Tsuga canadensis collected

[TN_Jim]

dang
up on the plateau of TN this species can be just stunning, super rad thank you



u gonna give it a little light in this year, thin the mop, or hold off?

 

[MrFancyPlants]

I’m going to give it as much light as I can. I’ll do some thinning through the year, once it shows some growth, mostly in the upper branches to let more light in. And then a big cutback next winter.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

I’m going to give it as much light as I can. I’ll do some thinning through the year, once it shows some growth, mostly in the upper branches to let more light in. And then a big cutback next winter.

Also I did a real light hedging a few weeks ago; just around the perimeter. It was getting really “out there.”

 

[Vance Wood]

You have to start opening it up and eliminating branches not necessary to a good bonsai. Take a look at good and mature bonsai and I think you will discover that the top is not much more than three times taller than the width of the trunk at the base.

 

[Japonicus]

I got it done today.. it is still a little more mounded than I prefer, but I’ll call it a successful transition, assuming it leafs out well this year. I didn’t really find that wagon wheel of roots under there that I recall from collection… yet. I’m going to focus on the top for a few years (once it shows strong growth of course) and then I can try to shallow out the roots a bit more.View attachment 428186View attachment 428187View attachment 428194

Congrats and may it respond well.
Is the 1st pic this post displaying the front? If so I like the angle or placement in the pot
vs the angle of the design in the pot. Congruous how the arc of the trunk leads into the soil
and carries on into the design on the pot same angle.
Then look at the other side and it's like running your hand over a pet backwards like in the last pic.

 

[River's Edge]

I’m going to give it as much light as I can. I’ll do some thinning through the year, once it shows some growth, mostly in the upper branches to let more light in. And then a big cutback next winter.

Your approach is well thought out. Just be sure to make the selection of primary branches your first step in foliage reduction before additional pruning. This is important for opening up the correct areas and wiring down the correct branches. You may very well find tha primary branch selection and elimination of unnecessary branches will be enough at one time.
If you thin throughout the year select the upward growing shoots on the outside. Retain smaller branches closer to the trunk in cut back. And always wire out the new leader after pruning back branches, do not allow them to just grow upward that simply complicates and delays the process.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

You have to start opening it up and eliminating branches not necessary to a good bonsai. Take a look at good and mature bonsai and I think you will discover that the top is not much more than three times taller than the width of the trunk at the base.

Yes, I’ve been chomping at the bit to open it up some. But, I let it grow freely for the last year to gather strength for this repot.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

Congrats and may it respond well.
Is the 1st pic this post displaying the front? If so I like the angle or placement in the pot
vs the angle of the design in the pot. Congruous how the arc of the trunk leads into the soil
and carries on into the design on the pot same angle.
Then look at the other side and it's like running your hand over a pet backwards like in the last pic.

The first pick is what I thought was most front like at the moment, but today I was just happy to get it into the new pot. I will certainly tweak the angles and turn for next repotting.
Good point about the movement in the new pot and the trunk. I’ll have to be cognizant of that aspect next repotting.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

Your approach is well thought out. Just be sure to make the selection of primary branches your first step in foliage reduction before additional pruning. This is important for opening up the correct areas and wiring down the correct branches. You may very well find tha primary branch selection and elimination of unnecessary branches will be enough at one time.
If you thin throughout the year select the upward growing shoots on the outside. Retain smaller branches closer to the trunk in cut back. And always wire out the new leader after pruning back branches, do not allow them to just grow upward that simply complicates and delays the process.

When you say to wire when cutting back branches, it that to counter the springing up from the removed weight? Does that mean westerns and mountains do the same thing? That always surprises me, when I prune a branch back hard and it springs up dramatically.. probably a great idea to counteract.

 

[River's Edge]

When you say to wire when cutting back branches, it that to counter the springing up from the removed weight? Does that mean westerns and mountains do the same thing? That always surprises me, when I prune a branch back hard and it springs up dramatically.. probably a great idea to counteract.

I mean wiring for direction, position, and movement in the primary and secondary branches to set initial design. This allows for the beginnings of pad formation and keeping the interior foliage healthy.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

You have to start opening it up and eliminating branches not necessary to a good bonsai. Take a look at good and mature bonsai and I think you will discover that the top is not much more than three times taller than the width of the trunk at the base.

Vance,
I’d love to get your opinions on branch selection for this one, the Depot Hemlock (because it was bought at a certain box store).
I know it is hard to give a definitive opinion especially given my feeble photography skills, but if you are ever visiting the national collection, you would be more than welcome to stop by. We even have a guest room.
Cheers,
MFP

 

[MrFancyPlants]

Coming along. We had freeze warning the last couple nights, but I don’t think these mind the cold too much. I did some chasing back already and will continue throughout the growing season. Now that it is in a decent pot, I can chase it back, work on the surface roots and then plan some thread or point grafts to get the foliage in just the right places. I’m looking forward to refinement.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

A couple bad photos per my sub par photo skills, but good health coming out of the repot. Not tons of vigor but I guess that is expected after moving to the smaller pot.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

I realized I had been trimming the middle more than the top section, since the new bench/pedestal was keeping the upper branches out of reach for me, so I brought it down and did some cut backs and cleaning. It is still far from tidy as I left some shoots for strength and some decisions yet to be made. There is a new apical sacrifice that I’ll start growing out too. I’m not sure if I’ll Jin the old one
The good news is there are a couple key back buds showing, and really strong growth for coming out of a repot into a smaller pot. I’ll probably hold off on pruning for the rest of the season, unless it goes crazy during the secondary, late summer, growth period.
I’m not sure when I’ll address the surface roots. With this kind of strength, I could repot again in the Spring, or do some cleaning from the top down this summer/fall.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

I did a bit of cleaning on the surface to check on the nebari development. It is coming along although as of yet it is pretty unevenly distributed.

There are a couple roots I am debating removing since I know these will heal over pretty quick.

i had too dressed with spaghnum and mulched all of my trimmings, which the roots seem to enjoy, but there were healthy roots sticking every which way at the surface and made it much trickier to get in around the base to see what was going on. I tried my “Erie soil” as a top cover this time to see if it might make it easier to work the surface next time around.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

I did a bit of cleaning on the surface to check on the nebari development. It is coming along although as of yet it is pretty unevenly distributed.

There are a couple roots I am debating removing since I know these will heal over pretty quick.

i had too dressed with spaghnum and mulched all of my trimmings, which the roots seem to enjoy, but there were healthy roots sticking every which way at the surface and made it much trickier to get in around the base to see what was going on. I tried my “Erie soil” as a top cover this time to see if it might make it easier to work the surface next time around.
View attachment 454394

THIS IS WHERE IT'S AT!

I love the contrast in the second to last photo. A strong foundation with a dollop of foliage. It's just really good. Thanks for sharing.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

THIS IS WHERE IT'S AT!

I love the contrast in the second to last photo. A strong foundation with a dollop of foliage. It's just really good. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you; the drama was unintentional, but now that you mention it, I do enjoy how the foliage looks to scale with the “massive tree.” It is was that characteristic of the species that drew me to it.
I am very pleased with how the Nebari is progressing, but it is very one sided as of yet. I wonder if I should only fertilize on the weaker side? Also here is the root I was thinking of removing. It was always flying, but it also goes in the direction of strength of the nebari.

 

[Cmd5235]

Finally started watching this thread. Been looking for some solid guidance on when to do my first real pruning two years post collection.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

Finally started watching this thread. Been looking for some solid guidance on when to do my first real pruning two years post collection.

Do you have a thread for it? If you are getting strong growth, I like a strong winter cutback, while leaving some apical sacrifice growth. Maybe some light hedging during the growing season, but mainly letting it gather energy. That is my plan anyways, but it is hard not to do some cutting through the growing season.
Try to preserve inner growth whenever you can. Supposedly they take grafts well, but I have yet to attempt. Back buds are rare and generally only one or two years back on any given branch. Letting the growth extend pulls the branches down due to the weight. I haven’t tried growing for pads or dense ramification yet, but maybe someday. I have some little guys that I may try to compact for shohin. Check out my “Depot hemlock” thread too, though that one is a landscaping variety I believe. It weeps some and had denser growth.

 

[Cmd5235]

Do you have a thread for it? If you are getting strong growth, I like a strong winter cutback, while leaving some apical sacrifice growth. Maybe some light hedging during the growing season, but mainly letting it gather energy. That is my plan anyways, but it is hard not to do some cutting through the growing season.
Try to preserve inner growth whenever you can. Supposedly they take grafts well, but I have yet to attempt. Back buds are rare and generally only one or two years back on any given branch. Letting the growth extend pulls the branches down due to the weight. I haven’t tried growing for pads or dense ramification yet, but maybe someday. I have some little guys that I may try to compact for shohin. Check out my “Depot hemlock” thread too, though that one is a landscaping variety I believe. It weeps some and had denser growth.

I had a thread for one, but not the other. Really just experimenting at this time. Winter pruning- now, or a later prune closer to Jan/Feb? I’m a bit to the north of you