MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Starting a thread of an Austrian pine that I purchased three years ago at a local nursery. It had been there for some years semi neglected at the back along with a few other trees that for some reason no one wanted. The tree was declining in health and needed some TLC. I have since brought it back to a much healthier state by giving it lots of sunlight, water and fertilizer.
The tree appealed to me for a few reasons: Lots of low growth, good taper and movement and nice, aged looking bark.
Below is the tree as it looked last May. At that time I reduced its height about 10 inches by cutting off some of the strongest leaders up top.
Now inside the studio, here is the pine prior to its first styling a week ago. There were two sides I was considering. Below is option A.
And here was option B. This was the side I decided to use.
Before doing any work I made some sketches to study a few different possibilities. I considered single, twin as well as triple trunk options. The bottom sketch in this picture was the design I liked most: a multi trunk design.
In order to find a better and more dynamic planting angle the tree was tilted about 45 degrees to the left.
These are some pics of the work in progress.
Although I had in mind a triple trunk design, I started to lean towards a design where the left lower trunk would be treated more in a semi cascading fashion as shown below.
The next day I came back fresh to reassess and finish the work. I decided to scrap the idea of the semi-cascading trunk and stick to the original plan and create the more upright triple trunk design I had in mind from the beginning. Below is the completed work for now. The tree has a base of 5" with a current height of 20" from soil level and a width of 36".
Last a before and after pic. It will be fertilized heavily and left to grow and regain strength for the next couple of years.
The tree appealed to me for a few reasons: Lots of low growth, good taper and movement and nice, aged looking bark.
Below is the tree as it looked last May. At that time I reduced its height about 10 inches by cutting off some of the strongest leaders up top.
Now inside the studio, here is the pine prior to its first styling a week ago. There were two sides I was considering. Below is option A.
And here was option B. This was the side I decided to use.
Before doing any work I made some sketches to study a few different possibilities. I considered single, twin as well as triple trunk options. The bottom sketch in this picture was the design I liked most: a multi trunk design.
In order to find a better and more dynamic planting angle the tree was tilted about 45 degrees to the left.
These are some pics of the work in progress.
Although I had in mind a triple trunk design, I started to lean towards a design where the left lower trunk would be treated more in a semi cascading fashion as shown below.
The next day I came back fresh to reassess and finish the work. I decided to scrap the idea of the semi-cascading trunk and stick to the original plan and create the more upright triple trunk design I had in mind from the beginning. Below is the completed work for now. The tree has a base of 5" with a current height of 20" from soil level and a width of 36".
Last a before and after pic. It will be fertilized heavily and left to grow and regain strength for the next couple of years.