The Bonsai Below Me - (Member photo challenge)

Here is my Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida) forest in development. (It’s actually a raft plus a few more.)

The bonsai below me is also a North American native multi flush pine.

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Hey Y’all, what happened here! I see it’s almost been a year? Surely it’d be a shame to let this one go to waste?

I don’t have a multi-flush so can somebody conjure that up please and keep this historical thread going?

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I’ll play along! Here is a JBP, I don’t have a North American native… But they do grow here :woman_shrugging:t3:

The bonsai below me is… Your first tree in your collection

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This small ficus was my first tree.
I’ve had it for more then 12 years now.

The bonsai below me is a coniferous styled as a raft.

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Any rafts out there? : )

Here is what is left of a larger Cedar Elm raft that a freeze killed most of in 2021. First potting about a month ago. Show moss.

The tree below me has spring flowers.

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below me is tree that radically changed fro it’s prior iteration

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So this has died down a bit again so here is a larger change I made with this Field Maple.


The tree below me is a US native, elongating species.

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Coastal redwood in a beautiful Sara Rayner pot

The bonsai below me is a collected olive

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While I didn’t collect or carve them, these two were collected

Dolphin in Jan Rentanar and whale tail in a Sara Rayner

The bonsai below is oak

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Technically speaking it is a bonsai - tree in a pot however this is 3 y old Northern Red Oak seedling . I might be in another world by the time it will turn into ramified good looking mature bonsai but can’t resist to grow these from seed for its stunning fall color :slight_smile: Also it has been pruned by squirrel this spring hence the lonesome wire at the top :wink:

The bonsai below has an interesting story to tell :face_with_monocle:

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Sensei is a Japanese White Pine on its own root stick. He was given to me to rescue because I have a sunny yard and my friend was worried that it wasn’t getting enough light or care. He has cared for the tree for 25 years, but has done little except water and fertilizer.

I would guess the tree is about 100 years old. To me though the history of this tree is largely unknown, the thoughts of its origin being in Japan 100 years ago is fascinating. How and when it ended up here on the east coast is pretty wild, when thinking back in the history.

I’ve been trying to figure out how to save the tree because it seems so special. Many issues afoot in the shin. Rotten soil, fungi and punky roots, bugs eggs in the upper roots, and now an ant colony.

Plan to ask Ryan more in the Q&A again this week. I just hope we can save this tree, even if it will never be able to be a real bonsai, just a potted JWP.

The tree below me is also a conifer in a blue pot.

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Just checked out what was happening I. Japan in 1923, it was pretty tragic. According to the Smithsonian, they has a period of optimism and women’s liberation prior to a major earthquake and Tsunami. The Great Kanto Earthquake killed many people and created increased international tensions in the region, the sorded history goes on. Wonder if Sensei was from pre or post 1923.

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Little spooky coincidence of who asked for an interesting story - a bunch of my close friends call me by nickname Kanto based on my surname :wink:

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Synchronicity rocks, perhaps I should ask for a tree with an interesting story below me.

This California was collected in ‘86 by Robert Pressler at Tehachapi Mountains during an outing with Mr. Harry Hirao, Mr. John Naka and Mr. Bruce Hisyasu. Mr. Hirao actually didn’t think it was a good candidate for collection but since Robert already started the process, he continued on. The tree kept losing foliage for 3 years after collection before finally putting in new growth. It wasn’t placed in a bonsai pot until 5 years post collection and received its initial styling 7 years post collection. The tree had its structure reseted earlier this spring by Ryan and will be repotted next year, if all goes well.

The tree below me is a very large conifer.

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That’s something on another level and that’s not meant to take away from every other tree shared here.

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Since the thread has been quiet, I’ll follow up with my previous request; large conifer.

I consider this California Juniper a brother to the previously posted one. Collected in 1989, during an outing with Mr. Harry Hirao from Jawbone Canyon, it’s been in training by Robert Pressler ever since. Earlier this year, Ryan resetted the structure and styling of the tree and has since been repotted into a Rob Lang(I need to get a new photo taken). It sits at about 40” high.

The tree below me is a flowering tree!

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A hawthorn in flower. Unfortunately I didn’t have a better one of the tree.

The bonsai below me has a lot of movement.

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Little scot pine with some interesting movements.

The tree below me is a maple forest.

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