Coast Redwood Fairy Circle Bonsai?

[cbrshadow23]

I'm really liking Coast Redwoods lately. I walked through Muir Woods with some visiting family who haven't been there before and loved seeing the giant trees. The "fairy circles" gave me some inspiration and I've been thinking it would be an interesting bonsai concept. I can't find a single example online of someone doing one.

I've got a collected Coast Redwood below (video in link) that I thought I'd try this with.
I'm thinking I'll:
- Thin out the 'circle' upright trees
- Wire the upright trees to make them straighter, similar to how they are in the wild
- Carve the stump to open up that hollow
- Let the upright trunks grow freely for a while and thicken

What are your guys thoughts?

Coast Redwood Fairy Circle Bonsai

youtube.com

 

[Wood]

I love the idea, and that tree seems like a great start too. The proportions of it might be hard to nail down though

Currently, the stump seems high for the diameter of the fairy circle at the moment. The circles I've seen in the wild (admittedly only a handful) haven't had much left of the original tree, maybe just knee-high stump, and this feels like that stump would be towering over me if I was standing at the base. I think you'll have to work hard to keep the lower branches alive, but I'm really just spitballing

Definitely seems like an exciting challenge. Good luck!

 

[orangeyeoman]

I've been trying to read up on thos myself. Are yours an actual, connected ring, or separate seedlings in a ring layout?

 

[cbrshadow23]

I've been trying to read up on thos myself. Are yours an actual, connected ring, or separate seedlings in a ring layout?

These are connected to a single root system. I collected a few of these (stumps with several trees growing around them) from a friends property not too long ago. The Big Basin Fire in northern California ripped through 2 years prior and left only stumps, but it didn't take long for these fair circles to pop up around the burnt stumps all over the property.

 

[berzerkules]

I've thought about doing something similar with birch. It's fairly common up here to see a damaged birch shoot a ring of smaller trees around the the base. Haven't gotten around to it yet, I have a lot of projects going and haven’t found a good candidate yet.

 

[orangeyeoman]

These are connected to a single root system. I collected a few of these (stumps with several trees growing around them) from a friends property not too long ago. The Big Basin Fire in northern California ripped through 2 years prior and left only stumps, but it didn't take long for these fair circles to pop up around the burnt stumps all over the property.

Very cool. I'm in Northern California fairly regularly, but live on the East Coast. Not the easiest thing to bring back in carry-on.

 

[nichieagle0000]

I love the idea, looking to get me a mature (up to a foot wide in diameter) coast redwood stump with thick sprouts for a more realistic fairy ring atmosphere. I started a thread for that purpose, any help would be appreciated. https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/looking-for-a-mature-living-coast-redwood-stump.63182/

I'll be watching your thread for updates and ideas. Good luck!