Before and after. This unusual Japanese white pine, with three trunks merging to give the appearance of one thicker trunk is by Juan Andrade.
Continuing with our Before and After series, here’s one of my favorites, dug up from our archives (October, 2013). It’s a Japanese white pine transformation that is so unusual, with results so striking and unique, that… well, you can see for yourself.
The artist, Juan Andrade is one of a whole host of young Western apprentices (Costa Rica in Juan’s case) who are studying or have studied in Japan. The before, during and after (antes, durante y después) photos are from a photo album on facebook.
Continued below…
The progression. It's clear that plenty happens that you can't see. For example, how on earth did he get the left trunk to cooperate? Twisting the trunk to present a different view and then lowering the planting angle help but maybe there's more to it...?
Before. From this to what you see below is no mean feat. There's that pesky bowed out left trunk for starters, but clearly there's more.
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During. Still in the same pot, but leaning farther to the right.
After. Somehow the gap between the trunks has decreased and the third trunk has almost entirely disappeared. And it would be a shame if we focused too much on trunks and missed the highly skilled wiring and trimming of the branching and crown. As mentioned above, no mean feat
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