I have recently joined the Pinterest bandwagon and enjoy pinning and re-pinning interesting garden ideas on my board “Plantspiration.” That’s “plant” + “inspiration,” not “plant” + “perspiration,” although based on some of the great garden ideas I’ve come across, the latter is probably also true.
When I’m avoiding doing something I don’t want to do, I often enjoy exploring the gardening section from the Pinterest iPhone app that crashes all the time. Recently I came across a picture that really upset me. It was a picture of a tree pruned to be a chair. It’s called “pooktre,” but my immediate reaction was to call it “tree torture.” An artform, yes, but I have a hard time with it.
Image from pooktre website (http://pooktre.com)
Rather than immediately starting TPAP (Trees and People Against Pooktre), I stopped to think if I was overreacting. I had to ask myself, “Is there any difference between pooktre and bonsai or a Ficus benjamina with braided trunks or an espalier?” In terms of the basic idea – specific pruning (and, in this case, also grafting) to produce a desired effect – the answer is no. But I feel very differently when looking at a beautiful bonsai specimen or enjoying the sight of that braided ficus while anxiously sitting in the doctor’s waiting room than I do when looking at pictures of kids hanging in trees that were grown to look like stick figures of people with crazy hands and hair.
Image from "WebEcoist" (http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2009/06/20/amazing-living-art-pooktre-tree-shaping/)
Am I being too much of a tree purist to appreciate this very time-consuming pruning and grafting process? Am I being narrow minded, or just logical? Part of me feels guilty for putting down the hard work of the people behind pooktre, but most of me feels disturbed and sad for the trees. To each their own, right?
Now I ask you, what do you think about pooktre. Is it tree art or tree torture? I look forward to hearing what you have to say.
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Update 4/13/2012:
In just a few days I received many, many great responses on here and on various LinkedIn groups! Wow! Thanks everyone for your perspectives and insights.
So my conclusion: After all the feedback, I do believe my gut reaction was just as I originally thought…a bit extreme. Is pooktre different than other forms of topiary or pruning? My answer is still no. Is the tree healthy? According to most people who responded, the answer is a resounding yes (right species for this kind of manipulation, lush canopy, appropriate mulch, constant attention, etc.). So while pooktre is distasteful to me, it’s no different than not liking any other type of pruning technique that does not harm the tree. It’s not to be confused with topping (which is a fineable offense in my town, and a pretty expensive one at that).
Now, as an art form, do I like it? Definitely not. But is it an artform? Of course. So is Marcel Duchamp’s “Fountain,” although others may say it’s just a urinal. Not everyone enjoys or appreciates the same kind of art. If you like pooktre and you didn’t know it existed until reading this post, then I’m glad I was able to introduce you to it.
While people had some great responses, the one that struck me the most was by Alan Bryant, owner of Alan Bryant Gardening Services in the UK, on the Proper Pruners LinkedIn group: “[A] question you need to ask yourself is: does it encourage the owner to use their garden more. For some, gardening becomes merely an exercise in religiously maintaining the previous owners garden. Likelihood is that such owners are disinterested in a garden they rarely use. What a waste. I always encourage owners to ‘own’ their gardens, by truly making them theirs.”
There it is…the “Aha!” moment. This really made me think about pooktre from a different perspective and allowed me to appreciate it for what it is. Those kids in that picture above are having a great time hanging in the tree. Not many children can say they have a tree in the shape of a person in their yard! I know from my own childhood (see my Family Bonds post) that experiences like this can lead to a life-long love of nature and gardening. I hope it does for those children.
April 12, 2012 at 1:21 pm
Seems to me that it’s ALL pruning. I adore looking at bonsai, but can’t bring myself to “do” it: haven’t the time and feel that it is awfully close to torture. I guess it’s all in the eyes of the beholder.
April 12, 2012 at 5:28 pm
Good point….it is all in the eyes of the beholder. I think what bothers me the most about pooktre that doesn’t bother me as much about bonsai is the desired effect of the manipulation. Bonsai is meant to reproduce the natural look of trees but in miniature, whereas pooktre creates unnatural growth patterns, many of which turn trees into utilitarian objects. I think a living tree should be a tree; not a chair. But that’s just me! It seems that a lot of people find pooktre to be very beautiful.
April 12, 2012 at 4:25 pm
I don’t feel any more comfortable with bonzai or the twisting ficus. It is a visceral feeling when I look at a bonzai that makes my stomach knot up. However, I have no idea how the tree feels. This is just my sense. But then I despise zoos too.
April 12, 2012 at 5:50 pm
Funny you mention zoos. I just had a conversation about them with a friend yesterday! We were both saying how we dislike zoos, too. The animals are so sad….even in the supposedly “very nice” zoos. I understand that they can be a great learning experience, especially for children, but everything is so unnatural about them. I’ve never seen one of those wild animal parks, but I imagine I’d have an easier time handling them….possibly.
I probably should have included topiaries in the list, too. They aren’t much different than bonsais, pooktre, etc. I’m all for ISA-certified pruning techniques that promote healthy and natural growth, but the “pruning to fit human desires” that are against typical growing habits is what I have a hard time with.
April 12, 2012 at 10:52 pm
There are many degrees of “tough call” here: topiary (not one of my favorites), espalier (defensibly utilitarian), over-the-head allees/corridors, pollarding, coppicing, and so much more.. We humans do a great deal of tweaking with plants (because we can, presumably), I don’t feel like I have the right to say yea or nay to any of it. I may not care for it (especially topiary), but of others like it, c’est la vie.
April 13, 2012 at 1:26 pm
Very Unique, Topiary Art taken to a new level, a labor of love for all to see. The tree is saying, “Look at me”. The heart of a plant is it’s roots, it’s labor of love is wood tissue, and leaves to produce yet more energy, to produce seed, to insure life is sustained. The tree does not care what it looks like. Man cares.
April 17, 2012 at 10:55 pm
I feel the same way that Don Henderson (previous comment) does: The tree doesn’t care what it looks like, it’s just ‘happy’ to be alive. What’s with all the angst?
April 18, 2012 at 12:39 am
Since writing this post, I have learned about other tree art that’s similar to this (primarily that of Axel Erlandson) from commenters on LinkedIn. For some reason, the other art does not produce the same visceral reaction in me as pooktre does. I can’t really put my finger on why, though. Regardless, as I stated in my update at the end, I feel differently about this type of pruning and grafting as a whole thanks to the many people on here and elsewhere who have contributed their thoughtful feedback. While my original posting may have been a bit extreme, I was interested in hearing what others thought because I figured they’d have some good things to say (and you all have). Thanks for contributing your response!
April 18, 2012 at 3:42 am
I’m a “natural look” kind of person myself, but the formal hedge, topiary and… this have their place. Although I would tire of the ridiculous forms the kids are playing in, the chair might just get to stay.
April 18, 2012 at 4:30 am
Like you, I am a big fan of the natural look. The “tree people”…I don’t know. They are rather creepy if you ask me.
April 26, 2012 at 4:49 pm
Naturally, such unnatural training and pruning raises the question of tree health. However, judging by the thirty year-old trees in Pearl Fryar’s garden of topiary delights, a topiary can be as healthy as a natural tree. Indeed, I think Pearl’s inventions demonstrate that some tree lore should be retired. For example, white pines don’t tolerate shearing. They do in Pearl’s garden. And so on. http://pearlfryar.com/
April 26, 2012 at 7:57 pm
Thanks for the link to Pearl Fryar’s topiaries. They are quite interesting. I also didn’t think a pine could put up with that. I suppose it’s able to survive because it’s getting such close attention by the caretakers.
September 11, 2012 at 2:43 am
Thank you for providing various perspectives to achieve a more “balanced” look at the subject matter of pooktre. I admire your ability to question yourself and to be reflexive.
In many ways, lawns, gardens, bonsai, highly domesticated pets and hybridised plants, plus genetically modified organisms can also be regarded as “utilitarian objects”. For example, one needs to be aware of the prevalence of defects, deformities, illnesses and pains that exist in and afflict many pedigree dogs to appreciate how far certain species have been pushed. Many plant species have become sterile or exhibit highly unusual traits through the process of hybridisation or deliberate exposure to mutation-causing chemicals.