the carving fairly well. Notice the black shari – I use a propane torch to char the dead wood. The inside of the hollow is so irregular that I felt it would be better to char the wood and let it age. I did not use lime sulfur on the inside – although I will this year when it warms up a bit more but I will tink the lime sulfur to darken it.
Back in 2005 I made a virtual design.
Not too far off.
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Twin Trunk Bald Cypress Off on an Adventure
This Bald Cypress was collected in 2001 and remained in my garden since then. It has been displayed at the Bonsai Societies of Florida annual show.
Having many trees and lots of time away from home I decided to thin out my collection. For example this guy needed to be wired and maintained pruned more attentively. It is now on its way to the north west USA coast and a new home.
Hope it likes the rainy weather – I’m sure it will.
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January 12th, 2007 at 5:49 am
Splendid site from my old pal, Rob. Obviously more than just a rocket scientist.
January 14th, 2007 at 2:51 am
Rob,
Very appreciate your blog.
Lo
July 5th, 2007 at 2:33 am
Bob – I’ve seen many of your postings, but this is the first time I saw your blog. Not only is it educational, but it also talks about your family origin. My mother was born in Poland at a place called Przemishl (sp.), near Lvov. She came to America in 1900 at age 7. Even at that age, she could speak and read 4 languages. She lived to age 84, but never forgot her polish language.
July 5th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
Hi Marty, I’m glad you enjoyed the blog.
Family history can be interesting. Most of mine will be lost to time as my great grandfather abandonned my great grandmother years ago after my grandfather was born (in Cleveland I think). Great granddad took the stories with him. My family beleives we came from the Poznan area where the Kempinski Hotel chain family also came from. Who knows maybe we’re related – they got all the money though.
February 25th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Hi
Stumbled on to you blog quite by accident. Verey Interesting and love the layout. I can see my self spending some time on this site.
Devinda
June 24th, 2008 at 10:12 am
i like the big trees
January 7th, 2009 at 2:51 am
Rob,
many years I admire Your work and saved lots of Your photos. There is lots of inspiration for me. I want to ask You for more photos of The Dragon´s Tale. I do an analysis of that beautiful JBP with my teacher Pavel Slovák. Thank You very much for… what You are
I also like The Sentinel. If You have more photos of it, please, please, send me on my email…
Thank You.
January 7th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Hi Tom,
Thanks for the comments.
I will try to post some more photos of the Japanese Black Pine Dragon’s Tale when I get a chance. I am looking for a slightly larger and better quality pot for it.
I’d be interested in your analysis of the tree. I am thinking about significantly reducing the first branch to reveal more of the trunk.
As for the Sentinel Bald Cypress, a fellow club member convinced me the tree would look good in his collection so he now has it. I might be able to get a future photo of it. It had grown in very well. That tree was very old.