SandevBonsai - 2018. Bonsai sessions with Walter Pall

Dear all…
I will be posting a series of videos of tree discussions with our unique and inspirational international master Walter Pall
hope you will enjoy the content ...be inspired and learn a lot
I am very thankful that I had the opportunity to listen to this man for days and hours during past years, that I was be able to spend so much time with him...to learn from his 40 years huge experience and enormous charisma. I am proud and I think that I could with all humbleness call him a friend
He was priceless in my bonsai development and extremely inspirational.
I am doing all this with just one reason...because I have a wish to share him with the rest of the bonsai world who didn t have the opportunity to listen his bonsai wisdom in person.
Take some of that magic through these films...
All the best
S

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Saturday, November 10, 2018

Season 2018. - Carp 1


This is a fantastic and very problematic tree. It has a gigantic surface root spread, huge nebari
and that is a main feature of the tree as I see it.
The tree was collected in 2010 and potted in a big wooden temporary container
which measured almost a meter in square…90x90cm.
When it came time to repot this tree….those roots were too big for any bonsai
pot in order to remain in scale with the rest of the tree.
And...if you cannot fit the tree in to the bonsai pot….what good it is for?
Well, you don t need a very good...lets say impressive tree in a wooden box,
or plastic bin, do you?
So I decided to drasticly further reduce/cut the nebari closer to the base of the trunk.
And the tree responded badly. I expected that it will be some problems...lets say slower 
growth season, minimal branch extension...in other words, like a freshly  collected tree.
But it was worse. The tree almost died. I had to strip it of all his leaves in the middle of spring and
hope it will put out new shoots and slowly recover.
I have repotted the tree in an oversized container to let it grow freely with lot of
root run. 


That was 2 years ago.


Everything settled. Tree slowly started again...but this is the result. First 4 years were
waisted. I had to make deep cuts in a trunk...to remove all dead basal branches that were dry and
without any growth..
Now...after 2 years in a huge pot with very free draining mix and heavily fed...the tree explodes
of newly gathered power. Growes like crazy and produces shoots  a meter long in spring.

Now, on this video, all that new shoots were turned into new branches, wired and repositioned.
All that heavy cuts were shaped with the makita grinder and burned...shaped.
(about how to go with wounds on deciduous trees in next video)

This great tree is now ready for rebuilding of a new crown over a few years .
It will stay in this pot without repotting at least 2 more years...maybe 3.

Will report progress

The tree is showed in previous videos...if someone finds this interesting you can easily look and
see how it was before.







Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Hedera - first serious editing of branch structure after 2013.

Defoliated...wireing removed...edited in detail
Next year repotting after 5 years.


Partialy defoliated...



Defoliated and edited in detail...crown structure is opened and whole picture now looks much more clean.
This tree was wired and pruned for 24 years...since 1994.







Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Walter Pall at my place

Walter was so kind to bring me some pots I needed for repottings this spring.
Those are probably definitive...or at least very close to definitive pots for those few trees. One of them is extra large and I thank Walter for having trouble finding a pot for my extra large tree.
Photos after repotting will be here posted in a few days.
I was also happy to meet Thomas who acompanied Walter on his trip to Istria.
Always good feeling to have good people close in my garden...especialy Walter who is at home at my place after all those years.
We discussed a few trees...and although our time togeather was very short...I enjoyed it very much.
HE PROMISED...we will do more of Bonsai Academy videos...now with more advanced trees and less with a fresh starter material.
Thanks Walt for your photos.











Saturday, March 17, 2018

Winter sessions III


One more 'old man of the forest'

This is fairy tale bonsai in purest edition.

I absolutely adore this kind of trees (woodland entities).

60cm high x 50cm wide weights around 50kg

Also just first styling...just a sketch



Winter sessions II



First styling of a new material. This is a very old tree.
Nebari is 70x50cm.
Temporary wooden box.






Friday, February 16, 2018

Winter sessions I

Lots of work...cleaning and wiring
It has been a long time and I'm a bit rusty...let's start small and easy...

This is ok...when I can start and finish with a tree in couple of hours...with larger more demanding trees...work is spread on couple of days or a week....on a larger tree, every branch is like this whole tree.
I will try my best...huge work must be finished before spring...before Walter is coming :)