Making a larch bonsai is not hard at all - the 6-year transformation of a straight-trunk tree

The larch is a special variety among the conifers. It belongs to the pine family (Pinaceae), but it sheds its leaves every year and is not an evergreen species. That gives it a unique ornamental appeal: when it has leaves it looks like an evergreen pine, and when the leaves turn yellow in autumn it looks like a golden pine; once the needles have all fallen, it can be appreciated for its branches just like any deciduous tree.

At a glance, this larch was clearly nursery-grown, with extremely lush branches. In February 2007 the bonsai artist bought it from the nursery and planted it in a pot.

There were too many branches, so most of them were pruned away, leaving a basic framework.

After one growing season, the branches had become very dense again.

So it was pruned again, and a bit of wiring was done. Growing a bonsai into shape always requires repeating this process many times before the branches reach their best ornamental quality.

In May of the following year, new leaves emerged, looking exactly like a green pine.

But by October the leaves had turned yellow, and the whole look changed abruptly.

Once the yellow leaves had all fallen, it looked like an elm, an ash, or something similar.

During a subsequent repotting, it became clear that tilting it slightly seemed to give it more dynamism.

Just a slight adjustment, and the effect seemed much better than the upright position.

In the blink of an eye it was already the 6th year. After 6 years of building and pruning branches, the bark had now become mottled, the secondary branches were thicker and stronger, and the antler-shaped branches were very beautiful - it had gone from a stump to a finished piece.