Mtn "ditch" Hemlock.

[Bavarian Raven]

I found this poor abused mtn hemlock roots up in a pile of earth beside a recently cleaned out ditch in the Fall of 2016 while driving along one of the local highways. There was a second one as well (amongst countless broken seedlings and shrubs in the pile of sand and fill and stone). Sadly it did not make it. I asked one of the work crew if they minded and he gave me a shrug "we're on lunch" reply. Seeing as how they're one of my fav trees I couldn't just let them die.

Fast forwards two years and this spring it finally put out a decent flush of growth.

I'm going to let its roots recover and then start work next spring (2019).

At the time it was potted I hadn't fallen into the bonsai addiction yet and treated it as I would any plant I salvaged (from work) to try and save for future jobs. It's planted in decently draining organic topsoil that'll save almost any plant. As evident by the new growth.

Anyways, any idea of where to go from here? I have several ideas but I'd like your suggestions too.

For scale it's a two gal pot. Cheers.

 

[Gsquared]

A nice find. I think there is definitely some potential. I’m kind of seeing shortening it a good bit in a year or so. It looks like there are a couple of places you could shorten the trunk and pick a new leader. It will give nice movement down the road. It looks like it is doing well, but I think I’d let it grow for another year before doing a drastic cut.

 

[River's Edge]

I found this poor abused mtn hemlock roots up in a pile of earth beside a recently cleaned out ditch in the Fall of 2016 while driving along one of the local highways. There was a second one as well (amongst countless broken seedlings and shrubs in the pile of sand and fill and stone). Sadly it did not make it. I asked one of the work crew if they minded and he gave me a shrug "we're on lunch" reply. Seeing as how they're one of my fav trees I couldn't just let them die.

Fast forwards two years and this spring it finally put out a decent flush of growth.

I'm going to let its roots recover and then start work next spring (2019).

At the time it was potted I hadn't fallen into the bonsai addiction yet and treated it as I would any plant I salvaged (from work) to try and save for future jobs. It's planted in decently draining organic topsoil that'll save almost any plant. As evident by the new growth.

Anyways, any idea of where to go from here? I have several ideas but I'd like your suggestions too.

For scale it's a two gal pot. Cheers.

The tree is very young , requires development of taper and movement to have potential. With time, 20 years or more it could develop into a nice tree. If you are fond of it, put it in the back of the garden and take it out every couple of years, cut back and regrow to create taper and movement while ageing the tree and developing other aspects suitable for Bonsai. In the meantime keep an eye out for more promising material that has some character, age, and unique characteristics.