Hi Xav. Yes it is going much colder this week, what Peter did and said helped you re-look at your tree in a new light, not only got you looking at your tree, I hope as I have taken another look at our trees and maybe see them differently and make changes to the style to improve them, I will protect the repotted larch over this cold spell, roll on spring to give us all a lift out of gloom.
Great advice, and excellent changes toy your old literati Larches. The wow factor is almost there. Looking forward to your massive Larch forest in spring.
Dear Xavier, lovely work on the one in the "coconut", it looks much better now. As for the forest, I think it was the right decision getting rid of the stump in the middle, it was rather distracting. The shape of the dormant fellow together with the two stones in front and back have a nice rhythm to them - I am not into figurines at all, but this one does really fit. Thanks for the video!
Wow!!!. Peters advice was spot on. But you created it and what a fantastic creation it is. Good skills as we say up North. From that advice I think Peter would say get rid of the one with 90 deg bend, it is never going to blend or bend so it would make a better small jin and allow for the rest of the branch to be brought down and spread out creating, almost, instant little pads. Happy Bonsai.
I am right with you on that advice Martin. I tend to do things in slower stages, so want this to flush out for a season before i revisit and do the work you have suggested :)
Exciting evolution on your larches! Amazing how removing one tree and adding your sleeping mudman completely changed the feel and tied the composition together. Also love the bending you've done with your other larches. Certainly brings out the WOW factor. I do agree with below comments regarding growing out your literati style tree - this may negate the slender graceful lines. I guess you need to decide if you want a literati or a cascade. Either way, the tree has really progressed forward!
Cascade was an error of the tongue that I didnt catch until late into editing. I shall let the buds flourish and try and develop a lot more healthy growth...which I shall later wire out.
I was just as surprised at the change and now I have so much more opportunity to develop some twiggier complimentary branching on that lower limb. I will end up removing a lot of the top left eventually :)
PS i love your humility and please keep being humble…. But you are far from a beginner. 25 years in this silly hobby we love. You’re the man. Keep doing your “slightly advanced for a beginner” work.
Cheers for that. I neve rplan what comes out of my mouth so i can honestly say 'what i say is what I feel'. I'm just lucky to have so many people willing to support this journey of mine. All the best :)
I like the literati treatment of the first tree - the Peter Chan tree. Not sure about growing it out more. Less is more perhaps, particularly with literati. The current apex might even be too strong with the main branch (vertical and off to the left) seeming a little too thick and out of proportion to me. Of course, there needs to be enough foliage to stay healthy, but the absence of foliage can also be dramatic. The dominant feature of the tree (for me) is the trunk/branch structure, and I would want to see that all year. And I love the pot. And it's your tree so what you like with it! 😃
Definitely agree but I want to let this tree have a year of fresh growth because it has been relatively slow over the last 4 or 5 years. I will be removing a lot more before it is finished :)
Hi Xav good to see you working on Larch, Peter was right, experience is key, we all have a bit of tunnel vision we're are trees are concerned, I forest looked really good after pruning last summer. The best and safest time to repot Larch is now, I have repotted my really old tree, the need to increase root growth so will work on that over time. All the best my friend.
What a gorgeous development 😍👍 That cannot be achieved by putting stones on 😂 I didn’t yet wire my larch. 🫣 Guess that’s my challenge I’m still not taking… 🤷🏼♀️ Enjoyed watching you and your tree all the more. 👍🤩 Thanks. 🙏 Cheers. 🙋♀️ Martina
In my opinion you took the highroad over the suggestion that I would've also felt offended by but you took it, made it your own and the tree looks great! Your delivery makes your channel one of my favorites to watch, not only in the bonsai space!
Thank you. The meesage for this video was actually that very point. I was upset and yet had no real reason to be so. I think we can all get a little protective of our hobbies sometimes. Not a problem but good to be aware of :)
Nice one Xavier! Yeah I think Peter was onto something. I like what you did with it. It’s very interesting to get other people’s opinions on our work, some are great like Peter’s, but others may have to come with a grain of salt. 😊 I’m excited to see more of this large larch forest (haha say that five times fast!)!
Another good one. Into my third year and wiring doesn't worry me. My biggest problem so far is SOIL! Had trouble with potting from nursery pots into bonsai soil. Matching nutrient requirements and moisture levels for the many tree species is what I struggle with.
My approach may be a little too broad. Truthfully I spent many years doing a 50/50 split between orgainc and inorganic basic mix. It was budget driven but never seemed to cause harm to my trees. I am the worst for thinking about balancing nurtients and still my trees put up with me! The key sits on moisture retention for me. Understanding your climate is key and that's what makes soil such a challenge for us all :)
Usually, if I'm getting criticism it's when I'm seeking input because I'm not sure what direction to go with. I like all differing viewpoints because each one is a new option open to me (or in some cases better off to avoid doing). It's like you said with the blinders on, looking at your trees so much it becomes strangely difficult to see other possibilities. This is why give-aways at a bonsai club are so great. You may be tired and stuck on the progress of a tree but others immediately see potential and will eagerly take it on and vise-versa.
I liked that tree before you re styled it. It’s a nice flat top style. It looks great after restyling it. I think you should grow another tree and have one in the way it was and keep that one like it is now.
As I said in the video - I liked it as it was BUT this did seem a great opportunity to show how listening to others can sometimes be beneficial (even if it annoys you). I may struggle to replicate the original...it took several footballs and 4 kids to createe that design :)
Lovely larch Xavier the wiring and styling as made a world of difference I think we all get a bit tunnel visioned I have been taking some of my trees to my Bonsai society run by Malcolm and Cath Hughes lots of experienced members who have helped me loads there advice and experience are invaluable and as a beginner I like the opinions you get makes you see with fresh approach’s can’t wait to see the huge larch forest happy Bonsai buddy 🫶
I love that new style. I think there are a number of your trees you could do more style enhancing to. Me, I don’t think you need a bigger pot unless you trying to put it back into growing stage.
You may well be right - I will have a look when I do the repot. often I say stuff as I style and then later look back and realise it isn't whaat is going to happen. Cheers
I only have a couple of them. I do find they are not as easy to produce as it seems. Thankfully, the trunk on this and the main defining branch were perfectly set up for the new approach :)
30 years ago I started to look into bonsai. I didn't really take it too seriously because of moving house etc I let it lapse. Back then when I was a little bit keen I went to Peter Chan's nursery and also went to see him in a display where he showed people how to create bonsai's. I remember him hanging on a quite tall fir tree and snapping it and ripping half the tree off right down to the base and leaving just one branch and then suddenly he turned it into a bonsai. When we went to his nursery we were looking around and he was milling around in the background. He had a person, if my memory serves me correctly it was a girl obviously taking some training. She had this tree and it looked really nice and he just walked up behind her put one finger on one branch and one finger on the other branch which were wired and just pushed them down about half a centimeter or so and completely transformed the tree and then just walked away without saying a single word. A true master. I'm now retired and I'm going to have another go. I purchased a few bargains over the winter and yesterday I also popped into a garden center which I haven't been in for a while. I found a pot full of 10 hornbeam for hedging and all of them have got movement in the trunks and lots of branches and not one of them is dead straight. Can't wait to take them out of the pot and see what they're like on their own. I'm getting excited here I never was this excited when I tried 30 years ago.
That is so good to hear - every tree presents aa different choice. I have never got bored and love the challenge of turnign a plant into a bonsai. People keep telling me to get rid of loads of rubbish trees from my garden BUT...the real fun comes from having success with those ugly ducklings :)
Hi Xavier, some thoughts about bending in the winter: Usually in winter loads of snow covers the trees in my area, branches are naturally heavily bent downwards. No issues with that. Instead of snow I love to use stones to gain that weight to bend my conifers big branches… Nice side-effect: The additional weight also helps to thicken the trunk. … And I kind of like the way it looks like
PPS: really like the changes you made based on Peter’s suggestion. Thanks for sharing your experience though and process. It’s amazing how one person can impact another and on and on. 🪴
Hi Xavier, i like the changes you made to the first larch but i feel there could be a danger to becoming too formulaic when looking to restyle and one runs the risk of ending up with a bench full of clones. looking forward to seeing these in full leaf. Cheers
Thankfully this is the only larch I have tried this on. I am not a big advocate for literati because the tree already needs a well developed and appropriate trunk line. You shoudl know me well enough that I tend to veer away from formulaic :)
Looks great with that limb bent down. You'll have a chance to let it grow out and down, which will fill the tree out a lot more. My only complaint is that you've gasted my flabber! 😂
The new design looks really good and suits the tree, much improved, why would you not take Peters advice, just remember you grow trees for your self so be just as determined to say no i like it as is just as much as biting the bullet and restyling.
I have thought 'no' more times than I care to remember - especially now I have a channel and get loads of different suggestions. My real reason for this video was to show how 'negative' we can sometimes feel if another person suggests a different style rather than just say 'I love it'...which is what we really want to hear :)
In your forest I think I would have broken it as you did but left it attached and laying down to the ground. You see that in forests where they break in a storm but still hanging on.
I think that would work with more trees and if it wasn't in the centre of the piece. I have used that approach a couple of times but find it just rots away to quickly to be a long term solution :)
I never said he was. This was really about how we can sometimes get blinkered and occasionally annoyed when somebody doesn't respond how we expect to a tree we love. On this occasion he happened to be right...that does come from a lot of experience. That's what makes this such an intriguing hobby. Cheers :)
While I love Bonsai and learning some of the egos are disheartening. I'd rather not feed incase of exploding head syndrome. It makes a difference when someone talks to you, not down to you.
Thankfully this was not about ego just about being able to listen to diffent opinions and then evaluate if it is appropriate for your tree. You would be amazed how many 'egos' seem to pass judgements on my trees :)
![Part 3️⃣ | Discover the Beauty of Larch Bonsai: Repotting and Root Care [45-46 years old]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Iq_rtYTgIxE/mqdefault.jpg)
All looking great my friend. I sure hope Spring comes as soon as you say. 😮
I can't complain really - it isn't like I get the arctic conditions you have to deal with :)
Hi Xav. Yes it is going much colder this week, what Peter did and said helped you re-look at your tree in a new light, not only got you looking at your tree, I hope as I have taken another look at our trees and maybe see them differently and make changes to the style to improve them, I will protect the repotted larch over this cold spell, roll on spring to give us all a lift out of gloom.
Amen to that
Great advice, and excellent changes toy your old literati Larches. The wow factor is almost there. Looking forward to your massive Larch forest in spring.
It is definitely going to be a challenge getting these old trees put together.
Dear Xavier, lovely work on the one in the "coconut", it looks much better now. As for the forest, I think it was the right decision getting rid of the stump in the middle, it was rather distracting. The shape of the dormant fellow together with the two stones in front and back have a nice rhythm to them - I am not into figurines at all, but this one does really fit.
Thanks for the video!
I use to use figurines and animals to hid imperfections but m now trying to make them compliment a design. So much still to learn :)
Wow!!!. Peters advice was spot on. But you created it and what a fantastic creation it is. Good skills as we say up North. From that advice I think Peter would say get rid of the one with 90 deg bend, it is never going to blend or bend so it would make a better small jin and allow for the rest of the branch to be brought down and spread out creating, almost, instant little pads. Happy Bonsai.
I am right with you on that advice Martin. I tend to do things in slower stages, so want this to flush out for a season before i revisit and do the work you have suggested :)
I like this a lot. I do think the larch is hitting a higher level, impressive! Thanks Xavier!
Cheers randy - it took me a week before I finally decided to see if he was right :)
Exciting evolution on your larches! Amazing how removing one tree and adding your sleeping mudman completely changed the feel and tied the composition together. Also love the bending you've done with your other larches. Certainly brings out the WOW factor. I do agree with below comments regarding growing out your literati style tree - this may negate the slender graceful lines. I guess you need to decide if you want a literati or a cascade. Either way, the tree has really progressed forward!
Cascade was an error of the tongue that I didnt catch until late into editing. I shall let the buds flourish and try and develop a lot more healthy growth...which I shall later wire out.
@@XaviersBonsaiRetreat I can't wait - she'll be a beauty!
Great advice. Lovely to see Peter.
Cheers Gail - he is definitely unique
I think it looks better as it is now with the figure.
I do like that figurine leaning on a barrel - mcuh better than a dead stump :)
that larch looked ok before, but wow, the improvement is significant
I was just as surprised at the change and now I have so much more opportunity to develop some twiggier complimentary branching on that lower limb. I will end up removing a lot of the top left eventually :)
Love this video and thanks for talking about our club again means a lot ❤ (Dave )
No worries
PS i love your humility and please keep being humble…. But you are far from a beginner. 25 years in this silly hobby we love. You’re the man. Keep doing your “slightly advanced for a beginner” work.
Cheers for that. I neve rplan what comes out of my mouth so i can honestly say 'what i say is what I feel'. I'm just lucky to have so many people willing to support this journey of mine. All the best :)
I like the literati treatment of the first tree - the Peter Chan tree. Not sure about growing it out more. Less is more perhaps, particularly with literati. The current apex might even be too strong with the main branch (vertical and off to the left) seeming a little too thick and out of proportion to me. Of course, there needs to be enough foliage to stay healthy, but the absence of foliage can also be dramatic. The dominant feature of the tree (for me) is the trunk/branch structure, and I would want to see that all year. And I love the pot. And it's your tree so what you like with it! 😃
Definitely agree but I want to let this tree have a year of fresh growth because it has been relatively slow over the last 4 or 5 years. I will be removing a lot more before it is finished :)
@ Yes, there’s no rush. We are all growing 300 year old trees, so just a custodian for a short while.
nice video again. i do like the new styling, the tree looks much more "wow" now!
Thanks Mark - the 2nd one remains a problem...but time and fertiliser amy give it another opportunity to shine :)
Thanks Xav, life lessons along with great bonsai lessons. What a channel.
The two do seem to be going hand in hand right now :)
Nice work on the larch and love the pot it’s in
I think the pot works even better withh the new design.
Very interesting video the forest are bringing the woods in the garden building a wonderful would thanks xaver
I am glad I added the little forest clips to this video. It is always nice to have a blend of topics at this time of year :)
Hi Xav good to see you working on Larch, Peter was right, experience is key, we all have a bit of tunnel vision we're are trees are concerned, I forest looked really good after pruning last summer. The best and safest time to repot Larch is now, I have repotted my really old tree, the need to increase root growth so will work on that over time. All the best my friend.
I think you are right - although we appear to be going into 2 weeks of below zero temps. You just can't rush experience :)
What a gorgeous development 😍👍 That cannot be achieved by putting stones on 😂 I didn’t yet wire my larch. 🫣 Guess that’s my challenge I’m still not taking… 🤷🏼♀️ Enjoyed watching you and your tree all the more. 👍🤩 Thanks. 🙏 Cheers. 🙋♀️ Martina
It took me 24 years to take the plunge and wire this one...so don't be too hard on yourself :)
In my opinion you took the highroad over the suggestion that I would've also felt offended by but you took it, made it your own and the tree looks great! Your delivery makes your channel one of my favorites to watch, not only in the bonsai space!
Thank you. The meesage for this video was actually that very point. I was upset and yet had no real reason to be so. I think we can all get a little protective of our hobbies sometimes. Not a problem but good to be aware of :)
Nice one Xavier! Yeah I think Peter was onto something. I like what you did with it. It’s very interesting to get other people’s opinions on our work, some are great like Peter’s, but others may have to come with a grain of salt. 😊 I’m excited to see more of this large larch forest (haha say that five times fast!)!
I think the key is being able to listen, reevaluate...the decide. There is never a requirement to take anybodies advice :)
@ that is perfectly put.
I really like the tree you did a sort of cascade on
Cheers - I got my words mixed up when I meant to say Literati :)
@ I realised I did the same when I wrote cascade hahaha
Glad you took Peter’s advice, 110% better in my opinion. Well done!
You are not the only one who is happy to have done so :)
What a reveal. Great looking finished project
It was a massive difference that I didn't expect. I was blown away by it :)
Another good one. Into my third year and wiring doesn't worry me. My biggest problem so far is SOIL! Had trouble with potting from nursery pots into bonsai soil. Matching nutrient requirements and moisture levels for the many tree species is what I struggle with.
My approach may be a little too broad. Truthfully I spent many years doing a 50/50 split between orgainc and inorganic basic mix. It was budget driven but never seemed to cause harm to my trees. I am the worst for thinking about balancing nurtients and still my trees put up with me! The key sits on moisture retention for me. Understanding your climate is key and that's what makes soil such a challenge for us all :)
TBH, I like both the before and after. But this is the fun thing about bonsai, you can try different things.
Me too :)
I think Peter's advice and your work have greatly improved the look of my tree. 😁
Thanks Matt - I'm certainly happier
Usually, if I'm getting criticism it's when I'm seeking input because I'm not sure what direction to go with. I like all differing viewpoints because each one is a new option open to me (or in some cases better off to avoid doing).
It's like you said with the blinders on, looking at your trees so much it becomes strangely difficult to see other possibilities. This is why give-aways at a bonsai club are so great. You may be tired and stuck on the progress of a tree but others immediately see potential and will eagerly take it on and vise-versa.
Excellent point :)
I liked that tree before you re styled it. It’s a nice flat top style. It looks great after restyling it. I think you should grow another tree and have one in the way it was and keep that one like it is now.
As I said in the video - I liked it as it was BUT this did seem a great opportunity to show how listening to others can sometimes be beneficial (even if it annoys you). I may struggle to replicate the original...it took several footballs and 4 kids to createe that design :)
Lovely larch Xavier the wiring and styling as made a world of difference I think we all get a bit tunnel visioned I have been taking some of my trees to my Bonsai society run by Malcolm and Cath Hughes lots of experienced members who have helped me loads there advice and experience are invaluable and as a beginner I like the opinions you get makes you see with fresh approach’s can’t wait to see the huge larch forest happy Bonsai buddy 🫶
Never ever hurts to hear what someone else has to say. The struggle is to stop ourselves feeling upset by it :)
I love that new style.
I think there are a number of your trees you could do more style enhancing to.
Me, I don’t think you need a bigger pot unless you trying to put it back into growing stage.
You may well be right - I will have a look when I do the repot. often I say stuff as I style and then later look back and realise it isn't whaat is going to happen. Cheers
Literati is my fav Bonsai style. 👍🏻😉
I only have a couple of them. I do find they are not as easy to produce as it seems. Thankfully, the trunk on this and the main defining branch were perfectly set up for the new approach :)
30 years ago I started to look into bonsai. I didn't really take it too seriously because of moving house etc I let it lapse. Back then when I was a little bit keen I went to Peter Chan's nursery and also went to see him in a display where he showed people how to create bonsai's. I remember him hanging on a quite tall fir tree and snapping it and ripping half the tree off right down to the base and leaving just one branch and then suddenly he turned it into a bonsai. When we went to his nursery we were looking around and he was milling around in the background. He had a person, if my memory serves me correctly it was a girl obviously taking some training. She had this tree and it looked really nice and he just walked up behind her put one finger on one branch and one finger on the other branch which were wired and just pushed them down about half a centimeter or so and completely transformed the tree and then just walked away without saying a single word. A true master. I'm now retired and I'm going to have another go. I purchased a few bargains over the winter and yesterday I also popped into a garden center which I haven't been in for a while. I found a pot full of 10 hornbeam for hedging and all of them have got movement in the trunks and lots of branches and not one of them is dead straight. Can't wait to take them out of the pot and see what they're like on their own. I'm getting excited here I never was this excited when I tried 30 years ago.
That is so good to hear - every tree presents aa different choice. I have never got bored and love the challenge of turnign a plant into a bonsai. People keep telling me to get rid of loads of rubbish trees from my garden BUT...the real fun comes from having success with those ugly ducklings :)
Thanks Xavier 👍
Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment :)
Looking forward to see the birth of the mega forest 😁
Stuill feels a daunting challenge but will be fun.
Love the new styling, excellent work Xavier
Thanks nerina - I am really hopeful this will allow me to develop the tree a lot more than previously possible :)
Great content per usual! Thanks for your effort to contribute to the online bonsai community 👍
We are all one big team trying to get to grips with this incredible hobby :)
@@XaviersBonsaiRetreat I concur - thanks for your support!
Hi Xavier, some thoughts about bending in the winter: Usually in winter loads of snow covers the trees in my area, branches are naturally heavily bent downwards. No issues with that. Instead of snow I love to use stones to gain that weight to bend my conifers big branches… Nice side-effect: The additional weight also helps to thicken the trunk. … And I kind of like the way it looks like
Sounds like you know what works best in your area Martina :)
PPS: really like the changes you made based on Peter’s suggestion. Thanks for sharing your experience though and process. It’s amazing how one person can impact another and on and on. 🪴
It was the same with Corin at Greenwoods. Jelle also caused me to look at some aspects differently.
great informative video mate. very inspiring to me you are :)
You are too kind :)
Hi Xavier, i like the changes you made to the first larch but i feel there could be a danger to becoming too formulaic when looking to restyle and one runs the risk of ending up with a bench full of clones. looking forward to seeing these in full leaf.
Cheers
Thankfully this is the only larch I have tried this on. I am not a big advocate for literati because the tree already needs a well developed and appropriate trunk line. You shoudl know me well enough that I tend to veer away from formulaic :)
Looks good, but please remove the airial root: it causes inverse taper.
Really? I shall go and see why i hadn't noticed that before :)
Great video xav 👊👊👊
Thanks Andy - looking forward to seeing my new pot for the maple :)
Lärche geht immer! 👍
- That’s what we use to say in my language. 🇦🇹😉
Danke
Looks great with that limb bent down.
You'll have a chance to let it grow out and down, which will fill the tree out a lot more. My only complaint is that you've gasted my flabber! 😂
Just dont get narked by it :)
@XaviersBonsaiRetreat 😂
The new design looks really good and suits the tree, much improved, why would you not take Peters advice, just remember you grow trees for your self so be just as determined to say no i like it as is just as much as biting the bullet and restyling.
I have thought 'no' more times than I care to remember - especially now I have a channel and get loads of different suggestions. My real reason for this video was to show how 'negative' we can sometimes feel if another person suggests a different style rather than just say 'I love it'...which is what we really want to hear :)
In your forest I think I would have broken it as you did but left it attached and laying down to the ground. You see that in forests where they break in a storm but still hanging on.
I think that would work with more trees and if it wasn't in the centre of the piece. I have used that approach a couple of times but find it just rots away to quickly to be a long term solution :)
😊
Hi Sylvia - hope all is well with you :)
Dang I think Peter was right
That's what i thought when I had finished. He barely looked at the tree when he gave the advice and then just walked off :)
👍👌🙂
Cheers bruce
Peter Chan isn't key to everything! Despite his long and excellent experience.
I never said he was. This was really about how we can sometimes get blinkered and occasionally annoyed when somebody doesn't respond how we expect to a tree we love. On this occasion he happened to be right...that does come from a lot of experience. That's what makes this such an intriguing hobby. Cheers :)
While I love Bonsai and learning some of the egos are disheartening.
I'd rather not feed incase of exploding head syndrome.
It makes a difference when someone talks to you, not down to you.
Thankfully this was not about ego just about being able to listen to diffent opinions and then evaluate if it is appropriate for your tree. You would be amazed how many 'egos' seem to pass judgements on my trees :)
Very nice Larches ! I love them 🥰 i will send you an email whit a Photo Look at it please ❤ 🫶 cheers 🍻
Of course I will :)
@ 👍👍👍👍