Entry #15
Judge #3: Suggest lifting left side 8-10 degrees. Shari creates a right angle.
Black Mangrove (Avicennia germinans)
Mexico
55 cm (21.6") high and 64 cm (25.1") wide / 45 cm (17.7") high by 53 cm (20.8") wide
Before
Aviccenia germinans, it is one of the best species to work with in the American tropics, however rarely do one see bonsai from the species, I would guess that it is because of the apparently larger leaves, as compare to bottonwood (conocarpus erectus) which grow in the same location, however they tend to behave the same and reduce the leaf to the same degree. The silver white leaves of this species does make it quite special. This particular tree will be using the natural deadwood to create an informal tree with a lot of movement, definitely a nice kifu size tree.
One Quarter Progression
Aviccenia germinans I recollected this tree and know after some time it seems to be doing well so ¼ of the work was just this allowing the tree to get used to being in a pot, the pot is a bit over size and the shape may change in the next few months.
Half Way Progression
The next pictures show some branch selection and bending to begin setting the shape without to much stress to the tree. I think one of the highlights of this tree is the movement and the deadwood. So far so good.
Three Quarter Progression
Wiring and adjusting some of the branches to the location that I want has been so far the only task alone with some minor carving from the back jin. I forgot to include a picture of the tree before poting, one can see the long roots that had to be cut for the tree to fit into the container. Actually this was planned several years ago, when I collected this tree the only fine roots were to far away and cutting the tree at that point would have been deadly, so the tree had to be put into the ground for roots to develop closer to the trunk, it seem it work fine.
I think the pot maybe a bit to overpowering for the tree but I will need the tree to regain its power before thinking of repoting. Some lime sulfur its needed to highlight the live vein from the jins.
Final
This is one of my favorite trees that I worked during the year, it has plenty of movement, nice deadwood and small enough to carry easily, the tree needs to reduce the leaves more and for that fine ramification needs to be obtain, but that will take some time to achieve. Also the back branch needs to be compacted over time to make the tree smaller. However overall I´m quite happy with what was achieved during this year.