Another one of my hornbeams

[bretts]

Had this one about two years.
I couldn't go past the great root spread.
First branch on the left is a graft that I am not sure will work. I am starting to think I don't need it now anyway ?

The first branch on the right was nothing more than a one bud twig when I got it so I am happy with the progress of getting a lower branch thick enough for the trunk.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

This definitely has potential; great base.
If you like the first right branch, it looks like you'd need the first left branch for balance.

 

[tmmason10]

Very nice trunk girth and nebari. Good luck on thickening up those lower branches.

 

[JudyB]

love those smooth hornbeam trunks. I forget where you are, AUS? What type of HB is this one? Very nice...

 

[Si Nguyen]

That's a masterpiece waiting to happen! Love that muscular trunk! Go natural style on this Brett. Don't wire the branches down. Everything should go up. You have got plenty enough branches to work with for a very nice show tree in a few short years. Let all branches grow long and thick for another 2-3 years, then cut it back hard and start the ramification. It should be awesome in 5 years.
Good luck!

 

[Attila Soos]

Don't wire the branches down. Everything should go up.

Great suggestion, the primary branches can grow upward, and then some of the secondary branches would grow in a downward angle. I love that style.

 

[bretts]

Some interesting comments
Personally I think the notion that everything must grow up on deciduous trees is the pendulum swinging too far back in the other direction.
If I was too put my interpretation into words I would say that a deciduous tree fills spaces and generally grows in an upward direction.

Recently I found it interesting going through Walter Palls Gallery looking at just this. I found the most pleasing trees had an upward growth but some of these upward growing trees still had major primary branches below horizontal.
I also found Ryan Niels Critique of a Bonsai exhibition very interesting. Not long after trashing (maybe not the words Ryan would like me using but that is the best words I could use to describe it, especially since he gave no real direction to fix the issue) A beech for having branches that did not grow in an upward fasion he praised what I remember being and Elm (maybe his favourite tree of the exibishion) for it's natural upward movement. Yet it had a very noticable branch towards the top left that swooped down quite low giving the tree a very pleasing effect.
So I believe swooping branches can be quite good on a deciduous tree as long as the tree overall gives the impression of up and out movement.

I am starting to wonder if the swooping branches on the top left of this tree would be better utilized to take the place of the grafted branch on the left.
I agree a natural style for this tree is important so it had me wondering what would Walter have done if he does not graft branches?
Just some recent thoughts on the tree nothing set in stone at the moment.
Shortly I will be trimming the tree back to two leaves like I have my others so maybe I can post a pic then to show how it is going.

As the first right branch has thickened from a single bud twig to what it is today in two short years my fears of getting enough girth in the branches has faded some. I will let that one grow wild again this year. It is nice to see some fresh buds starting to swell at the very start of that branch this year so I think I have been very lucky.
Fingers crossed and I can show you a nice tree in 5 Years

I am in what I call the Wheatbelt of NSW Australia Judy. Hot Summers (too hot for Hornbeam really) and fairly Cold Winters. This is a Carpinus turczaninovii so the Nurseryman tells me. Has more bronze colouring to the fresh leaves than other species of hornbeam.

 

[Ang3lfir3]

I am going to say this.... and then run away before you all try to burn me at the stake.....

That trunk is begging to be carved..... and those branches need some Ancient spooky gnarly branching going on.....

remember I warned you before I said.....

 

[edprocoat]

That is a neat looking tree, it looks like many of the trees here in Central Ohio U.S.A this time of year. I always hear things in bonsai like branch size in comparison to tree girth and it always seems to me that in nature there are no such set rules. Now I had to look up hornbeams as even though I have seen many online pics of that species I have never seen one in nature, that I know of. I found out that in Australia there are many varieties, there is only one variety in America, its called American hornbeam, I wonder how that came up with that name? Not very creative in their naming at least, I love the leaves, online it said some varieties have smaller leaves and the largest leaves are on the Japanese variety. I guess yours is an Australian variety? Do you have pics of it with leaves, I would love to see it.

ed

 

[rockm]

Hornbeam is a Northern hemisphere tree in the birch family. It's distributed in north America, Europe, China and Japan. The correct name for "American Hornbeam" is Carpinus Caroliniana--or more specifically "Carolina Hornbeam."

The name "Hornbeam" name is derived from the wood's hardness, likened to horn. "Beam" is taken from the Olde English "beame" which means tree.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornbeam
The species is very common in Ohio and east of the Mississippi. It grows near streams and moist river bottom land.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

online it said some varieties have smaller leaves and the largest leaves are on the Japanese variety. I guess yours is an Australian variety? Do you have pics of it with leaves, I would love to see it.

American (caroliniana) and European (betulus) Hornbeams have larger leaves than the 3 named Asian varieties: Japanese (japonica), Korean (turczaninovii), and Korean (coreana). My coreana has leaves that are about dime-sized with no special effort. There's also a Loose-flowered hornbeam, c. laxiflora, and Bill Valavanis has a great specimen.