The first time I saw the fukinagashi-like yamadori spruce, I thought there was no way making something out of it. Having more interesting things to do, I simply forgot about the tree for a month or two when Oyakata decided that if I have no intention to do something with the spruce, he will either give it to someone or simply throw it away not to waste any space in the nursery.

The time spent in Japan taught me that each and every tree has a potential for becoming a bonsai. Obviously, its characteristics and features will reflect in the bonsai's quality, but isn't transforming an ordinary tree into a splendid bonsai worth a few years' time?

The spruce's story begun three years ago when it was found on the edge of a forest. The plant could reach sunshine only from one side so it leaned in the direction with all its branches. The man who dug out the tree did not do anything with it except of watering and fertilizing for the next two years. A year ago the plant was trimmed in order to propagate branches' growth - a procedure not really necessary at that point; finding the front and giving the tree aragake, that is initial styling, would have been more adequate.

Early Spring is the right time for working with spruce. I was glad I could style it exactly that moment. Besides, the tree had grown three years in a pot so I was sure the roots had enough time to recover sufficiently.

As always, before I start to work, I analyse the whole plant and for the front I pick the most appealing and interesting side. In this case I had no doubts about choosing the front (photo 4) as I wanted to get the most out of the three trunks; two of them growing in the same direction and of dramatic taper and one dead but complimenting the overall composition in a fantastic manner. All this meant a bonsai with two trunks, style called Sokan, or with three trunks - Sankan. I leave the judgement on the tree's style open.

The branches growing out from the back and the trunk leaning backwards were a big issue to deal with. I decided to correct the trunk inclination by repotting; branching would be improved by cutting back and then bringing closer to the trunk. I also planned to wire the branches in order to give them a harmonious appeal. Harmony of branching and trunks should be considered one of the most important aspects while forming a tree with two or more trees. To make bonsai seem natural, great care must be given to the branches' position as well as trunks' movement, this meaning also the right choice of the front.

From the main trunk there was another, somewhat the fourth, trunk growing out which had died though. As it would not suit the whole composition anyway, it was not too much of a waste. Nevertheless, it was never an intention of mine to eliminate it as in its upper parts it possessed an always wanted feature - fantastic movement. Even though far too long, the jin adds to the plant's artistic appeal. Having peeled the dead bark off, I made shari along the main trunk and the smaller one, in order to make them more dramatic. I also treated the deadwood with wire to age it and give it more rugged texture.

After treating the deadwood with lime sulfur I decided to change the tree's inclination and front in order to accentuate the jin's movement in its upper part. I also brought two main trunks closer and using a guy wire, I separated clearly the third dead trunk from the rest of the composition.

The next steps will be to shorten the branches, eliminate old and weak foliage and dead buds, wiring and putting branches in place at the same time. As wiring destroys old bark, I tried using guy wires as much as possible. Actually, the latter method has a few advantages over wiring: guy wires don't bite into the bark, there is no thick wire in use and there's no need of rewiring branches as often.

Wiring and putting branches in place.

The plant after styling and with its trunks and branches placed. At this point, great care must be given to proper wiring. Building foliage pads should never be done in a rush by twisting branches trying to make the pads as dense as possible. It will not improve the bonsai's aesthetic qualities at all. One should rather focus on perfectional positioning of branches and leave the density to build up in the following years.

The tree finally looking like a bonsai. During this styling, I was primarily trying to position the trunks so as to compliment their movement as well as put branches in place. The composition's character obviously suggests a dramatic scenery, spruce trees growing high in the mountains: it is tall and slender, with a subtle touch of wind as the branches are longer on the right side and the left side shorter with a dead trunk, the trunk balanced in a way a tree over a gorge would grow. And these are pictures of probably the most famous bonsai - also spruce - in yose-ue style, made by Mr Saburo Kato.
There is more information about it on www.bonsai-wbff.org/remotesthill.shtml.Working on a bonsai of this sort does not involve bending branches or even wiring. It is purely about cutting off spare and overgrown branches, lighting the crown and sorting the foliage. Working with bonsai this size takes plenty time, even though I was given a hand by a gardener, it took two days of shortening the new grown branches and weighing wether to cut out a branch or not, resulted in a satisfying effect. I have to say that working on a bonsai this quality left me with unforgettable memories.