American hornbeam, Carpinus caroliniana, is hands-down one of the best bonsai species for beginners. I’ll be out looking for new material next month, but in the meantime I had this lone specimen left on the bench. I collected it last year. What I liked about it, aside from the size and obvious potential, was that it featured rough bark. This happens sometimes with hornbeam, but frankly it’s unusual.
This tree took its time coming out in Spring 2016, so I fed, watered and otherwise ignored it. Only recently did I take note of how well the leader thickened up as the growing season drew near its close. That told me one thing, that the tree had produced a great root system. This is typical for American hornbeam.
Given the fact that next month it’ll be time to go collect new hornbeams, I thought it might be a good time to play around with this one (it’s hard not to make bonsai, regardless of the time of year).
The first order of business was to address the chop. The tree had produced a nice bud right at the chop, and that bud had grown into a very strong leader. No time like the present to make the angled cut that will produce the tapering transition needed in the apex.
Here’s the tool of choice for this operation – a trunk splitter. It takes a bit of practice, but you eventually become adept at figuring out just the right spot to begin the angled cut.
This is as far as I can go with the trunk splitter. Now it’s time for the knob cutters.
And this is the final result. Now I have a good angled cut that takes the original trunk right into the new leader. As the leader grows and fills out, it’ll continue to thicken which will make the tapering transition look smooth and natural.
Given how strong the tree’s root system is, I felt it was perfectly all right to go ahead and put it into this nice unglazed Chuck Iker round. I’ve wired the branches in the apex and wired up a new leader. Once the 2017 growing season is over, I think this will be a stunning tree. And isn’t the fall color nice, too?
This tree does have one significant flaw I need to address next year. It lacks a nice surface root in the front of the tree. I plan to layer it this coming spring. Given how vigorously hornbeams root, I’m confident I’ll be successful.
Do you grow American hornbeam? Have you had good luck with the species? Leave us a comment below.
Hornbeam – yours has rough bark, The hornbeam, Carpinus caroliniana normally has smooth bark. It is sometimes called the loose flowered hornbeam, in addition to the many other common names like blue beech, etc.
The Hop-Flowered Hornbeam is a close relative, Ostrya virginiana, and its native range overlaps the range of Carpinus caroliniana. The hop-flowered hornbeam has a seed structure that is much tighter, more compressed than the loose flowered hornbeam, it indeed looks like a hop used in brewing beer. The Ostrya has a rough bark very similar to the bark imaged of your tree. In most other respects, leaf, twig and over all appearance the Ostrya resembles Carpinus, they are related, but I think the tree you have could possibly be Ostrya virginiana rather than Carpinus caroliniana. One difference between the two, is Ostrya tends to be found on higher ground, above the secondary flood plain, where Carpinus tends to be found in wetter, lower habitats. There is an area of over-lap, I have seen then growing side by side, but generally Ostrya seems to tolerate drier conditions, and up north, brighter locations, with more sun. Both I feel are equals in being good for quality bonsai, both can, giving the right artist, be used to create world class trees. In my ”lifestyle” I sometimes don’t get a chance to water my trees as often as I should, I’ve lost many a Carpinus, to not watering them frequently enough. Where Ostrya seems to come back from a human neglect induced drought a little better than Carpinus. Both can be killed dead by forgetting to water, dry too long and they do die, but Carpinus seems to be able to last a day longer when too dry than Carpinus. (maybe only one day, but for me that has made a difference).
Just my two cents, I am only looking at a photo, without the key ”macro” trait that distinguishes the two species, the seed structure. So my ID is subjective, and could be off. Both species I believe make great bonsai, and are well worth seeking out.
Good observations, Leo. But trust me, I know my hornbeam and hophornbeam as I’ve been collecting both species for over 25 years now. It’s really uncommon to find a hornbeam with rough bark, but I have done so on a few occasions.
I love your posts! They are so informative, I learn something new with each one. Have you considered making video also? I’d like to see the process of selecting and pulling a tree from the ground start to finish.
Thank you so much, Lisa. My wife has encouraged me to make a video showing the process of lifting a tree. Maybe this coming year.
Hi Zach,
I, too, learn a lot from you every time I read your blog. How about a video showing all the steps you take when making the tapering transition at a chop using the trunk splitter and finishing up with the knob cutter? I know practice makes perfect, but your demonstration would also be helpful.
Thanks,
Ken S.