Can you twist a trees trunk?

[19Mateo83]

I have seen quite a few trees with trunks that grew naturally but look like they were twisted by some supernatural force. Is it possible to recreate this in bonsai? Can you literally just twist a tree’s trunk and train it to grow this way?

 

[penumbra]

Waiting to hear in on this as well. I would imagine this is possible with some trees and not others. Bearing in mind that nature takes decades to do this.

 

[Dogestoevsky]

Eric at Bonsaify has a video where he touches on this — IIRC in the demo he was working on 3-4 year old juniper cuttings and wired them out for future growth. When applying the wire around the trunk, he would add 180-360 (or more) degrees of rotation in the direction of the wire, and in a few cases peeled shari along the twisted grain a year after this first styling. Let me see if I can find the video.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Yes, it's possible.
I do it in conifers and the wood grain follows the twist.
Non-conifers have the tendency to split their bark longtitudionally (I don't know how to write that word) when twisted like that.

 

[19Mateo83]

Yes, it's possible.
I do it in conifers and the wood grain follows the twist.
Non-conifers have the tendency to split their bark longtitudionally (I don't know how to write that word) when twisted like that.

I would think for deciduous trees it would take several years of training, twisting a little bit each year. I know conifers you can really twist them up in one go. Good to know about the bark splitting longitudinally

 

[penumbra]

Until more people pipe in I would guess it is mostly trial and error on trees with little value until you can work it out.

 

[Cajunrider]

I have seen trunk twists of massive trees in area with seasonal prevailing wind of different directions. Recreating actual trunk twist is possible with small trees but really not feasible with larger bonsai. However, I think appearance of trunk twists can be done with trees that are more accommodating of lateral sap flow. For those, carving twist into the trunk and let the tree heal to show the twist appearance.

 

[Cadillactaste]

I think choosing some species this is a characteristic possibly an easier option. Say...like the twisted pomegranate. Sorry literal brain thinker here.

 

[dbonsaiw]

Say...like the twisted pomegranate.

This.

 

[hardtimes]

This.

This !

 

[Apex37]

Bjorn used to have this trident maple that was started by twisting a bunch of seedlings together and letting them fuse over time. I remember him having a few like this when I had visited before the move and I know over in Japan it’s a pretty popular thing.

@moke achieved a similar look with this willow leaf ficus by scaring the trunk over time.

Moke's Willow Leaf Ficus #1 Progression

Here's a cutting taken off one of my big WLF this was started 2019. Here it is in 2021 after I planted it up in this @Soldano666 pot I won in this Halloween tree contest https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/it-was-a-graveyard-smash.52327/ And another from 2022 Last week October 2023

www.bonsainut.com

 

[Cadillactaste]

Bjorn used to have this trident maple that was started by twisting a bunch of seedlings together and letting them fuse over time. I remember him having a few like this when I had visited before the move and I know over in Japan it’s a pretty popular thing.

@moke achieved a similar look with this willow leaf ficus by scaring the trunk over time.

Moke's Willow Leaf Ficus #1 Progression

Here's a cutting taken off one of my big WLF this was started 2019. Here it is in 2021 after I planted it up in this @Soldano666 pot I won in this Halloween tree contest https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/it-was-a-graveyard-smash.52327/ And another from 2022 Last week October 2023

www.bonsainut.com

Wire scars...... guess I see only wire scars here. Sorry...

View attachment 536957

This !

Exactly this!

 

[Apex37]

Wire scars...... guess I see only wire scars here. Sorry...

I believe he used an actual tool to scar the trunk. I don’t believe it was from wire. Either way, I get what you mean. Different strokes for different folks and that’s okay!

 

[Cadillactaste]

I believe he used an actual tool to scar the trunk. I don’t believe it was from wire. Either way, I get what you mean. Different strokes for different folks and that’s okay!

Sadly...the distance between the marks. That's how it came across to me. But...it doesn't matter how I perceive it. It resides on his bench. And he understands what was done...and if it brings joy at the end of the day. That's what this hobby is about.

 

[JeffJ]

Not nearly as nice as what nature can do,

 

[Wood]

@lieuz has a couple examples of beautyberry saplings that have been bound together then twisted that eventually creates something similar. If you twisted a young deciduous sapling, would the sap flow eventually straighten out as the tree was grown out, or keep the original twist?

 

[Cadillactaste]

Not nearly as nice as what nature can do,

View attachment 536993

I guess I need to see the entire tree. I am curious how the entire structure was built.

 

[BrianBay9]

I wish I had pics.....At my parents' previous house a tornado passed nearby and twisted a mature Japanese maple. It did indeed split the wood to do it. I drilled and bolted it together in several places and it survived, healed the trunk and grow over the bolts. I can help but think about the surprise someone will get some day when trying to cut that tree down.

 

[JeffJ]

I guess I need to see the entire tree. I am curious how the entire structure was built.

That section I posted is really the only section where the twisting is really noticeable.

 

[19Mateo83]

if it brings joy at the end of the day. That's what this hobby is about.

This