Tanuki Bonsai Experiment

[@Phillip-zg5iw]

I had the pleasure to visit this week and take a class with Peter, have to say what a kind, humble and generous man, a wonderful life's work on display. Will return next year with the rest of the family. Thanks again for your teaching Peter. Phil.

[@ŁukaszWędzicha]

I have a luck to see your tanuki 3 days ago and it was great pleasure. Thank you for time we spent together, for your kindness and for your tips and lesson. Lukas from Poland. 😊

[@peterchan3100]

It was a pleasure meeting you and your family at Herons last weekend.

[@schandler726]

Beautifully explained and created. Thank you!

[@MidniteSan]

Thx for sharing Peter

[@joegarland4885]

Thank you Peter, very interesting lesson on creating a Tanuki for the future, your friend has some fantastic driftwood pieces that would make great Tanuki’s.

[@MartinaBrigitteZimmer-Heil]

Thank you very much Peter🙏🏿💙you look fantastic😘✨️

[@benjienicolas8637]

Thx for sharing sir from phillippines

[@jansenart0]

Most of us in America who know about Tanuki are probably most familiar with the shop owner in Nintendo's Animal Crossing series who puts you into massive debt by giving you a house. Every time you pay the mortgage off he increases the size of it with a new addition, without your permission. His name is Tom Nook.

[@TalkingLoon]

I instantly think of the Tanuki suit in Mario 3 every time!

[@erniesmith1097]

Brilliant Mr Peter Chann many thanks for sharing your knowledge and tips. Keep the dream alive son Aussie Aussie Aussie GDAY MATE from brisbane Australia

[@andoionutdan9670]

Lovely!

[@Mitchell-y6u]

Good video👍

[@bonsaibythesea]

Nice con work cheers 😮

[@pansepot1490]

Off topic but that’s a gorgeous shirt Peter! 😍Beautiful design! I must see if I can something similar. Btw, thanks as always for the instructive video.

[@paulcatanach8031]

Bangkok street market. You've got to haggle. 😉

[@aroncheek5092]

Rose bush is good very strong, I collect bits from my rosemary,rosebush that i had , lavender and ivy

[@angieb6899]

Another very valuable video. Thank you Peter. 👩🏻‍🌾🪴

[@Dontkissthedog]

Peter! Thank you so much! I found your channel 3 years ago, and got stuck in. None of my little trees are going to be entering shows, but they’re all beautiful, I love them, and I only realised I’d be able to take care of them after watching your videos. Love the way you broke this hobby down to the essentials so we could all find it accessible. Thank you sir

[@Dunbarton]

A tanuki is a Japanese raccoon dog (related to domestic dogs, wolves, coyotes, foxes, jackals and other species)

[@attilalevai7630]

Yes, and It is held to be shrewd, capable of deception. Hence the name which refers to the fact that such a bonsai is created with the intent of trying to show off as an old specimen

[@Artbanglabonsai]

Tanuki bonsai making is a long journey,..... ........

[@TalkingLoon]

Excellent example! I like to collect pieces of driftwood, they are in and of themselves nature's artworks. Every now and then I have some younger tree that is just too leggy to do anything with in the foreseeable future, so I take a well-suited driftwood and find different ways to combine it with the tree. In just a couple growing seasons I have something I am very happy with which would have taken decades to replicate using standard bonsai growing techniques.

[@ArthurTanner-d7s]

Well said. They are an excellent way to see some quick(ish) results while exploring the characteristics of various species. If people don't like them, don't make them.

[@aroncheek5092]

I lernt the hard way lost so many specimens from shaping mainly Xmas trees in my hot flat , i have afew privit 3 tea tree saplings and a tea tree thats 16 yrs old and has been the donor for sapllings , the rest of my potential bonsai are outside bushing out nicely 😊

[@jamesa7506]

"Other fat parts." 😂 lowbrow humor at its finest! 😂👍

[@timmywood9677]

Assume I want to try this

[@TheDanio1010]

What's this composition of rocks in 36:13 Could you elaborate on it??

[@MariaM-up2he]

Haha😂Oh gosh!!!!

[@ArthurTanner-d7s]

Crikey Peter, whatever you do don't start adding Penjing figurines to any of your trees. KZbin will have a meltdown.

[@zimartiste1]

👋👌👍

[@brucedeacon28]

👍👌🙂

[@chaiwatpotichanid]

❤❤🥰🥰❤❤

[@James-o3o1m]

Why do people say juniper grow fast both of mine actually are growing very slow

[@yoteslaya7296]

who would buy tanuki?

[@paulcatanach8031]

Many people, me included. There's nothing wrong with it as long as you are honest. Life would be dull if we all liked and did the same things.

[@yoteslaya7296]

@@paulcatanach8031 tanuki is literally fake bonsai. They're not even allowed in bonsai shows in japan

[@peterchan3100]

@@yoteslaya7296 Does that matter?

[@paulcatanach8031]

@@yoteslaya7296 How can I put this without sounding offensive? I know, I'll first add a winking smiley 😉to soften the blow and then say, with a disarming smile, that I really don't care what you or anyone else thinks. I have no interest in showing my trees (should any of them ever be good enough) so the rules and regulations of an organisation in Japan or anywhere else are meaningless to me. I create, nurture and develop them for the pleasure they give me. Nobody else. I do not grow bonsai for the approval or approbation of others. If that's your thing then good for you, I certainly won't be the one telling you how to enjoy your hobby. Working on my trees relaxes me and is probably the closest I will come to meditation. It brings me peace, calm and removes me from things like having people pass judgement on others for the crime of not conforming to 'their' version of what is acceptable. What a dull world it would be if we all did the same thing. "tanuki is literally fake bonsai". Bonsai itself is a deception. Among your collection do you have any that are root over rock? Cascade or semi-cascade? Groups? Do any have jin or shari? Air layers? If so I assume that they all acquired those styles and features naturally and without any pruning, wiring or other training? If they didn't then what makes any of those trees more genuine than a tanuki? Some people add rocks to their trees, others add dead wood. Try not being offended by what other people do with their trees and enjoy your own. The world's a nicer place when we do that.

[@NMranchhand]

I don’t understand the statement that, “in most cases the driftwood is quite natural.” Would you be kind enough to explain? Surely, the live tree was not adrift, right? Is it that you are using the term, “driftwood “ figuratively, meaning that the dead, denuded wood of the tree is, “driftwood-like” in appearance? Forgive my ignorance. Thank you. Wonderful, exciting possibilities in this show.

[@ArthurTanner-d7s]

Figuratively.

[@edmundblackaddercoc8522]

Its a piece of deadwood attached to a live tree over time they fuse together. Best pieces of wood come from beaches and seas as the salt preserves and smooths them out.Then once fastened together preserve with lime sulphur.

[@samlomb2093]

It means the dead bits you get on live conifers

[@richardporter6745]

So what you’ve done there Peter is to take a perfectly good piece of driftwood and a perfectly good juniper and ruined both..

[@Resteasy8686]

Maybe you lack vision.

[@samlomb2093]

Hardly. And they are only zip tied together. Paul can separate them if he changes his mind.

[@paulcatanach8031]

@@samlomb2093 Spot on. In fact I have a larch tanuki which has matured and would function reasonably well without the dead wood. I can't quite bring myself to separate it yet though. Maybe in a few years........

[@peterchan3100]

@@Resteasy8686 -- You are so right !!

[@jamesa7506]

What a terrible thing to say. Do you own,manage, and profit from a premier nursery in London? Perhaps your decades of experience and proofs can speak for you? Please, speak up like a gentleman and let us learn from your vast amounts of knowledge.

[@uppergorple]

Nah, sorry. Not keen on tanuki. Too contrived for me.

[@samlomb2093]

Then why click on a video about making tanuki?

[@pansepot1490]

⁠@@samlomb2093 😅good question.

[@ArthurTanner-d7s]

There are many things in this world that aren’t for me but I don’t feel the need to tell everyone. Oh wait, I just did. 🙄

[@TheSunnyTrails]

Tanuki - the technique and style istelf- is ok when it’s told it is tanuki. When you sell a tree that’s tanuki saying it’s real, is when it’s wrong

[@ArthurTanner-d7s]

@@TheSunnyTrails I must have missed the part where anyone suggested doing that. My impression is that tanuki are created while wearing a slight grin, everyone is in on the joke. I admire a well executed tanuki in the same way I do other styles. I don’t for one moment believe that my Chinese Elm on tufa or Mugo Pine on a slate slab got there by themselves. Nor do I believe that any of my trees coincidentally grew in pots. It’s meant to be fun, an enjoyable pastime.