European Hornbeam

[dlayton]

I just wanted to start a thread for this tree because I think she is worthy of having her journey continued. She has aptly been named Jersey(She knows when she is being talked to as well!) Below is the link to read the first part of Jersey's story. @MACH5 did a wonderful job and I am in no way qualified for such a tree, but I am having fun!!!! I couldn't figure out to hyperlink it, so I do apologize.

EUROPEAN HORNBEAM

Here is a Europen hornbeam (carpinus betulus) I purchased from Adam (stickroot). The material offered for sale has outstanding potential with a powerful nine inch trunk and wonderful flaring nebari. The tree was shipped very nicely packed inside a wooden crate. Here is the photo where I circled...

www.bonsainut.com

First pics are from September 22, 2022 when, after a 14 hour drive, I arrived at De Casa Sergio! His trees are absolutely gorgeous in person btw. Absolutely stunning!


Most post coming

 

[dlayton]

Left Alone through the rest of '22, here is the final shot. Good color - I was probably a little late.

 

[dlayton]

Very very little trimming in the Winter of 2022. Leaves were all removed by hand over several days. Pics are from December 2022

It was at this point I was able to see the issues with the front hat @MACH5 discussed in his posts. It was over the course of that first winter that I pretty much settled on my front. Is it the best front, probably not. But 'tis mine!
This is the front I began to study on and as you can see, there is way too much going on in the top left corner.

 

[dlayton]

Tree was pruned once in May and the wire was removed. I was going back and forth on whether to try defoliating it, I had heard mixed opinions on the matter and the worst thing I could do was kill it... So, I reached at to @Walter Pall and he told me I better hurry because it didn't look like, based on my climate that I had very few days left to do it.

Fingers Crossed!

 

[dlayton]

Jersery responded wonderfully! Thanks Walter! She was left alone to grow on out. Pic from September 4, 2023. I have kept her alive for almost a year now!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Nice! Always liked that tree. Looking forward to seeing it continue.

 

[dlayton]

Going into this Spring I knew I wanted to accomplish 2 things. Repot into a real Bonsai pot. You have no idea how hard it is to find a pot big enough. Thank you China... More on that to come. And change the front with a really big chop. I called my buddy, Ralph, who is a wizard of the Bonsai kind and well, he held my hand and guided me through! It was scary!

Goodbye old fron




Hello new Front.

 

[dlayton]

Repotted this weekend. I went with 100% Akadama this go round. Wanting to see how it does. Please do not underestimate how difficult this tree was/is to move. It took some serious Redneck engineering to get this done. All in all roots were reduced by approximately 3 inches. It is now about 5 inches thick from soil line down.

You can also see from these pics the results of the chop. All in all I am very please with it. Made me nervous at first, but I think we can work with this!

 

[dlayton]

Jersey ready for the next chapter in her new home. Pot is 32 x 22 x 7. I went with this size because, honestly, that what Sergio recommended. Found it on Etsy, straight from China. Ordered it in October and it arrived last week. Took longer than I expected, but it worked out quite nicely.


I am still working on detail wiring. You cannot imagine having to break this tree down in pieces!

My plans going forward are to work on wound heal and further develop my secondary branch transitions. Wounds have all been reworked and sealed. I also have some holes to fill from some drastic chops so I plan on letting her do her thing this year and run! Also thinking of lowering the apex some and bringing it back toward center, but I need some thickness up there so that will take some time.

Apologies for my quality of pics. Never have been much of a photographer.

Hope you enjoy!

 

[dlayton]

Nice! Always liked that tree. Looking forward to seeing it continue.

Thanks Brian. Just hoping I can do it justice!

 

[HENDO]

Thanks for sharing this journey! What an amazing tree, with a really cool history.

I especially appreciate the redneck engineering .

Interesting front selection - I would've been super nervous hiding the base of the second trunk behind the main one, but it's so difficult to gauge flaws/fronts from 2D so I'm sure there was good justification behind it.

I bet this huge plant is a ton of work, but probably equally as rewarding.

Looking forward to more pics / updates!

 

[dlayton]

Thanks for sharing this journey! What an amazing tree, with a really cool history.

I especially appreciate the redneck engineering .

Interesting front selection - I would've been super nervous hiding the base of the second trunk behind the main one, but it's so difficult to gauge flaws/fronts from 2D so I'm sure there was good justification behind it.

I bet this huge plant is a ton of work, but probably equally as rewarding.

Looking forward to more pics / updates!

You’re right. I actually think it may do better turned just a tad bit more counter clockwise. But I settled here for now. I was able to uncover close to 2 inches more of nebari and that made this front that much more impressive. This joker is so big, it’s hard to hide the issues. But she won’t ever be a traditional tree. She’s natural so I got to go where she leads me! Thanks for the comments!

 

[dlayton]

Showing out for Spring! The new front was very hard to commit to, but I believe it will pay off in the long run!