I agree. Some people do have quite a set opinion on it but I see Walter choosing to participate in the conversation, potentially for many people’s benefit, or at least he believes to be so! Which I can highly respect, after all, he has no obligation to share his techniques.
It’s a subject worthy of discussion. Understanding this is in my interest if we’re talking about time. 10 years down the line, there’s not much you can do about the initial few years of branch development . I’m glad there is ongoing discussion around it, for example, if it weren’t for this thread (thanks @rafi) then I wouldn’t have seen those replies of Walter’s to someone called Coh on BN yesterday, which revealed information I don’t recall hearing before:
If the facts presented by Walter about it being “two to three” times faster are not exaggerated, then that’s considerable. I didn’t imagine it to be that much faster.
The question for me now is, it’s faster, “but at what cost to quality” (if any). And that’s the part that’s much less about facts or measuring and more subjective.
This is the problem, essentially. Without means to have that close-up look, it’s difficult to properly make our own opinions on the results. It’s possible that, to me, the results arent as high-level but a concession may be made if it’s as-much faster as said to be.
I’ll be keeping a close eye at Trophy in two month’s time for high-level trees known to be trained with HPM, like Marija’s Emperor (and take photos similar to my last post – not that it’s a substitute to seeing in person yourself).
My personal opinion is that “fast” does not go into being a practitioner in the art of bonsai.
Aren’t we on a journey with our trees? Not a quick trip down to the corner store
About half year ago a famous artist here in Montreal criticized me (publicly and in a position of authority but this is a story for another time) for advocating Mirai techniques nonetheless (specifically for potting unstyled nursery stock in training bonsai containers), saying that there is no such thing as instant bonsai (as if anyone thought that) and that bonsai is a marathon. My reply to him and the same I offer you is that we all agree that bonsai is a marathon but we don’t need to walk the marathon if know the techniques to run in a marathon.
Well, “faster” or “fastest” is talking in the relative context, of course. Whichever method preferred, if anyone’s looking for a quick trip down to the corner shop, they’re in the wrong hobby I think.
It’s funny how when ppl say putting a tree in the ground is the fastest way to grow a thick trunk no one bats an eye. I feel like the real issue ppl have is with the term “hedge”. On the surface calling it hedge pruning devalues what we’re doing in our practice. We dedicate a lot of time, effort and at times blood to what we view as something far more valuable than a hedge. Total canopy pruning and defoliation would have been a better term.
I personally just view it as another pruning method. Doesn’t matter what it is called to me. It serves it’s purpose and if one thinks about the interplay of auxins and cytokinins when pruning it makes sense. Then one can realize how to implement it’s application. I think this is a great tool to have in one’s arsenal. Is it truly the fastest?.. I doubt it, however, my opinion on this doesn’t truly matter. I do use this method, I also use clip and grow, I wire (not often), I directionally prune, I thread and approach graft, cut back hard and regrow, and so on… Done all this for years. It was only until more recent years that I found that letting a branch grow till I achieve an appropriate girth that I would begin a pruning process or method. They all deliver. I haven’t found a single best pruning method. I use a method to get what I want and then I may use another method to achieve another result. I feel that subjective qualifications especially in titles is where controversy is stirred. @rafi keep making your videos, be more conscientious in their descriptions. Bonsai on everyone.
Listened to the the WP podcast and when he said that he had been a Systems Engineer at IBM and then a Mackenzie consultant, everything made total sense to me. As a systems engineer he’s built out a system for developing deciduous trees quickly. As @Bonsai_Bentley pointed out, he uses large particle soil, fertilizes heavily with chemical fertilizers, and waters Ike crazy. He applies the same system to all of his trees, which allows him to streamline production. He’s one man (and his wife), and this is really the only way one person (in his 70s) could do as many trees as he does. I imagine this is also why he sticks to a few variety of trees. Very fascinating individual.
Shared this on another tread some time ago.
And according to this he pinch his trees when the are going to be displayed. This article is from 2013 tho.
i have purchased this book last year, and in spring followed step by step the construction of the branches and ramificantions. now passing through by the summer i can finally see the japanese method working well on my maples and japanese maples.
strongly recomend this book for maples lovers, quinces and other deciduous.
just my two cents:
I collect yamadori in BC Canada. We collect extensively in the fall, but we also do it year round. We go for pines, hemlock and fir mostly. The only time we dont collect is when the wild trees are putting out new growth. Otherwise in late winter early spring is good. Summer dormancy is good. Maybe, but its hard to tell, autumn time may be best. We have a 95 percent survival rate
. I’m glad there is ongoing discussion around it, for example, if it weren’t for this thread (thanks @rafi) then I wouldn’t have seen those replies of Walter’s to someone called Coh on BN yesterday, which revealed information I don’t recall hearing before:
