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So I'm going to do two projects Hopefully in one video And it's a pinus Mugo or mugo pine but It's one of the named varieties called Gnome g n o m that means like a small uh Wise person so it is grafted here so you Can see the graft but the graft is Pretty good you can't see the transition Between the graft So the first thing we do when we work With pines is to take The needles off from the branches that We're going to wire And then leave the ends there so all the Branches which are potentially viable we Will strip the needles a lot of people Are afraid of doing this but don't be Afraid in fact by stripping the needles You will encourage bug back from these Points So it is perfectly okay to do it Okay let me turn it around And of course while I'm playing around Stripping the needles At the back of my mind I'm thinking all The time what am I going to do with the Tree This is the difficult part Thinking What the plan is is one thing But once you've thought out your plan You've got to execute the plan as I've Always said a lot of people think but They don't act so you need to do the two
Straight away what goes through my mind Let me tell you what goes through my Mind because I think many of you will Find it very useful to see how my Thought process goes along As it is The trunk is nice and thick And I bet you anything it's a very very Healthy tree let's take it out of the Pot Look at those roots Very lovely roots and traces of mycelium As well I always begin by taking some of the Surface root Show the nibari The way the roots go into the ground Determine to quite a large extent the Front and the back of the tree I'm quite encouraged because quite a few Other people are doing YouTube videos Are getting hold of mature like this So it's nice to see people trying Different things and more teachers Coming on to teach you how to do I don't mind the slightest So it's nice that they're spreading the Message around So here we are I've got quite a nice Spread of root there So that will help The Charming which is the front which is The back and as we are now into Autumn Is quite uh okay to fiddle around with
The roots in fact you can't even begin To cut the roots provided you can Protect the tree in the Wind You notice that trees which are grown in Pots have roots that go around and Around look at these roots going around And around you don't want that you want The roots to be radial so any roots that Are not going radially or not growing Radially I will not hesitate to cut it off Just maintain the radio roots Foreign Buttress Okay by by removing some of the soil I Find that there's a slight curve there So that would help Creating a nice line for the tree The big problem if you look at the Street closely is what to do For the leader of the tree There are one two three four major Branches radiating from there I may not need all of them There are several options I could wire The top and not do anything else I could Wire that wireless and then use some of These are the branches Alternatively I could put it as a slant Like so and then use this as the leader And then while this So I won't have to use this one So you can see straight away that there Are many options that you have
This is a useful branch So let us see what we can do My preference although I can use this One This can also work you can see if it's Bent this way I will show you the different options It's nice to be support for having Different options let let Josh comb in On the detail when I get a white plastic Bag So what I was meaning At the top And then use that one to one and get a Very nice tree like that That is one possibility If I didn't want to I can still wire This bit it's so flexible I can wire This and this and still get an Interesting shoe so there are so many Possibilities so many possibilities But as I say it's one thing to keep Thinking and not active so let us do Some acting or take some Decisive actions so I'm going to take The middle out I don't have to but it is One of the options Take that off And clean the center out People who are not into Bonsai would say Oh what a waste it's got all that lovely Growth off I remember going to some of these Growers who do contract growing for us
And when I go to buy trees the trees are Sold by the size height And on one occasion I took my Falco Sectors with me and I started chopping The tops off so you say hey what are you Doing You know please know that we sell my Height by cutting it down from three Feet to two feet you won't be charged Last year I charge the same amount I Said I know that I'm prepared to pay the Full amount so you thought I wanted it Cheap because it's chopping the height Out okay so that gives me straight away A lovely line so I could use that to Create the line for the tree Now where do I start wiring Now this trunk is so thick no way can I Ever bend that so there's no point Putting wire there so to Anchor the wire Probably anchored to one of these and Then go up the truck I haven't decided Which of these to use I know that these little ones can come Off because They may not be useful Although they can be used as a Sacrificial Okay I can do these two together and Then give a Twist to the plug Foreign Foreign Like this because I want to make sure I Don't waste wash I have just the right
Amount of wire to use Keep the wire tight When I do classes I observe how people Work and many of them are afraid to put The wire on tight if you don't put it on Tight the wire is not so effective so Don't be afraid to make it tight And Then let's see what I do with the leader There okay And usually where you get a situation Like that there are already four Branches and a new leader I don't need All of that I can take the leading shoot Out from there And Then turn it Like that also four I don't need I'll Keep three And then I will decide what to do with The rest Yes How far shall I go with this And go all the way to the top And then let's give it a twist Foreign Pliers are very useful Foreign I think I need this for a while Now again this situation where I get Four shoots and one I think I need to take one of them out So let's take the middle one out Most people find
The decision About cutting the shoots of the branches The most difficult thing When you're a beginner making bonsai To what to cut But I always say that the more you Practice the more you will get used to The thought process Now don't forget this has to develop a Lot yet I will keep that for the time being Now again just to reinforce your Learning you see we've got these three Shoots I don't need all of them I will Take the center one up Speaking as long as you take the center One out That will work Then I'll wipe these two let's see what Y will use from that I can make a little Notch to facilitate The bending A little V notches Like so I don't need to flip this brush because A bronze splitter is not going to do Much for the tree Foreign Pines are not like junipers when you Work on a juniper you can get almost an Instant Bonsai because the foliage and The branch structure Is more recognizable When you come to making a bonsai but
With With the Pines they look like bottle Brushes as I've always said and to get That Instant look of a Bonsai is not as easy With a pine So let's carry on doing this Okay that's going to be our back branch If you use the correct gauge of wire you Can virtually do anything as I say And then the rest of these you can also Why So this is only like a few minutes work Can you imagine if you left it for a Year when it produces new bugs it's now October by May of next year I will get Lots of new bites I will leave the Dormant candles to develop by the way Mugo Pines are always characterized by These sticky new candles you see the set Is on the new candles with other Pines You don't get it so much with the Japanese White Pine on the Scotch pine You don't see that effect So let me just continue to wash on these Other branches Foreign Just have a balanced form we are still Looking to create an overall triangular Shape the triangle is the basis of all Decent bonsai So as long as the Triangular shape Is created it will always look Like a bonsai
So that is your aim in life when you're Making bonsai Don't worry if you're trapping the Needles The needles will drop Now this is to be why this is why Foreign Obliging they do virtually anything You wanted to do This wiring goes flat this you can also Wire flat I'm keeping this as a Sacrificial you don't really need that And these ones I will continue to rise Right So this is sticking down I need to make It flat like that so Put some wire to make it flat You notice that I'm doing the two bronze Principle with three branches so to Execute the two bronze principle I've Wired it twice on one branch that's how I do two Branch principle with three Brushes so that is the tree after a few Minutes work that will be planted like This I can put it back in this training Pot or put it in a plastic training pot And let it develop so there you go it's Such a simple process that is what you Do with these Mugo buns so the only bits I cut off was that and that I could have Wired this if I wanted to but I decided Not to because this will give me a Better taper the thinner bronze would Give me a better table so that is that
One so that was a simple one now let's Go to a more complicated Now this is called the pricier Neediformis I think the variety is called little gem And again you see I totally points at my Theorem but this price here has mycelium As well all that white stuff is mycelium And because these are grafted trees you Look at that thick chunky chunk there Such a thick chunk When I whenever you go to garden centers To Buy or select potential material always Select material that has a lot of Branches because the more branches you Have the more options you will have for Choosing the branches which you choose Which you discard So if you didn't have a lot of choice of The branches then you're stuck That is quite logical and really common Sense Now what am I doing here I'm just Teasing away just so that I can get to The base Of the trunk Sorry about the noise some people don't Like the noise Foreign Trunk below that many people neglect Doing this part of the process when they Come to making bonsai but discovering The root as I said is important because
It determines the front and back of the Tree and also it gives more height to The tree already I've discovered at Least inch and half depth below the Potted surface And I dare say there will be more trunk If I go a bit lower And you must be wondering why I'm Cutting the root as I said because we Are now into Autumn it's quite safe to Do this And these grafted trees the root stock Is so strong That no harm or danger will come to the Tree because they are very robust trees When you come up against the thick group That's the Target store see can you see That tickle there that is going to be The proper surface roof so that is where I'm going to stop Using aware I always like to encourage people by Telling them and reminding them that Bonsai is not rocket science not magic Either Such beautifully grown trees that the Roots are so vigorous Have a job to get into the base I think I've got that you notice what I Did I just cut it off with the secretary I didn't bother to tease it Quite acceptable Now this route seems to be a bit of a Problem because it's coming straight out
At us And it's a bit elevated can you see how It's Stuck proud like that so let me get rid Of that I have enough root I don't know what they use as the on the Stock maybe another piece here Foreign Look at that beautiful root base there Look at that beautiful rude base And now the big decision is what do I Use as the leader You can see how it is very congested Very congested Extremely congested And there is this shoot which appears to Be the leader As I say appears to be It may not end up as the leader and you See how there's a thick part here And going up to there My decision is what to use as the leader So the choice is going up this way and Making the tree that high Or a more more radical solution which Will be to make this a really beautiful Small show hen tree And take the center out all together Now this is where you must be throwing Your hands up in horror and saying Peter Chan is mad See what I'm taking off I'm taking that Off
Taking that off And to make it more dramatic I think I Will use my large loppers Foreign Make life a bit easier if I take that Middle out A lot of people when they take these big Branches out they make Gins with it but I don't like making a gingers from the Second making a gym look at that half The tree is taken out I don't want my Money back some people ask for money Back when they see me do that I don't want money back That is done I may do a little bit of Gin let's see what it looks like There's so much more to take out So the secret is finding the line which I have now So I have a choice in that Short front yeah Can you see the tree now lovely thick Chalk look at that Look at that trunk Look at that trunk and these are the Branches I don't need this I don't like making gin for the sake of Making gin that can be gin at the back But do I need it Okay Probably not While the solution has been found once You can find the front or the back of
The tree and the leading chute The rest is Child's Play Child's Play and sense that all you have To now do is wire the tree All you have to do is water the truth What lovely small needles look at it the Needles are so Compact and small When we started out in Bonsai back in The 1960s and 70s most people in the UK All they ever did was grow little dwarf Conifers in pots and they called it Bonsai This is important it's about that it's Quite credible it's about as I but they Didn't do more than that now let me just Wire this a little more to give more Definition to the tree I will I will keep that I don't need to Keep that but I will keep it give it Some attempt It may help to thicken the trunk further Not that it needs much more thickening Wides in this Foreign As I said the decision to remove and cut Is a difficult one for those of you who Are starting off in Bonsai but don't Despair the more you practice the more Decision making Processes you come across Will reinforce your learning And once you've wired it then we make This into a pad like an arrowhead shape Foreign
Look at that beautiful tree look at that Absolutely gorgeous stunning When I get excited then it means Something Foreign Much wiring at all as I did point out Earlier Simply by pruning I could have achieved the shape that I was setting out to achieve I'm going to give the top a little more Definition as well Foreign I hope you are finding wiring a very Satisfying Process It's an activity in Bonsai which many People are afraid of doing when they're New Once you get the hang of wiring It should become second nature and of Course the world opens out for you You can literally achieve anything once You understand what wiring can do Look at these lovely twists and Benson Create Just by why I will keep some of these younger Birds Because you never know I might need it At some point Foreign I thought this would be a very very Difficult tree but The more I looked at it the more I
Realized it wasn't so difficult at all So what was the crucial Part of this design The most crucial part was really Taking out that Central stem once I took That out everything else fell into place Yes so we took out I would say more than Half wouldn't you say yeah modern house Foreign I won't bother showing you how I repot The tree I can easily do it now And do it as a follow-up program But now that we're into water I could do It if I wanted to But the crucial part was really showing You how I took the decision the decisions to Create the leader I think choice of the Leader was the most difficult part But I can assure you the more you Practice the more you will find it easy I've left some of these I could have Taken it out but I leave it Maybe this front one Take out And I always take the tips out the Growing tips that you take out it will Force it to burn back so there you are Look at that Small tree showing with a beautiful Beautiful taper beautiful taper all the Way up So I hope you've enjoyed this one Not too difficult we sell these
So if you came on one of my workshops You will get the chance to work on these So two simple projects from Nursery Material All in a few minutes work So this is the final outcome of that Pine that I worked on the mugo pine Mugo Norm And I potted it up The bits of root chewing Add a little bit to the tree and Hopefully the branches will fill out and The pad will fill out so this was only a Few minutes work so in a few years can You imagine how nice this tree will be And while I've got that let me move this Out of the way And put the little piece here Look at that tree almost unrecognizable Such a thick trunk such a beautiful Taper All the way to the top So I hope I showed you how easy it is to Make Bonsai from Nursery material
