Why I love the Primo arborvitae

[MMJNICE]

So I picked up an primo arborvitae from my local nursery and didn't really know what to do with it till maybe 4 months later. I was staring at it an notice that it kinda looks like a deciduous tree from 50 yards away and 10 minutes later I had a perfect miniaturized tree in a pot. What I've learned do far is they are super hardy little trees I kept a rooted cutting out for two winters in a row and it's still growing,,,,and when i say left out i mean on a cold concrete slap in a 7 inch Terra cotta pot... be it very little tho.. the cutting was about an inch long if that. It may be an inch and a half now smh.. super slow growing so they are very easy to keep small. Have Relatively large trunks to hight ratios say a Quarter inch every 4 inches high and that could be a half inch to every 6 inches if you get one with a wide base. They handle root pruning like champions ,Seemingly, never missing A beat. I've re-potted from nursery stock in late spring early summer with no real detriment,,,, that is if I'm Conservative with my root pruning I might say. They have amazing thick foliage that turns bronze in cold winters under 40 degrees. Back bud Prolifically when pruned.. and they have Zero pests that I have seen so far and no fungal issues to boot. From my understanding they are fairly new to the nursery trade with the iseli company selecting a seedling from a "zmatik" thuja occidentalis in a breeding program for discovering new Tree cultivars of thuja in 2004. So I think more people should consider useing them for forest compositions root over rock and specimen plantings. I would love to see other plantings if anyone has been working with them for a while or recently. My oldest tree that I've been training is the the first picture ,,,it's been in its pot for over three years now. I just did its second repotting this spring. All the other small trees I've been training for its second growing season and have been repotted once into their current pots "Basically from nursery pots".. the largest tree has been repotted from its nursery container this spring with a conservative root reduction. They have all started pushing new growth. The tree in the nursery container i just picked up today...if you have any pictures of grafted primo stock on to regular thuja I really would love to see that one!! I've heard a few people considering that very Option and it sounds amazing!

 

[pandacular]

I have one of these as well, and you neglected to mention their best characteristic: the smell of the foliage! To me, they invoke the look of hinoki, but with some characteristics that could make them much easier to work.

I did a terrible job styling this one and luckily the top is starting to bounce back. I have thought about giving it away a few times, but each time I get a good smell of it, I remind myself to keep it.

Have you attempted a layer of one? I left most of the top to be layered off. I expect it should take quite well, as you mention they take from cuttings, and I observed that the dense interior with mushy black die back had spots throwing out roots. I think this density may actually make it challenging to start with a larger one like I have here, as it meant there was very littler interior foliage. See image below, which was already after removing all the low basal branches!

 

[Bonsai Forest]

So I picked up an primo arborvitae from my local nursery and didn't really know what to do with it till maybe 4 months later. I was staring at it a notice that it kinda looks like a deciduous tree from 50 yards away and 10 minutes later I had a perfect miniaturized tree in a pot. What I've learned do far is they are super hardy little trees I kept a rooted cutting out for two winters in a row and it's still growing,,,,and when i say left out i mean on a cold concrete slap in a 7 inch Terra cotta pot... be it very little tho.. the cutting was about an inch long if that. It may be an inch and a half now smh.. super slow growing so they are very easy to keep small. Have Relatively large trunks to hight ratios say a Quarter inch every 4 inches high and that could be a half inch to every 6 inches if you get one with a wide base. They handle root pruning like champions ,Seemingly, never missing A beat. I've re-potted from nursery stock in late spring early summer with no real detriment,,,, that is if I'm Conservative with my root pruning I might say. They have amazing thick foliage that turns bronze in cold winters under 40 degrees. Back bud Prolifically when pruned.. and they have Zero pests that I have seen so far and no fungal issues to boot. From my understanding they are fairly new to the nursery trade with the iseli company selecting a seedling from a "zmatik" thuja occidentalis in a breeding program for discovering new Tree cultivars of thuja in 2004. So I think more people should consider useing them for forest compositions root over rock and specimen plantings. I would love to see other plantings if anyone has been working with them for a while or recently. My oldest tree that I've been training is the the first picture ,,,it's been in its pot for over three years now. I just did its second repotting this spring. All the other small trees I've been training for its second growing season and have been repotted once into their current pots "Basically from nursery pots".. the largest tree has been repotted from its nursery container this spring with a conservative root reduction. They have all started pushing new growth. The tree in the nursery container i just picked up today...View attachment 540312View attachment 540313View attachment 540314View attachment 540315View attachment 540316View attachment 540317View attachment 540318View attachment 540312View attachment 540313View attachment 540314View attachment 540315View attachment 540316View attachment 540317View attachment 540318if you have any pictures of grafted primo stock on to regular thuja I really would love to see that one!! I've heard a few people considering that very Option and it sounds amazing!

For weeks I’ve been immersing myself in the arborvitae at work and wondering if they make good bonsai. You have proven to me they do! Very nice.

Edit:

I am fully convinced now and this will be my next project. I am thankful to you!

 

[Bonsai Forest]

I have one of these as well, and you neglected to mention their best characteristic: the smell of the foliage! To me, they invoke the look of hinoki, but with some characteristics that could make them much easier to work.

I did a terrible job styling this one and luckily the top is starting to bounce back. I have thought about giving it away a few times, but each time I get a good smell of it, I remind myself to keep it.

Have you attempted a layer of one? I left most of the top to be layered off. I expect it should take quite well, as you mention they take from cuttings, and I observed that the dense interior with mushy black die back had spots throwing out roots. I think this density may actually make it challenging to start with a larger one like I have here, as it meant there was very littler interior foliage. See image below, which was already after removing all the low basal branches!
View attachment 540321

Can’t wait to see how this turns out for you! You’re right about Hinoki too lol

 

[IckyGuyBonsai]

I have a tiny one that I've had in an equally tiny pot for a few years now. This thread reminds me that I was wanting to get this guy into a bigger pot this year to grow out some more. Their slow growth rate plus being in such a small pot has made for a reeeeeal slow going process

 

[MMJNICE]

I have a tiny one that I've had in an equally tiny pot for a few years now. This thread reminds me that I was wanting to get this guy into a bigger pot this year to grow out some more. Their slow growth rate plus being in such a small pot has made for a reeeeeal slow going process
View attachment 540382View attachment 540385

Yea cool little guy that pot looks super small just looking at the size of the fertilizer beads!! The amount of foliage cut off from what most nursing plants look like before pruning, with the pot size has definitely made it grow super slowly. I almost think it has more to do with the amount of foliage cut off that really holds these trees back from growing more then an half inch a year. The more I take off the slowly my trees tend to grow. When kept fuller I get almost two inches of growth a season. I think tops even in a larger pot with lots of foliage to support them is 3" to if lucky 4" of growth just at the leading shoots per year.

 

[MMJNICE]

I have one of these as well, and you neglected to mention their best characteristic: the smell of the foliage! To me, they invoke the look of hinoki, but with some characteristics that could make them much easier to work.

I did a terrible job styling this one and luckily the top is starting to bounce back. I have thought about giving it away a few times, but each time I get a good smell of it, I remind myself to keep it.

Have you attempted a layer of one? I left most of the top to be layered off. I expect it should take quite well, as you mention they take from cuttings, and I observed that the dense interior with mushy black die back had spots throwing out roots. I think this density may actually make it challenging to start with a larger one like I have here, as it meant there was very littler interior foliage. See image below, which was already after removing all the low basal branches!
View attachment 540321

I think the key with this material is two approaches. One cut the bottom longest branches off and leave the top Bushy portion to create a pine or deciduous like canopy from a distance. When you squinch your eyes you should see a tree from a distance like image. The other approach is the use the longer bottom branches to create a conifer branch structure with them being wired down in a dropped manner like in one of your pictures. All you had to do is thin out the top portion a little wire and bam!!,,,you would have a really cool looking tree. Right now it definitely looks half finished but I definitely see the possibilities and potential in both styles I just mentioned. I have not tried to ground layer or air layer as of yet but I did notice some roots hanging down on the larger nursery stock I just bought and am going to cut off the longer branches on the bottom with roots attached and try to get them growing in a seed tray in a forest type planting look to see if any take on them own. I did that with my larger tree I have in a bonsai pot but it was early winter when I bought that one and none of the cuttings took unfortunately. I knew it was a long shot but they had a far amount of roots attached. The new nursery tree's lower branches don't have anywhere near as much roots attached as the latter.

 

[pandacular]

Right now it definitely looks half finished but I definitely see the possibilities and potential in both styles I just mentioned.

It looks half-finished because it is! Actually, it's not even nearly 10% finished most likely.

The pictures don't really show my plan very well, but I have a leader selected about 2/3 the way up the trunk. Everything above that was left to aid in a repot...but I bailed on the repot as the tree was unhappy due to my amateur wiring. Instead, I will attempt to airlayer the top, as I think there is a promising small tree up there. When that's done, I'm not quite sure what I'll do with the bottom. Perhaps it will sit around in loving neglect for a while as I wait for it to give me more options or inspiration. I think I may get a different one at some point and turn it into a raft, as I think it would work well for that style.

 

[MMJNICE]

It looks half-finished because it is! Actually, it's not even nearly 10% finished most likely.

The pictures don't really show my plan very well, but I have a leader selected about 2/3 the way up the trunk. Everything above that was left to aid in a repot...but I bailed on the repot as the tree was unhappy due to my amateur wiring. Instead, I will attempt to airlayer the top, as I think there is a promising small tree up there. When that's done, I'm not quite sure what I'll do with the bottom. Perhaps it will sit around in loving neglect for a while as I wait for it to give me more options or inspiration. I think I may get a different one at some point and turn it into a raft, as I think it would work well for that style.

I agree with the raft option. I think that's a genius idea! There are very well suited for that style see how easily they ground layer themselves. But

I have one of these as well, and you neglected to mention their best characteristic: the smell of the foliage! To me, they invoke the look of hinoki, but with some characteristics that could make them much easier to work.

I did a terrible job styling this one and luckily the top is starting to bounce back. I have thought about giving it away a few times, but each time I get a good smell of it, I remind myself to keep it.

Have you attempted a layer of one? I left most of the top to be layered off. I expect it should take quite well, as you mention they take from cuttings, and I observed that the dense interior with mushy black die back had spots throwing out roots. I think this density may actually make it challenging to start with a larger one like I have here, as it meant there was very littler interior foliage. See image below, which was already after removing all the low basal branches!
View attachment 540321

So I think it would look cool in the pine style especially when it fills back in forming nice pads in a year or so in the first Edit picture I'm posting, and in a more Decideous style in the second edit I'm posting. Also you got me thinking about a raft for the tree I just bought... probably not tho I was planning on using it for a forest composition with everything I've accumulated in the last 3 years or so. Would be nice to get some more cuttings to take from the new nursery stock I just bought. I'm hoping to get some big one's to root this year we will see.

 

[pandacular]

Have you been successful with hardwood cuttings? most of the ones I find at nurseries have many branches right at the base that are hard to use in a larger design. I wonder if those could take as cuttings.

 

[Frozentreehugger]

So I picked up an primo arborvitae from my local nursery and didn't really know what to do with it till maybe 4 months later. I was staring at it an notice that it kinda looks like a deciduous tree from 50 yards away and 10 minutes later I had a perfect miniaturized tree in a pot. What I've learned do far is they are super hardy little trees I kept a rooted cutting out for two winters in a row and it's still growing,,,,and when i say left out i mean on a cold concrete slap in a 7 inch Terra cotta pot... be it very little tho.. the cutting was about an inch long if that. It may be an inch and a half now smh.. super slow growing so they are very easy to keep small. Have Relatively large trunks to hight ratios say a Quarter inch every 4 inches high and that could be a half inch to every 6 inches if you get one with a wide base. They handle root pruning like champions ,Seemingly, never missing A beat. I've re-potted from nursery stock in late spring early summer with no real detriment,,,, that is if I'm Conservative with my root pruning I might say. They have amazing thick foliage that turns bronze in cold winters under 40 degrees. Back bud Prolifically when pruned.. and they have Zero pests that I have seen so far and no fungal issues to boot. From my understanding they are fairly new to the nursery trade with the iseli company selecting a seedling from a "zmatik" thuja occidentalis in a breeding program for discovering new Tree cultivars of thuja in 2004. So I think more people should consider useing them for forest compositions root over rock and specimen plantings. I would love to see other plantings if anyone has been working with them for a while or recently. My oldest tree that I've been training is the the first picture ,,,it's been in its pot for over three years now. I just did its second repotting this spring. All the other small trees I've been training for its second growing season and have been repotted once into their current pots "Basically from nursery pots".. the largest tree has been repotted from its nursery container this spring with a conservative root reduction. They have all started pushing new growth. The tree in the nursery container i just picked up today...View attachment 540312View attachment 540313View attachment 540314View attachment 540315View attachment 540316View attachment 540317View attachment 540318View attachment 540312View attachment 540313View attachment 540314View attachment 540315View attachment 540316View attachment 540317View attachment 540318if you have any pictures of grafted primo stock on to regular thuja I really would love to see that one!! I've heard a few people considering that very Option and it sounds amazing!

I like your trees . I have 2 purchased last year . Arrived a little late for spring reporting . Both are in 6 gallon nursery pots . So all I did was grow them and heavily fertilize last summer . I am one of the people that has the goal of grafting them to wild collected trees . I’m actually heading out the door to collect today . I live in zone 4 Canada . And can attest to there hardiness ( as good so far as regular thuja ) and more important to me there good winter colour . And compact growth . The parent trees will have multiple air layers applied this year . ( for grafting stock ) they will be reduced to bonsai eventually . Glad to hear about the roots reduction success . Wild cold and wind tortured thuja . Often has compact foliage . Which when collected can not be sustained . ( trust me ) . That and less tortured trees have foliage to far from trunk . ( they only back bud limited ) plus wild trees have the worst foliage colour. It can be improved with care . ( my first collected one I thought was dead it’s first winter it was so ugly colour . My goal is to fix all three of these drawbacks with grafted primo . Plus the slow growth is a plus . Wild thuja in its natural range is actually . Difficult to slow down even in a pot . They like fert for colour . And are practically weeds .

 

[bbright]

I'm also a fan of this cultivar. My tree below, in training since 2022, has quickly become one of my favorites. It handles pruning, wiring, and repotting well (although I did lose one of those bottom branches to wiring). Very cold hardy - I have left it outside on my bench in a small pot until temps dropped below 20 deg F the last two winters and it hasn't seemed to suffer at all. I have another small one growing in the ground - it puts on a few inches of growth in a growing season. This one in a bonsai pot grows very slowly, maybe 0.5-1 inch of growth per growing season?

Regarding cuttings: I took about five cuttings from when I first styled this tree, and one successfully rooted for me. I wasn't careful though, just stuck them in normal garden soil and forgot about them for a year.

 

[MMJNICE]

I'm also a fan of this cultivar. My tree below, in training since 2022, has quickly become one of my favorites. It handles pruning, wiring, and repotting well (although I did lose one of those bottom branches to wiring). Very cold hardy - I have left it outside on my bench in a small pot until temps dropped below 20 deg F the last two winters and it hasn't seemed to suffer at all. I have another small one growing in the ground - it puts on a few inches of growth in a growing season. This one in a bonsai pot grows very slowly, maybe 0.5-1 inch of growth per growing season?

Regarding cuttings: I took about five cuttings from when I first styled this tree, and one successfully rooted for me. I wasn't careful though, just stuck them in normal garden soil and forgot about them for a year.

How big is your primo? It looks in-between the medium size nursery stock and the smallest size that comes in the small plug pots. You did an excellent job styling your tree btw. I thought about putting a jin on my smaller primo but I was going with a deciduous kinda look with the smaller trees. My smallest cuttings has seen temperatures below zero and still kicking ,,,although I'm not going to try it with one of my potted tree. How have you managed not to buy any more of them hehehe.. I'm completely hook!

 

[bbright]

Thank you. It's 8 inches tall. If I remember correctly, it came in a one gallon nursery container and I cut about the top half off when I first styled it.

Yeah, when I saw all your Primos I thought "Maybe I should get another one...". The nursery near me that sells Iseli material, where I got mine, is a 45 minute drive from my house, thankfully, so I only visit there a couple times a year, or else I think I'd have a few more. Every time I go though I think about picking up another one.

 

[Bonsai Forest]

Thank you. It's 8 inches tall. If I remember correctly, it came in a one gallon nursery container and I cut about the top half off when I first styled it.

Yeah, when I saw all your Primos I thought "Maybe I should get another one...". The nursery near me that sells Iseli material, where I got mine, is a 45 minute drive from my house, thankfully, so I only visit there a couple times a year, or else I think I'd have a few more. Every time I go though I think about picking up another one.

View attachment 543374

Such an awesome tree.

Question: Do arborvitae bonsai produce lignified tertiary branching? This reminds me of Hinoki Cypress.

 

[bbright]

Thanks.

There isn't much tertiary branching on my arborvitae, but there is some tertiary branching that is woody.