Bonsai Odds & Ends – Hawthorn, Cypress, Spekboom

by | Nov 14, 2021 | Bald Cypress, Care, Hawthorn, Jade, Most Recent, Pruning, Riverflat

bonsai odds & ends – hawthorn, cypress, spekboom

the bonsai files

Sneak Peek

Fall brings a little color to our part of the Deep South. The growing season is over, but it’s still fun to work on tropicals.

Bonsai Odds & Ends – Hawthorn, Cypress, Spekboom

Here is the Deep South we pay for relatively mild winters with a general lack of fall color. That doesn’t mean we don’t get the occasional overachiever. My big Riverflat hawthorn just turned the other day, and I think it was all at once. Hard to miss on the benches full of green and bare trees.

The Bald cypresses that weren’t defoliated in July usually look pretty ratty this time of year. This big specimen is an exception. It’s the last BC I’ll be posting for sale this year. If you’re looking for a big one, check it out in the Shop.

 

The redesign of this Spekboom (Portulacaria afra) is progressing well. It got a hard pruning earlier in the season, and has responded with a ton of new growth. I don’t know if other enthusiasts work on tropicals as winter approaches, but I’ve always had good luck considering the fact that they’ll be moving into heated spaces soon anyway.

From the bottom up, time for this one to lose a good bit of foliage. It was a bit “bottom-heavy,” but that’s not a huge surprise given the characteristic growth habit for the species.

 

And the end-result. The crown of the tree needs a lot more development, but by the end of 2022 the new design should be complete.

Let me know what you think.

Bald Cypress With Knee Gets Initial Styling

by | Jul 22, 2021 | Bald Cypress, Care, Most Recent, Styling, Wiring

bald cypress with knee gets intial styling

the bonsai files

Sneak Peek

It’s always great to find Bald cypresses in the swamp that have knees, especially when the scale is right. Here’s one that’s ready for its first styling.

Bald Cypress with Knee Gets Initial Styling

I was really excited to find out that this Bald cypress came with an attached knee (often we find knees near the BC’s we harvest, which alas are unattached). It’s grown with good vigor since we brought it home in February, enough so that it’s clearly ready to be styled.

Here’s a closeup that makes it easier to see the knee, which is behind the trunk in a good spot from the front view.

Is it alive? That’s a good question. When a knee is attached to the trunk of a BC at the time of harvest, you absolutely have to have it produce roots at the cut end or it’ll die. In this case of this one, there are two feeder roots that are going down into the pot and seem to be in great shape. I’ll be sure next year.

After the initial editing of superfluous branches, I start the wiring process. Bottom to top.

 

Sometimes you’ll get stumped as to which branches to keep and which to remove. While the spacing doesn’t have to be perfect, you want your branch selection to be reasonably full with good spacing all around the trunk.

 

In the classic “pyramidal” style, you want to be sure your lowest branches are not only heaviest but also extend outward more than the ones above them. More or less like a Christmas tree. This complies with a key rule of horticulture, namely, if it doesn’t get sunlight it dies.

I always cut back the upper branches the most, because I know they’ll be the most dominant. This gives the lower branches an opportunity to gain strength.

 

The leader doesn’t need a lot of movement, but it does need movement. Without this slight curve I’ve wired into it, the tree will look static in the apex and your eye will be drawn to that spot. As you view a bonsai, your eye should “roam” around the tree constantly. If it stops somewhere, that’s almost always a flaw.

Notice I also went ahead and angle-chopped the initial trunk chop. Normally I’d wait until year two, but I’m confident the tree will do fine. (I did seal the new chop area.)

This is all I need to do for now to this tree. We’ll get more growth from now into fall, and by this time next year the tree could very well be ready for a bonsai pot.

I’d love to hear what you think of this one.

New Flat-Top Bald Cypress

by | Jul 9, 2021 | Bald Cypress, Care, Most Recent, Pruning, Styling, Wiring

new flat-top bald cypress

the bonsai files

Sneak Peek

Each year we bring home a few BC’s that catch my eye to the point that I want to train them. This one shouted “flat-top.” So let’s see if we can get that going.

New Flat-Top Bald Cypress

When we brought home this year’s Bald cypress specimens, a few said “train me.” This is one of them. The trunk character, taper and movement are really outstanding, and I knew from the start that this would make a fine flat-top bonsai.

The photo above is from January 30th, while this one was taken today. It shows pretty typical recovery strength for Bald cypress specimens, with the standard apical dominance showing prominently. One thing to keep in mind with BC is that this apical dominance is not necessarily a bad thing. Remember, the tree when lifted has no feeder roots or much left above ground, and “wants” to regrow itself as quickly and efficiently as possible. Part of that process is pushing multiple leaders that grow up toward the sun, and that allows the tree to collect as much light as possible. This in turn feeds those new roots, and the cycle of foliar and root growth reestablishes itself. My point in saying this is, don’t be tempted in the beginning to control the apical dominance; there’s time for that when the training begins. The first priority for a newly collected tree is to get strong, and its natural growth habit is designed just for this purpose.

The first step is always to remove superfluous growth. Here I only have left what I’m going to use for my design.

 

Now I’ve done almost all the wiring that needs doing today. There are exactly five branches in the whole starting design scheme, one of which is a secondary branch. I also carved down the trunk chop area to start the process of blending it into the trunk line.

 

And now we have the whole start for this specimen. Two vestigial branches, and a beginning for the crown. Notice that I’ve taken it in quite a bit. The tree will regrow everything I took off today, and my job will be to control that growth into the design. Those leaders, incidentally, will thicken a lot faster than you think.

I did not trim the vestigial branches. They need a lot of thickening, and that will only come if I leave them alone to grow.

I’d love to hear what all you flat-top BC fans out there think.

Monster Bald Cypress Available

by | Jun 27, 2021 | Bald Cypress, Care, Most Recent, Pruning

monster bald cypress available

the bonsai files

Sneak Peek

We always bring home a selection of very large Bald cypresses each collecting season. Here’s one that’s available for someone looking for a “statement” BC.

Monster Bald Cypress Available

We brought home this monster Bald cypress in early January of this year. Unlike most of the rest of the BC’s we got, this one swelled a few buds early on a very small branch it came home with, but didn’t do anything else for almost two months afterward. It finally started showing some promise after our snow and ice storm, and the next thing you knew it just took off. Here’s the initial shot from today.

When you’re in the recovery phase of a large BC, you have a few things to keep on top of. One is your chosen leader, the other is the lower branches – the former because you don’t need competition for that all-important apex-builder, the latter because the tree will push most of its energy right to the top. In this photo, you can see I’ve removed all of the competition for the chosen leader. That will help strengthen it as the growing season progresses.

This is one of those trees that has more than one potential front. Here I’ve turned it to show you what I mean. There’s no doubt the tree has good basal flare and fluting from either angle, but this view definitely shows deeper fluting. You can certainly go with this front; all that will be needed is to wait for a new shoot on this side to emerge and let that be your leader.

 

For the really big and/or interesting trees, I like to take “naked” shots to show more trunk detail. Here’s this guy from the front, on the day of collection.

 

And the back view, day of collection.

If you’re looking for that big statement BC for your collection, you can’t go wrong with this specimen. It’s now for sale at our Shop page. The price includes standard shipping, and the tree will go out this fall.

Bald Cypress Styling – Formal And Informal Upright

by | May 29, 2021 | Bald Cypress, Care, Most Recent, Pruning, Styling, Wiring

bald cypress styling – formal and informal upright

the bonsai files

Sneak Peek

It doesn’t matter if your Bald cypress bonsai is going to be a formal upright or an informal upright, certain “rules” apply to the design.

Bald Cypress Styling – Formal and Informal Upright

    I first showed you this formal upright Bald cypress bonsai-to-be back in April. The first step with this newly collected specimen, as I noted, was to edit the shoots in preparation for the initial styling.

    This work was done about a week after the photo above was taken. As you can see, it’s all about new tender shoots and getting them started in the right positions.

    Here is today’s update. There’s been plenty of growth in a month, and the leader thickened up enough that I had to unwire it.

    Now, it’s important at this point to consider some basic design principles which will apply to most of your bonsai. Here they are, in no particular order of importance:

    • the first quarter to third of the trunk, starting from the soil, is devoid of branches
    • branches are spaced farther apart in the lower part of the tree, getting closer together as you work your way up
    • you always want a good distribution of branches, which is why we all learn the “spiral staircase” concept of left branch-right branch-back branch or any combination thereof (we usually don’t start with a back branch, but I have from time to time)
    • branches are longer in the lower part of the tree than in the upper part, mimicking trees in nature and complying with horticultural principles

    Keep those principles in mind as we turn our attention to this client tree I worked on today. The growth you see is very typical of cypresses when you first tackle them.

     

    The basic editing is done. Notice how the tree has been worked in keeping with the principles noted above. First branch placement (the final position is the key), fewer branches in the lower part and more in the upper, good distribution of branches around the trunk, pyramidal form to mimic natural trees.

    The next vital chore on this specimen is to make the angle cut on the trunk. It was chopped straight across when collected, which is how it needs to be done, and now that I’ve selected my leader it’s time to get the tapering transition into the new apex under way. This part is done with a trunk splitter, the absolute best tool for the job.

     

    The rough result.

    I use knob cutters followed by hand-carving tools to smooth it out. Notice the “shelf” that I’ve left near the new leader. This is necessary because of the apical dominance of the tree, which will cause the callus beneath the leader to swell very rapidly and much more than at the bottom of the angle cut. If I carve this angle without the shelf, the callus is very likely to overswell and cause a reverse taper. I have seen this error too many times to count.

    By the way, this whole carved area must be sealed (which I did after the work was completed). BC sapwood is like a sponge, and the transported water goes right through the chop area – not good for the tree.

     

    And finally, the tree is wired and the branches positioned. Notice a couple of things about this initially styled BC:

    • the first branch on the tree emerges at the first bend in the trunk – a classic bonsai design principle because it looks right and complies with natural horticultural principles (notice the low point where the branch was pulled down; it is very near 1/3 what will be the final height of the tree)
    • the branches have been pulled downward; this helps to produce the illusion of height in this tree (along with the taper of the trunk, which is forced perspective)
    • the branches in the top of the tree have been trimmed very short; if left too long they will rob energy from the lower branches, so must be kept “cool”
    • the gentle curve of the trunk is continued into the new leader

    Let me know what you think of today’s work.

    Flat-top Bald Cypress Bonsai – Starting A New Specimen

    by | Apr 30, 2021 | Bald Cypress, Care, Most Recent, Styling, Wiring

    flat-top bald cypress – how to get started

    the bonsai files

    Sneak Peek

    The flat-top Bald cypress bonsai is the fastest to create from scratch. That’s because you get to take advantage of the tree’s apical dominance.

    Flat-top Bald Cypress – How to Get Started

    I’m convinced that there are two distinctive main styles for Bald cypress bonsai, the classic pyramidal style and the so called “flat-top.” The flat-top style is nothing more than a representation of the older specimens you see in the swamps. Once a BC grows to its natural mature height limit (genetics and all that jazz), the lower branches mostly die off and what you’re left with is a gradually spreading crown that reaches its natural limits.

    I’m also convinced, though I’ll certainly get plenty of argument, that certain specimens lend themselves more to the flat-top style than others. For my money, the trunk height to trunk base ratio for the flat-top needs to be bigger to emphasize the height of the tree. It’s supposed to be a fully mature tree, after all, and they tend to get quite tall. Also, the pyramidal style bonsai can be grown from a tree with a nice fat trunk base and only end up at a 6 or 8 to 1 ratio of height to base. The pyramidal, or “Christmas tree” shape also produces the forced perspective that fools the brain into thinking the tree is very tall. This isn’t able to happen the same way with the flat-top, thus the need for a bigger base to height ratio. The tree on the right has a 2.5″ diameter trunk near the soil, and it’s chopped at 26″. So we start off with a height to base ratio of 10 to 1, and by the time the crown is developed we’ll be closer to 12 to 1. (Yes, I hear some of you thinking, that violates a bonsai rule! I suppose it does, but the tree needs to look right and this is how it’s done in my book.)

    So if you’re still humoring me, let’s get started with a fun rhyme: in bonsai, less is always more, until it’s not anymore. You’ll often find yourself confronted with trees that are just a mass of branches, foliage and confusion. A bonsai is a representation of a mature tree in nature, not an exact duplicate of one. So we want to boil down our trees to their essence, and that means getting rid of a lot of foliar mass the tree went to a lot of trouble to grow. But that’s okay, the tree won’t mind (with BC, they continue to push trunk buds for quite some time until you finally convince them you’re right).

    So here’s the first pass on editing down this BC to a more useable form. I was able to remove all of the lower branches that were trying to grow upward – I don’t need to fight those branches when I have some already growing horizontally.

    We also need to keep in mind as we shape our trees that just because we’re doing bonsai doesn’t mean we can ignore all of the natural rules of the road. What I mean in this case is shown in the photo – namely, that empty space on the right side of the trunk near what will be the new apex. When branches get shaded out in nature by those above it, they die. I have seen the same phenomenon in bonsai. I might be able to keep a branch below the crown of this one alive, but it just wouldn’t make sense for it to be there. So I removed all of them.

    Here’s the tree after all the high-falutin’ wiring I did to it. That’s right, one wire for two branches, a trim on the left side to “cool” that branch off and push the energy to the right, and a few turns for both. I’ll wait to wire the lower branches until they’re tougher and less likely to snap off – made easier by the fact that I don’t need to convince them to lie flat.

     

    The last chore for today is to carve down the trunk chop. I did this with my spherical knob cutters for the rough work, then I used a carving knife to smooth the whole area. This is especially important at the edges, where the callus is going to start swelling before you know it. I want it to roll smoothly over the chop, and eventually to not look like anything at all but a continuation of the trunk line.

    I’ll post updates on this tree as the work progresses. By next spring, I should be able to move it to a bonsai pot.

    Let me know what you think.