Developing tanuki bonsai with common juniper material

[@arnoldmmbb]

Im totally pro tanuki its a vallid way to get a nice tree in short time and also a very cool technique to learn

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Agreed! And it can be a lot of fun too.

[@NimrodTargaryen]

I’ve a couple of very old dear trees which will need this treatment ❤❤❤

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

That’s awesome. I hope the video serves to assist you in some way.

[@wesleyphillips3211]

Really enjoyed this Terry, all 4 are beautiful Tanuki but I think the Olive is definitely my favorite. Makes for interesting reading too had to search again after seeing a raccoon :) "In Japanese folklore, tanuki , are shape-changing tricksters inspired by the Japanese raccoon dog. Tanuki bonsai are sometimes known by the less-demeaning term "Phoenix Grafts" in the West, and many bonsai growers outside Japan consider tanuki an acceptable bonsai technique." I am pro-tanuki :D

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Ha ha Wesley. Well I will post an update on the olive at some point in the future.

[@BONSAIenCORTO]

Gracias por compartir. Saludos.

[@monkichiboi4003]

so after only 1 year you can already screw a bunch of holes into it?

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Yes. And in one year the holes will be healed over and you won’t see them anymore. This depends on how healthy the tree is of course and how much you are feeding it.

[@marklayzell8132]

Do you use wound putty to fill the gap until it heals . Great work ,been looking for a video on what you do when the ties come off 👍🏻

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thanks Mark, glad you found my video, I intend to keep posting new videos on the process of these trees as I develop them. When I insert the screws they are a few mm's below the surrounding tissue surface so I fill those with putty. When I split the trees to apply to the deadwood initially I did fill the gaps with putty but this was purely to protect the exposed tissue. After 1 year it has served its purpose and is now starting to fall off but the callous has formed quite extensively too.

[@sagebonsai]

I'm in the area where a nice yamadori is well out everyone's price range so I make the best of extra young trees or make some tanuki as well. Thank you for sharing with all of us bonsai fans.

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thanks for the feedback and for watching!

[@tgward313]

not keen on tanuki as such(don't like so much dead wood) -- but will grow on rocks if available

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

That’s fine but then I must assume you don’t like contemporary juniper design in general then as a good Tanuki cannot be distinguished

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

That’s fine but then I must assume you don’t like contemporary juniper design in general then as a good Tanuki cannot be distinguished

[@tgward313]

@@TerryErasmusbonsai this is merely a personal preference. much contemporary juniper design has far too much dead wood overpowering the design - many times just looks like a deer has got his head stuck in a bush - imo. I prefer to create the dead wood from the original plant which usually has the jin and shari much closer to the silhouette or within . I have seen pictures of very old san jose junipers in nature and they tend to look like very old bushes not very old large trees. And yes , I do know that opinion is sacrilege .🙂

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

@@tgward313 thanks for sharing. Well as you know there is fashion too in bonsai. I do agree with you, many junipers today is too much focus on dead and becomes the focal point. Personally I feel deadwood should add to the story of the tree, not become the story.

[@dalespringerwilson4233]

Actually brass is a better option ! If you don't believe me research corrosion on stainless fasteners in a marine environment..... And an even better way to attach to the host is to make the groove deeper into the deadwood and the expanding plant locks itself in.....

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thanks for your opinion Dale. This tree will hopefully not be travelling out at sea much. Yes, a groove is definitely a good option for sure.

[@jtkruk]

Wow ! Fantastic tanuki ! I was looking for such video for along time on this subject. Thanks for sharing.

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

That’s awesome!

[@Happy_Buddah_Bonsai_UK]

Very nice Sir 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🇬🇧

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thanks so much!

[@popscratchie3985]

If you have grown the tree in a carved channel and the tree has effectively filled the channel does this not hold the tree onto the driftwood or do you still need to screw the live tree to the driftwood?

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Good point. Assuming the channel was deep enough and had an “undercut” or lip then yes securing the whip with a screw or other would not be necessary. However I did not carve any channels in these so I had to use screws.

[@popscratchie3985]

@@TerryErasmusbonsai thanks for the reply. I think this will be my next project. Does the driftwood have to be the same wood as the live tree or does it not really matter? Your trees look great by the way👍

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

@@popscratchie3985 thank you for the compliment. I would say strictly speaking it does not have to be but it might be less convincing if you say for instance attach a juniper to a dead olive trunk. The woods differ and it would look odd.

[@popscratchie3985]

@@TerryErasmusbonsai Thanks again for the prompt reply. I have only just come across your channel, have subbed 👍. Keep them coming

[@Bonsaicrazy]

Nice work mate 👍👍👍👍

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thanks for the visit and comment Bonsai 😜!

[@bravofoxable]

Very good video as always Terry. I like Tanuki, must just gather courage to actually attempt it...

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Its something you can definately have a little fun with. The trunk you are using is dead so you stand to lose nothing. Usually the graft or live portion is a tree with few other prospects and so if you mess up a little its not going to be a major loss. However these are all negative comments! What if it works :) Just do it Frans!

[@birder4life999]

I am pro tanuki. The way I see it bonsai is an art form and if what you make looks pleasing and not tacky/fake then whatever method you have used is a valid one Other reason is I have seen it in nature. In particular with eastern white cedar and occasionally with rocky mountain juniper. It happens when an old sick tree has cracks or woodpecker holes where seeds sprout, growing roots to the ground and growing up against the old trunk. Eventually the old tree dies and becomes the drift wood. If it happens in to he wild no one really has grounds for complaining about it. ) Thank you for showing us how you have done it!

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Sorry for the delay in my response. That's VERY interesting what you wrote about the natural occurrence of Tanuki in the cedar and juniper. I have never heard of that before! Wow. You got me thinking about the Strangler fig and host tree, where the fig seed germinates at the base of the host tree and then over years kills the host and you also are left with this dead core and the outer, often fused roots of the fig. Looks awesome. Some people locally refer to this as "Strangler fig style" but in fact I think it is just another version of Tanuki, as making one artificially is precisely the same as what I did just different material. Thanks for the comment!

[@davidnewth924]

I really enjoyed this that you so much for creating this video and sharing it with us!

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

It is my pleasure! Thanks so much for watching.

[@isidroalbertgarcia2396]

Very interesting Terry indeed.greetings from south Europe.

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Glad you enjoyed it Isidro! South Europe? Which country please?

[@BASSCHALLENGESA]

Thanks Terry, I have a beautiful piece of ironwood that has been lying in my parents garden as an ornament for the last 20 years when they picked it up on a game farm, I have now inherited it and will be making a tanuki with it. Just waiting to get my juniper to the right size. These videos will come in handy when I start.

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

That’s the best compliment you could pay me. Wonderful.

[@amithramballie3963]

Great video Terry. What Juniper is the first one?

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

All the same Amith. The common mint julep

[@davidbrewis8911]

Impeccable work Terry. Great inspiration!

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thanks so much David!

[@Lacky99]

I am totally pro tanuki and I love them. Many Thanks for this video

[@dhanghale690]

Great video w/step by step information..

[@dron-video.]

Sir please can you tell me that Can we graft juniperus communis plant on Thuja Occidental tree ? Will it graft

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

I am not sure, I have not tried. Provided you are grafting juniperus to juniperus or acer to acer etc it has the potential to work.

[@johncooney3051]

Fantastic...have long been a collector of drift/deadwood and now have an idea of how to combine and regenerate old and new...Tunuki opens up a whole new world of bonsai possibility. Opportunities abound!

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Absolutely! You can be so creative with this technique.

[@Kwood10]

Love this ! 👍🏻

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thanks so much

[@cartucho360]

totally agree

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Great! Thanks for commenting.

[@guysolis5843]

Here in the high country of Colorado, I see many good examples I would like to collect but many of them grow from between granite boulders. I have managed to collect a few that were pretty dramatic. I can't imagine how old they are growing in that harsh of a climate..

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

I am so jealous! We don't have ANY native junipers which could be collected. That said we are surrounded by wild olives which are awesome to collect. So I guess I should not be too sad. Yes, your junipers will be very old and so I hope you appreciate that when you collect a tree like that it becomes your responsibility to do everything you can to ensure its survival.