Here’s a nice, slender Bald cypress from this year’s crop. I had planned from the start to hold the tree and make it into a flat-top style. It’s grown out enough now that I can do the initial styling on it.
About 20 minutes later, this is what I ended up with. It’s a good start. I’m going to get a lot of vigor in those two leaders, so I can’t afford to ignore it for long. When you’re making a flat-top, the thickening leader(s) can get away from you very quickly.
The flat-top style for BC is the fastest to make. The reason for this is, you’re playing to the tree’s natural habit of extremely vigorous apical growth. So you basically cut away just about everything but one or two leaders. The tree wants to get very tall very fast, so it pumps everything it has into those leaders. Which is another way of saying, in about three weeks I’ll be unwiring and rewiring the leaders, and wiring the secondary branches that will have grown.
We’re still in Sweetgum collecting season. Yesterday I lifted this nice specimen. It’s got a lot of character considering it’s not all that old, maybe 10 years. The trunk base is 2.5″, and it’s been chopped a few times along the way by the unwitting road crew.
This Bonsai South Collection Water-elm got its first bonsai pot yesterday, a very fine Lary Howard piece. The tree grew naturally this way, all I had to do was cut away everthing that didn’t look like a bonsai. It should continue to develop quickly this year.
And finally, another Bonsai South Collection Water-elm.
You come across trees in the course of your bonsai avocation that just have that special something. For me, this is one of those. Just a great natural specimen. The branching is of course under construction, but should develop rapidly.
What really made this bonsai for me was when this exquisite Lary Howard pot came available. Every great bonsai needs a great pot. It would be hard to beat this composition.
Let me know what you think of all these trees.
Maybe it’s the color or something. That Larry Howard pot to me look like an aluminum pie plate/ cake tin my wife baked her cakes in. I just don’t think it looks right for some reason. Maybe lighting, glazing I’m not sure just looks off
Thanks
I assume you’re talking about the light colored pot. It’s one of the finest I’ve owned in my 30+ year bonsai career, and it works extremely well with the tree.
Zach,
Not sure if my direct e-mail to you through your site reached you. how can one dig up BC seedling/saplings after dormancy without killing them? They now have 4-8″ long green shoots with leaves. I have a clump of maybe 15-20 4-5yr old BC that were healed in to the ground probably several years ago at my office. They are in the way of trenching excavation to be done next week and will be possibly killed if i don’t dig them up now.
Thanks, danny
Just dig them, pot them, and most importantly defoliate them. They should rebud in a week or two.
No need to worry about preserving as much root as possible,? Ok. And then pluck off the green shoots to minimize evapotranspiration? Will do. I’ll let you know if they do ok, hopefully better than my growing from seeds has.
For seedlings, do your best with the roots. Defoliate. That’s the key.
I have to say, the trees in Lary Howard’s pots look amazing. It must be the pots!!!
LOL. You can diminish a great tree with a poor pot, and a great pot with a poor tree. When you get the combination right, you really have something.
How ago did you collect the BC?
About four months ago.
Wow quick turnaround! I’m relatively new to BC and collected a beauty in December and have been researching how long after the chop to wait for initial styling. Have been waiting for year #2 but based upon this post I might be ready now!
Problem is the branches /leaders become thick so fast if they aren’t wired from the get go you lost your chance to get a lot of movement