VIRGINIANA

The trees are changing and together with them also we are changing ... As we all know, bonsai art is a never ending story; but we pursue perfection and with years we get closer and closer ;-) This is a story about Juniperus virginiana.

Drevesa se spreminjajo in mi z njimi ... Kot vsi dobro vemo: bonsaizem je nikoli dokončana umetnost, toda z njo zasledujemo popolnost in z leti smo ji bliže in bliže ;-) To je zgodba o virginijskem brinu. 

Juniperus virginana species is not as highly appreciated in the bonsai world as Juniperus chinensis; but nevertheless one can obtain a very good results with it. I am not a fan of grafting Itoigawa species onto all junipers because I like diversity, different colors and character of different species. Of course, Itoigawa is still a king, and I have some of them in my garden, but I wish a diversity too. I acquired this tree from Marek Gajda in Warsaw in 2009 and started with work a year later. From the very beginning I have a dramatic shape in mind, so I started to work on deadwood and split the trunk. 

Virginijski brin v bonsajskem svetu ni tako cenjena vrsta kot kitajski brin. Toda vseeno se da z njim doseči dobre rezultate. Ker imam rad raznolikost, različne barve in karakter, nisem privrženec cepljenja itoigave na vse druge brine. Seveda je itoigava še vedno kralj in v mojem vrtu jih je kar nekaj, toda, kot rečeno, rad imam tudi raznolikost. To drevo sem leta 2009 kupil v Varšavi pri Mareku Gajdi in leto kasneje začel z delom. Že od začetka sem imel v mislih dramatično obliko, tako da sem začel z delom na mrtvem lesu in razcepil deblo.

Juniperus virginiana, starting material, 2010

After first intervention

In May 2012 I proceeded with work, further split the trunk and made the selection of branches.

Maja 2012 sem z delom nadaljeval, še bolj sem razcepil deblo in naredil selekcijo vej.

It reacted well and in spring 2013 I repoted it into a bonsai pot. Also, after repoting the tree still grew vigorously. This is a feature of Virginia junipers - they are really strong and they can undertake a lot of stress. 

Reagiral je dobro in spomladi 2013 sem ga presadil v bonsajsko posodo. Tudi po presajanju je živahno poganjal. In to je značilnost virginijskih brinov - so močni in lahko preživijo veliko stresa.

Juniperus virginiana, Jun 2013

In summer 2014 I removed the wood which devided the live trunk from dead part and wired it fully. I also started with preparation for exhibition - I registered it for the biggest show in Europe - Noelanders trophy.

Poleti 2014 sem odstranil les, ki je živo deblo ločeval od mrtvega dela ter ga popolnoma ožičil. Začel sem tudi s pripravami na razstavo - prijavil sem ga na največjo razstavo v Evropi - Noelanders trophy.

So, in February 2015 I traveled to Belgium and put it on the exhibition in Genk. This is the highlight of this tree for now. But I proved to myself that with hard and proper work one can achieve a high level even with such  material.

Februarja 2015 sem se torej odpravil v Belgijo in ga v Genku postavil na razstavne police. To je gotovo vrhunec tega drevesa do sedaj. Toda dokazal sem si, da se s trdim in pravilnim delom lahko visok nivo doseže tudi s takšnim materijalom. 

Juniperus virginiana at official photo-shooting, NT 2015

Now, after one year of rest, the tree needed a haircut and complete re-wiring. I slowly proceeded towards the top of the tree and completed the job in a few days. 

Po letu počitka je drevo potrebovalo obrezovanje in kompletno prežičenje. Počasi sem napredoval proti vrhu in delo v nekaj dneh dokončal. 

Juniperus virginiana, October 2016

After wiring

Because the lowest branch was too heavy for this design and it also covered the main feature of the tree- jin on the right side, I decided to remove it completely.

Ker je bila spodnja veja pretežka za ta dizajn in ker je tudi zakrivala eno glavnih značilnosti tega brina - džin na desni strani - sem se odločil, da jo v celoti odstranim.

Then I proceeded with work on dead-wood and live veins, cleaned all and applied lime-sulfur. The juniper Drama is now shining again and it is show-ready!

Potem sem nadaljeval z delom na mrtvem lesu in živih venah, ga očistil in premazal z apnenim žveplom. Brin Drama spet sije v vsej svoji lepoti in je pripravljen na razstavljanje.

Cleaned and wired, shining again, October 2016

White background

Composition in tokonoma

So, we, the tree and I, are 6 years older, 6 years of work, 6 years of living together. This is relatively short period of time in bonsai world, so I am looking forward for the next decades of our mutual growth!

Drevo in jaz sva 6 let starejša. 6 let dela in skupnega življenja. To je v bonsajskem svetu relativno kratko obdobje, zato se že veselim naslednji desetletij skupne rasti!