The Art of Bonsai Project

This thread is for discussing Will Heaths' photo essay, "Mushrooms"
http://www.artofbonsai.org/feature_arti ... shroom.php

A most excellent and appropriate article...Very well done Mr. Will...I have for quite some time been an admirer of your study and knowledge of the world of mushrooms, and it is indeed a pleasure to see you sharing that knowledge in a manner that may strike new territory in the field of accents for bonsai...
I also think the 'Alcohol Inky group on drift wood' is a most memorable composition that is able to stand on it's own in any viewing situation...The photo is 'art' in and of itself...

In my opinion this is by far the most outstanding work I have seen published by Mr. Will, and I do hope there will be more of this type of innovative work from him in the future...
Regards
Behr

Thanks Behr, when one stretches the set boundaries, encouragement goes a long ways. I truly appreciate your kind words.

Fiona Wallace sent a picture of mushrooms in their natural environment to me after the article was published so I took the liberty of adding it to the main article. They are indeed beautiful Fading Scarlet Waxy Caps.
Will

I couldn't agree more with Behr . . . . a very well-written article about a very innovative idea. I particularly enjoyed the reminder that practicing the cultivation of bonsai requires an eye for trees in their natural habitat, therefore any way to recreate that habitat tastefully and in miniature is acceptable. I would be interested in any other unconventional ways in which more realism is brought to a bonsai display.

With regard to the mushrooms themselves, the specimens you featured are beautiful. I particularly liked the alcohol inky arrangement. Some notes on the cultivation of mushrooms would be helpful as I'm sure your readers aren't well-versed.

Finally, I'd also be interested in dwarf varieties or thoughts on how to bring the mushrooms down in scale. I wonder if that's even possible. In the wild, they grow "in scale", i.e. begin as near perfect replicas of their adult forms which indicates good potential as kusamono.

Thank you.
I am currently writing an article on the actual cultivation of mushrooms in containers, I am hoping to complete it soon. Unfortunately, many mushrooms do not seem to take well to container cultivation and my experience is limited only to those that have been successful, although I continually experiment with new species.

Fortunately there is a huge industry that cultivates mushrooms for sale and consumption, so I have the experience of these growers to build upon.
Like the fruit on all fruit trees, the mushrooms (in a sense, also a fruit of an organism) size and shape is determined by genetics and can not, to my knowledge, be reduced in size. So we must choose mushrooms whose size will not overwhelm the container and that are best in scale with the bonsai. Luckily, mushrooms come in all sizes and colors and even many different shapes, so there is a vast range to choose from.

On another topic Mxia, could you please take the time to read our user name policies located at http://artofbonsai.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=403

Will

Very nice article Will, mushrooms are fascinating, i just had one quick question in regard to one of your statements. You say of one particular mushroom: "the Honey Mushroom also holds the world record for the largest living organism which grows right here in Michigan. One specimen was estimated to be over 450 years old." Now it may be that you meant it how you said it in which case i guess it is a very big old mushroom, but i suspect that that you meant to say that it is on world record for being the oldest living organism growing in michigan? Again, i maybe way off base.
Regards
Rowan

I just received the today in the mail and was surprised to see that Paul Goff made mention of mushrooms as accents in his article, "Bonsai On Display - The Landscape Within (Part 3 - Late Summer - Autumn Display).

On the first page of his article, Paul says, "Accent plantings for this season may include mushrooms or fungi, red stemmed grasses and mosses displaying autumn tints."

Although Paul doesn't show any accents using mushrooms in the article, he does show a Mugo Pine and a European Beech both which have mushrooms growing inside of the bonsai pot, similar to the ones I showed photographs of in this photo essay by Morten Albek and Carl Rosner.

Paul describes a wonderful display featuring the Mugo on page 23 and explains why there is no accent piece by stating, ".....is surrounded by autumn fungi, so I chose not to include an additional accent planting in this arrangement."

I always recommend and I especially recommend this issue for not only anyone interested in using mushrooms in bonsai display but also to anyone wishing to view and learn from quality displays.

As an added bonus, Walter Pall has an excellent article in the same issue, titled, "Developing Euonymus Bonsai."
Great issue!

Will Heath