I'm bored. quarantined Larch

Struggling with the direction to style.
Multi top? Reduce branches?

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potentially loose the left brach as this is kind of straight esp. compared to the right one. Then consider change of the planting angle towards semi cascade

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I would jin the left trunk, and go for a more natural look, and would try and get into a shallow round pot, great material :+1:

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I agree with Ali10, but would probably only jin the top 2/3 of the left trunk. The lower portion would then be somewhat bushy with the upper portion of the right trunks somewhat windswept. It is then a tree that grows on the lee side of a boulder. The main tree grew well, but then it had a drought year followed by a really nasty winter that killed off the upper portion. When slightly more favorable conditions returned the branches to the right, down wind side grew out and up.

Just looked at the tree again and my story makes the most sense if you layer the tree to shorten the lower trunk.

I would shorten the let branch to a point where there is movement and some taper possibly the lowest branch on left, and I would shorten the other long branch a bit, and possibly jin the right short branch but I would need to see it all round first.

Just another quick note if the buds haven’t opened up yet I would try and get it into an appropriate size container while it still have strength from all the growth

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I gave it some basic structure leaving it mostly natural. Can always jin a top later. And clearly it will need a real pot at some point.

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I like the twin trunk. Looks great after styling.

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I like the restyle. I really like the branch (new trunk?) that comes off the left trunk about half way up. If it were my tree I would use it at part of the story I created earlier. Now I just need to grow one of my seedling to tell that story!

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Become a pro member and ask Ryan. I like how it looks after you styled it a bit. I like the dual trunks, but one needs to be shorter than the other.

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I feel like cutting off the left top near the red mark. And jin the yellow section makes the most sense.
But for now I’m leaving it to recover.
The tree may have it’s own idea as to which one stays.

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That’s exactly what I was thinking. At that time I’d probably compress the left side. The two lower branches feel a bit symmetrical. That’s a dope tree though. I love larch. Definitely take the slow approach.

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Oh, can’t really tell, but it looks like your front currently has those two trunks on a flat plane. Rotate a tad to get those to provide a bit more depth. Looks like clockwise is the way to go?

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I certainly know this tree is not great but it is a work in progress.
I had a few people on a different site say how bad of a tree this is.
I’ve never had thick skin as an artist and the internet seems to be filled with vile hurtful people these days.
Limits my desire to share anything outside of the normal.

Don’t let the haters get you down. I think the tree is cool. A lot of ppl want bonsai to conform to xyz “rules”. Why? So we can end up with the Japanese model where everything looks the same? They’re beautiful for sure, but homogenized. :sleeping:

I love the unique trees just as much as I love the more traditional trees. What’s not to love? When someone tells me that a tree is “not good for bonsai” I want two of them. I’m not building trees for others. I’m building them for myself. I’ll appreciate the input. I take what I can from the negative. Then work with the tree as I see fit. “It’ll never be a world-class bonsai.” So? What world am I showing this off to? My ego doesn’t require validation from others. Am I proud of my trees? Absolutely. So proud that I don’t care about someone’s dislike for it because it’s not their tree. Maybe that means I have too big of an ego? Idk. I just don’t care about the vitriol spewed by ppl I don’t know.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the 2D picture cannot adequately represent a 3D medium.

P.S.: Sorry if I’m coming off a bit aggressive. I got some bad bonsai news today and I have a “screw the world” attitude rn.

P.P.S.: I’ve seen lots of trees with trunk lines similar to yours. All beautiful. Also, that’s a larch. I love larch even though idk if I can keep one alive in my climate for very long. I only have one and I’ve had it for less than a year.

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Keep Calm and Bonsai On Pmac!! :sunglasses:
Don’t let the nuts get ya down! Most of them don’t have the stones to present things for critique as it is. Good on you for doing so, it’s not easy to be brave, it’s far easier to be a faceless bully.
I lurk on some other sites. I find that there is way less kindness in other corners of the net.
Sad really.
The number of people making, shaping, creating, imitating little trees is not vast, why all the negativity…especially nowadays?
It’s a nice tree. I like the story @MartyWeiser is seeing. You’re pic with the cut and jin lines support that story, as does @Bonsai_Bentley in the compression of the left side.
I also like the idea presented by @antelion of this tree having a future angle change and be something totally different. Even better that both ideas an exist within the current styling and the foreseeable future.
Keep rockin’.
#quarantree

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Fully agree to the two posts above.
I definitely feel, that Mirai somehow managed to be a way more friendly place than your usual forum and even when it gets a little heated it still stays that way.
I would be happy to have your tree in my garden. There is a really good base and lots of options above that. Which one of those you explore and develop further is yours to decide at the end of the day. Because the tree has to give you (and maybe your family) joy when you look at it. And knowing that you created it with your own hands (however many “flaws” it might have) is something nobody can take away from you. Coupar it a little to sports. The majority of the audience would have an opinion on why something should have been done differently an fell hey are th better trainer than the actual one. And all that from heir comfy viewing chair and with mostly 0 practical competence. Still they have an opinion.

I think it is good to go out and seek opinions and options from others (as you might not “see” everything) and then go ahead with your vision for the tree. That is the way you grow in any endeavour and to learn from them you also need to make the mistakes.

bonsai on

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I cant thank you guys here enough. The
commradarire and dare to adventure spirit of Mirai is what has rekindled my passion for Bonsai in the last few years. Using native species and not creating Japanese trees because I’m suppose to.

I’m a blue collar worker with limited means in a elitist hobby. Damn you Mr. Miyagi!
However Ryan, Todd and the rest of the Mirai team have given me so much inspiration as do you all on here.
The thing is when my friends or family see some of my trees they are blown away. Asking questions and wanting to know more. They dont know the rules or see the flaws. They see nature in a raw form somehow harnessed in a container and thriving. Its magical. Certainly is for me watching and learning every detail about a tree. How it responds and envisioning a story like those suggested here.
I can see this tree some day in a partial crescent slab with detail in even the dead jin branching of the top on the left. Better development on the right side and a crazy story to the once silly and useless slingshot nature of this tree.
Thank you for taking the time to keep me on the path. You guys rock.

Patrick

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