Though a purist might find fault, I love everything about this wonderful raft-style planting: the way the trunks are joined together by the snakelike surface root; the way whole thing undulates across the pot; the aged bark; the lush foliage that imparts a feeling of robust health; its overall shape and the shapes of the individual pieces; and of course the wonderful pot and the unity of the pot and the planting (if you bothered to read this far, you win a prize – see *** below).
Begging the question
I found the photo above (and the one below) at Tae Kukiwon Bonsai on facebook. The caption says John Pitt Bonsai Ceramics – Hawthorn at its best, so I visited John Pitt’s website to see if I could find it there, which I couldn’t. Then suddenly, a very faint flicker occurred, somewhere in the dark recesses of my aging memory, and I thought to search Bonsai Bark for John Pitt. Sure enough, there it was, almost exactly a year ago to the day, and almost foliage free.
This sweet looking peach bonsai is also from Tae Kukiwon Bonsai. It belong to Ivson R. Filipak, at least that’s what the caption says: “Prunus persica – Proprietário Senhor Ivson R. Filipak. Prunus persica var. nucipersica (nectarina anã) que foi adquirida como pré-bonsai no Bonsai do Campo em Porto Amazonas (PR) de propriedade do amigo Carlos Tramujas. Trabalhei nela 4 ano”
*** for those of you who bothered to read this far, you’ll receive a free Bonsai Aesthetics scissors with your next Stone Lantern order (provided you order by May 31st, 2012). All you have to do is put the following in the comments box with your order “free scissors from Bonsai Bark” and we’ll take care of the rest.
free scissors from Bonsai Bark
Keep up the good work, I want to get another couple of pairs of the scissors as well.
JC
Why would a purist find fault with a raft style?
Hi Zack,
Good question.
I think the most obvious fault is the absence of space on either edge of the pot; the planting seems jammed in and would probably be better with some open space on the right. Then there’s the more on less even spacing of the three elements. Finally, the planting lacks depth; all three elements are on the same plane. Two of these three issues are easily corrected by a larger pot and by twisting the planting some to create depth.
All this might beg another question.
Ok, I was thinking the purist remark was about raft in general. I can see this one is crowded in the pot but I think the root hump between the center and left trunks alleviates the spacing issue. there is just no way to see three dimensions in a picture yet so I missed the lack of depth.
I really like a good raft planting. In our shows for the last 20 years I think I have only seen 2. I think that is the next question. What make people shy away from it as a style?
Wayne,
Thanks for publishing my “Prunus persica var. nucipersica”. This photo was taken last december and this plant was about 17 years old and 4 years in training. On that occasion it had 31 fruits on the tree and 3 more that felt and became part of the composition. The plant was merely 32 cm (about one foot) high.
Best regards,
Ivson R Filipak – Brazil
Hi Ivson,
Welcome to Bonsai Bark and thanks for filling us in a bit on your sweet ‘peach of tree.’
Hi Ivson,
Amazing “sweet peach of tree” Im just a beginner in the art of bonsai, but I’m really motivated in creating a raft! i’ll post a picture if it goes well! wish me luck! i’m very excited about it!
H
Thanks Haydee,
Good luck!