A trunk with everything
This funky (in the good sense) trunk has everything: shape, massive girth, aged bark, a natural looking hollow (sabamiki) and a perfect touch of deadwood. Though you could make an argument for hiding some of the trunk’s heaviness near the top (the dark hole above the jin), I imagine Giacomo decided to show it because it expresses even more of the tree’s age and character.

The uncropped original.

Suspiciously like a larch
Giacomo doesn’t say, but this gloriously aged, powerful little tree looks suspiciously like a larch. What other conifer has fall color (yellow no less)? And larch bark? I wonder which larch it is? European (Larix decidua)? Giacomo lives in Spain. Or maybe Japanese (L. kaempferi)? I imagine some Japanese larch have found their way to Europe, though this one definitely looks like a yamadori (collected in nature), so it’s more likely local. Anyone out there know more about this tree? Anyone care?

Though it’s not just about larches (that’s a Northern white cedar on the cover), still, this is the ultimate larch book, by the Larch Master, Nick Lenz. Available at Stone Lantern (discounted, no less).

I posted this haunting strangeness the other day, and then, without doing an ounce of research or exercising even a small sliver of my overtaxed intelligence, I conjectured that Nick Lenz must be the guilty party. I could blame it on the fact that I was  in the middle of summer vacation, or because I grew up in an age well before photoshop and have never really caught up (I still struggle with my TV/DVD remote).

The good news is…
… it elicited more comments than 98% of our other more accurate and (in my opinion) more useful posts. I guess we humans have a thing for strangeness.

Marsman wins the non-contest
My favorite of all the comments (sent by Marsman):

Just talked to Nick. Nope, not his.

And I quote:

“No. This is photoshopping beyond my ability.”

Nice trunk. Definitely looks like an azalea. The shot is from a video by Alejandro Medina Ibarra of the 2nd U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition.

Alejandro Medina Ibarra
The shots here are all from a video of the 2nd U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition. The video is by Alejandro Medina Ibarra and it’s brilliant. I wasn’t able to attend, so I’m particularly grateful for Alejandro’s efforts. Something powerful and good took place in Rochester last month if this video is any indication. Really, check it out and you too will wish you’d been there (see you in 2012).

Bill Valavanis
I’m not sure how Bill does it, but he has now pulled off the two of the most important bonsai events in the history of North American Bonsai. You could even say the two most important events. Out of thin air no less. People that have brilliant big ideas and the energy, intelligence, perseverance, and skills to pull them off, are rare, and Bill fits that bill (sorry) perfectly.

This one looks like it’s by Larch Master Nick Lenz, one of America’s foremost bonsai artists, diggers, critics, and authors (Bonsai from the Wild). Speaking of books, we’ve got the 1st U.S. Bonsai Exhibiton Album and now’s the time (35% to 45% off all books).

More shots…

Bill’s front and Suthin’s back.

Inspiration for your bonsai. This photo is from Bonsaimania. It’s on facebook in a gallery called “Inspirations to your Bonsai: (translated from Spanish). If anyone has any clues, I’d like to know where this photo was taken.

Bonsaimania gallery (in English)
Here’s what Bonsaimania has to say about their gallery in English: “These trees are real and they can be found in nature. They are on this album because they are models that should inspire us to create our bonsai. If you want to propose a tree in nature that will inspire us, send me a message through my Facebook profile: http://www.facebook.com/suiseki”

Y en Espanol
“Estos árboles son de verdad y se encuentran en la naturaleza. Están en este álbum porque son modelos que deberían inspirarnos para crear nuestros bonsáis.Si quieres proponer algún árbol en la naturaleza que nos sirva de inspiración, envíame un mensaje a través de mi perfil en Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/suiseki”

Speaking of Larch
Larch Master Nick Lenz’s Bonsai from the Wild has an extensive section on collecting and growing larch. Nick know larches like know one knows larch. Check it out, it’s on special.

Here’s another one from the same gallery. Buttonwood?

You like unconventional? Crazy? How about daring and masterful? Notice how the color and design of the pot plays with the wild shari (deadwood) and the small touch of moss on the left mirrors the foliage. Just another bonsai from left field by crafty old Nick Lenz, master left fielder, author, and preeminent (whatever that means) master of cedars, larches and other collected North American gems. This photo is from North American Bonsai (American Bonsai Society – compiled and edited by Martin Schmalenberg), now on sale at Stone Lantern.

When is a cedar not really a cedar?
The tree featured here is commonly called a Northern (or Eastern) white cedar, when in fact it’s actually a variety of arborvitae (botanical name; Thuja occidentalis). Lots of trees that aren’t cedars are called cedar, including at least one juniper (Eastern red cedar; Juniperus virginiana), one false cypress (Atlantic white cedar; Chamaecyparis thyoides), the California Incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) and no doubt others. What most of these share is fan shaped foliage (like Nick’s tree above). Interestingly, true cedars (Cedrus) don’t have fan shaped foliage. Confused? You’re not alone.

When is a cedar a really cedar?
There are a handful of true cedars (Cedrus) in the world, the best known of which are: the Deodar cedar (C. deodara) from the Himalayas, and two from the Mediterranean: the Lebanon cedar (C. libani) and the Atlas cedar (C, atlantica).

An earlier (less professional) photo of the same tree. You can find this one in Nick’s excellent book on collecting bonsai, Bonsai from the Wild (Stone Lantern Publishing).

You can find this in-training collected Larch in Bonsai from the Wild by Larch Master Nick Lenz (Stone Lantern Publishing). Good tapers on larches are hard to come by. This exceptionally strong taper is the result of what Nick calls a ‘swamp layer.’ For details see the chapter on larches in Bonsai from the Wild (THE book on collecting).

Planting two trunks together that diverge as they ascend is a good way to create the appearance of taper. This image is from an article by Nick Lenz entitled Larch with Taper, that appears in The Bonsai Journal.

Check out our previous post on larches: In Praise of the American Larch: aka the Tamarack

Nicknamed OSAMA
Nick Lenz calls his charming looking, but otherwise nasty little bonsai, OSAMA (no explanation needed).

Halloween bonsai
Though you may not take poison ivy bonsai seriously (or take it at all, for that matter), Nick does. Here’s a few of his words (lifted from his book): While poison ivy may be considered a Halloween bonsai, the species has great charm and interest, especially when fruiting. Unfortunately, my most cherished specimen was stolen by a very foolish teenager. Never pass up an outstanding trunk of this species and always pack latex gloves in your collecting kit.

Nick Lenz calls this rugged heavily scarred old larch a ‘super hack back job’ (performed with a chainsaw). It’s noteworthy for its excellent taper and nebari (among other things), things that doesn’t come naturally with most larches. I guess you could say that the Halloween carving is also noteworthy. The photo is from Nick’s book, Bonsai from the Wild (Stone Lantern Publishing).

Round these parts it’s a Tamarack
Here in Vermont we are right on the southern edge of the Larix laricina’s range. Most bonsai enthusiasts (and many others) refer to it as the American larch, but around here almost everyone calls it the Tamarack.

So many good qualities
Of all the trees that grow around here, larches are the most prized bonsai candidates. They are easy to grow, flexible, take to pruning and root pruning, have small bright green needles and excellent fall color, the wood is easy to carve and the resulting deadwood is attractive, they develop real character with age, and so forth…

This rugged old naturally dwarfed larch is makes its home in the middle of a somewhat barren and boggy, larch-friendly field. Nick Lenz says that trees like this one with plenty of deadwood are often riddled with borers and that the gems are usually found in the smaller mounded forms (if you look close, you can see some). This photo is also from Nick’s book, Bonsai from the Wild.

And quite unique in their own right
Larches are abundant in these parts, especially in the boggy lowlands. However, because they are conifers that happen to be deciduous, they are unique among the world’s trees (there are only three or four – depending how you classify – deciduous conifers in the world). This gives larches a special cache, as well as a bright yellow fall color.

This  famous bonsai (also from Nick’s book) gives you a pretty good idea of why larches are valued for their seductive yellow-golden fall foliage.

A little man-made rocky hill in my back yard that doubles as a bonsai field growing area. You can see about twelve different species in this shot (excluding the big trees in the back) including several larch. If you are interested in more on field growing, here’s the latest in a series of posts we have been running.

Not ready yet
I’ve been collecting young larch for about five years and growing them on. They are all are still fairly small and need to stay in the field for many more years to age and gain some character, so none are really developed enough to show you much. Nevertheless, here’s a couple photos to give you some idea of what’s going on.  Meanwhile, for the real goods, we always have Rarch Master Renz’s (Larch Master Lenz’s) trees to enjoy.

Here’s one I dug up on a friend’s farm and stuck in my yard for about four years. There trunk is almost 2″ (5cm) thick just above the root that flares out on the right. As you can see, it lacks good taper, which is a common drawback with larches. This year I decided it was time to do a little work on it, so that’s why its in a training pot. I ended up butchering it a bit (some people call it carving) and then sticking it back in the ground. As is often the case, I neglected to take photos. BTW: This photo and the one above are by my friend Amy Plamer, one person who does have the wherewithal to remember her camera.

This American larch (Larix laricina) was sent to us by John Romano. It was selected as 1 of 100 in JAL World Bonsai Photo contest 2004.  It was purchased as raw collected stock from American larch hero Nick Lenz. John Romano has been devoted to teaching bonsai for the past ten years and has developed Kaikou School of Bonsai (a two year program at at New England Bonsai). Kaikou is a somewhat archaic Japanese term that means ‘unexpected encounter’ or ‘crossing paths’.

Your turn
Our Fearless Bonsai Warrior program is about you and your bonsai. In other words, I want you to send us photos. It’s easy, just attach them to an email to wayne@stonelantern.com. You don’t have to be a professional or a bonsai teacher (like John Romano), just someone with a bonsai and a camera.

Don’t worry about rejection
Don’t worry about rejection or ridicule. I like all attempts at bonsai, even the ones I don’t like. If we like yours enough, we’ll feature it here. If not, I’ll send you a kind and gentle letter explaining what I think you need to do to improve your tree. Not that what I think will necessarily be helpful, but there’s always a chance, however remote.

Another of John Romano’s bonsai. This Dwarf Japanese garden juniper (Juniperus procumbens ‘nana’) was purchased at New England Bonsai in 2003. My guess is that it originally came from the Los Angeles area, as I don’t think you will ever see a trunk that thick on a procumbens nana that was grown in New England or anywhere else in the temperate zone. Though I like this tree, I can see a couple things that might be improved. Anyone have any ideas?

A naturalistic Norway spruce (Picea abies) by Walter Pall (from Bonsai Today issue 106). This tree was awarded third place overall in the Bonsai Today/Art of Bonsai 2006 photo contest. Walter also won first and second place in the overall category.

The Naturalistic Bonsai Movement?
In the expanding galaxy of accomplished Western bonsai artists, Walter Pall’s bonsai skills and dedication to teaching and promoting the art of bonsai make him one of the brightest stars. Walter is also one of the most prominent proponents of what could be called the Naturalistic Bonsai Movement (or something like that).

In our last Great Debate post, I promised you more from Walter on the topic. The quotes below by Walter are from an article entitled A Naturalistic Scot’s Pine that appeared in Bonsai Today issue 104 (out of print).

The other two photos in this post are NOT Walter’s trees. They are rather, my idea of two worthy examples of naturalistic bonsai by other artists.

This sinuous root American larch (Larix larcina) by Harvey Carapella, appears in North American Bonsai (American Bonsai Society; compiled and edited by Martin Schmalenberg). At first glance you might think it has only four trunks (were it so, would it be a problem?), but if you look closely, you can see a small piece of the fifth trunk just to the left of the trunk on the right.

Quoting Walter Pall
We started this quote from Walter in our previous Great Debate post, but left it hanging. So here’s the whole paragraph: “A traditional bonsai is ideal; it is abstract. A naturalistic bonsai is realistic, but never totally realistic. There’s always a certain degree of abstraction. But never going as far as many modern bonsai, which are very groomed, very refined, and often look almost unreal. They certainly look like a human being, not nature, has made them. Naturalistic bonsai is the opposite of this development (which has gone a bit too far in many cases, in my opinion)”

Walter goes on to say… “A lot of people think they understand this, and let nature do the styling of their tree in a pot. They think that naturalistic styling is just letting a tree grow and styling here and there. This is wrong. It is called naturalistic because it NOT natural. The trick is NOT to leave the stock as is and let nature do the styling. ‘Naturalistic’ means that the end result, the finished tree in a pot, conveys the feeling of an impressive natural tree that has not been touched by man. It does not matter how this is achieved, but in most cases it is done very artificially – not by nature!”

The question of method
“Naturalistic bonsai has nothing to do with method, but only with result. Clip-and-grow without using wire is an old method for creating bonsai. Many think this is naturalistic bonsai styling. It is not, but it could be. A hedge is created by clip-and-grow method; and it can hardly be called naturalistic…”

Not an excuse for lazy people
Naturalistic is not an excuse for lazy people. It is not about untidy looking trees. It is not a shortcut. I think it is even more labor intensive than traditional styling…”

Ground juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) by Nick Lenz, from Bonsai from the Wild 2nd ed. (Stone Lantern Publishing).

Enough for now
That’s enough for now. We’ll revisit the topic later. Meanwhile, I look forward to your comments. Here are links to the two previous posts on the Great Debate, in case you missed them: One & two.