A wind swept, clump style pine
I dug this group of trees in March 91, at the same time and place as the previous "lanky pine". It was growing under the hanging branches of a big pine, on a sheath of rock in very shallow soil.
Apparently, many seeds from a single cone had germinated very close together,
resulting in a clump of 8 individual plants. The plants were reaching to one
side, in search for the light.
This photo shows the group, virtually untouched a month after collection.
The roots were flat and compact so there was no risk to immediately plant the
group in a wooden box.
In September 91, the Swedish Bonsai Society organized a workshop with Horst
Krekeler. At the time, I had very little raw material and this plant had grown
very well during its first summer in the box, so this was the material I
decided to work on.
It was not difficult to decide on the style. The trees were not possible to
separate and they were all growing in one direction already. The sketch is
drawn by Mr. Krekeler and was his vision for the future of this group. We
removed one of the trees from the center and the picture shows the result of
our efforts and the usefulness of having a wing on your Saab.
I shortened most branches as much as possible to encourage more compact growth
by budding back from old wood. I also violently zigzagged many branches to
visually shorten them.
The picture is from April 92. I have repotted in a bonsai pot and did a
complete rewiring, the old wires already had sunk deep into the bark.
As the plants grew, I gradually reduced the number of branches and also
shortened one of the trees to try to get more harmony in the group. The picture
is from the autumn of 93.
I felt the group was to upright for the wind swept style and started using pull
down wires to bend some of the trees more to the left. I also tried to plant
the tree higher in the pot each year to show some root buttress.
This photo was taken in the spring of 95. With the help of pull down wires and
further removal of branches, the plant now start to get into the form I was
trying for.
I have gradually removed some ugly thin surface roots. This must be done
carefully because the trees are individuals and it is important that each
retain enough roots.
November 96. I have removed 6-7 further branches and more is needed to create a feeling of space in-between the trees in this group. I plan to further lower the left-hand trunks and to prune the hardest in that area.
In the coming years I continue to develop the shape by the removal of unnecessary branches and by further inclining the left-hand trunk. I have also pinched the new shots with the aim to increase twigginess and reduce needle length. I do this by totally removing the new candles when they have extended and the new needles are just about to emerge. I start in the weaker areas of the tree and two weeks later finish with the stronger areas. The very weakest shots, I only reduce or even completely leave untouched.
If the weather (on the Swedish West Coast) is fair, the tree will have time to develop new shots within the same season that I pinch back to the desired length. Then, while the needles are extending, I try to water as little as possible. Once the needles have extended and hardened off, I resume normal watering and also start to fertilize. This method equalizes the strength of the trees various parts, the needles get shorter and the new shots are so abundant that one have to select only the most useful.
Keep in mind that this treatment is stressful for the tree and should not be repeated more often than two successful years.
A couple of years, and constant detailed pruning has improved the foliage. I have further reduced the number of branches and have wired some twigs. I have primarily removed illogical branches that grew inside the group and under other branches. In those positions, a branch in reality would not survive due to lack of sufficient light. With the help of guy wires, I have further inclined the trees on the left side to improve the rhythm of the group.
This is what the group looks like in August 2000, approximately at the time of the annual meeting and exhibition of the Swedish Bonsai Society. I was delighted to receive an award for this bonsai with many kind comments from Walter Pall who was the acting judge. If I had not let the guy wires remain on the tree over the exhibition, it would have contested for best in show.
The accent plant is an erodium that was given to me by Pam during a visit to hers and Bob Hampels wonderful bonsai garden in Minneapolis.
Thank you for your interest! It would be very interesting to get your views, on
what could have been done differently, and what I should do with the tree in
the future.