Powerful Fairy Tale Privet

[BobbyLane]

ligustrum ovalifolium, Common Privet nursery material

I'm not really a privet fan and bought this with an idea to work on, then sell.....but its growing on me, so i'll see

I see a fairy tale style tree in the material. i'm also trying to get away from the generic privet stump and create a more 'tree like' image, multiple sub trunks/canopies, powerful tapering trunk
20190222_164401 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

20190223_125240 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

i don't bare root nursery trees, the solid rootball could have went straight into a bonsai pot, but i will give it a season in the training container, this allows me to wire in securely and im able to work on them right away such is the firm root pad, they also establish quicker
20190223_145644 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

2019-02-23_08-33-20 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

the sub trunks with red in are dead, these were worked on and reduced and made into deadwood features, this material suits it. you remove all of the dead stuff and seal everything up, then you remove the soul of this tree IMO
52596493_2115506595181037_7424413478707789824_n by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

in the video you can see the rotten sections of trunk in the back and side, the dead bark and rotten wood was removed and these areas were hollowed out

 

[BobbyLane]

still a little rough atm

20190225_172107 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20190225_172130 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20190225_172152 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20190225_184542 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20190225_185405 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20190225_185516 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20190225_185659 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20190225_184941 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20190225_185123 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

will just let it grow now. update later

 

[Nanuk]

I know nothing about Privet but I will be watching this in the future.
That trunk shows a lot of promise.

 

[Hyn Patty]

Wow, I do know a few things about privet, having battled it for years along the horse pasture fences! If this one survives (and they are fairly hard to kill) then it'll be outstanding. They also have lovely fragrant flowers and attractive berries (or at least the ones we had in Georgia did) but are /very/ invasive. This one will be stunning, I think. I wish I'd brought one with me but my husband scowled and scowled at the idea. If it was Chinese privet as I think it was, it wasn't going to be hardy up on the mountain anyway, which would be good where the invasive issue was concerned but more trouble to keep a live in my winters than I probably need to deal with. Good luck with yours!

 

[BobbyLane]

I know nothing about Privet but I will be watching this in the future.
That trunk shows a lot of promise.

They're very popular as bonsai here in the UK. the material is readily available from hedgerows and gardens, some nurseries. they're in the olive family.

G potter working on one here

 

[BobbyLane]

Wow, I do know a few things about privet, having battled it for years along the horse pasture fences! If this one survives (and they are fairly hard to kill) then it'll be outstanding. They also have lovely fragrant flowers and attractive berries (or at least the ones we had in Georgia did) but are /very/ invasive. This one will be stunning, I think. I wish I'd brought one with me but my husband scowled and scowled at the idea. If it was Chinese privet as I think it was, it wasn't going to be hardy up on the mountain anyway, which would be good where the invasive issue was concerned but more trouble to keep a live in my winters than I probably need to deal with. Good luck with yours!

Yep it should be fine, it has a dense root pad. they do produce very small flowers, not long lived though. this will be a fun project, they're such vigorous growers. they produce a nice winter image, can get really twiggy. as they dont usually drop their leaves, folks will defoliate them over winter. can be a bit like chinese elm where some remain evergreen and some shed their leaves.

 

[pback]

Wow!

I love the vision you have with your trees. I’ll be watching this one develop as well.

And keep me in mind when you embark on your American tour leading workshops on carving.

Very nicely done.

 

[BobbyLane]

Wow!

I love the vision you have with your trees. I’ll be watching this one develop as well.

And keep me in mind when you embark on your American tour leading workshops on carving.

Very nicely done.

cheers mate, will update in the coming weeks

btw i'm no master carver. i just do a little here n there

 

[BobbyLane]

Well its up and running...

the basic lines are set, a little wire here n there, but this will be all clip n grow, lots of angular lines n directional changes.privet look best that way.

no pruning yet, will leave it to extend for a few more weeks

 

[BobbyLane]

i think at one point, a few trunks were pushed together in a large pot.
the small right trunk is common privet and the rest of the trunks are golden privet.no plans to separate

 

[AlainK]

Good job !

That's one of the few deciduous species I can appreciate a lot of deadwood in the design.

I mean, a privet is not a tree, it's a shrub that can be designed to look like a tree, like cotoneaster or pyracantha. none of which ever look like a tree, or a "venerable" tree, but they can make excellent bonsai.

See what I mean ?

 

[BobbyLane]

Good job !

That's one of the few deciduous species I can appreciate a lot of deadwood in the design.

I mean, a privet is not a tree, it's a shrub that can be designed to look like a tree, like cotoneaster or pyracantha. none of which ever look like a tree, or a "venerable" tree, but they can make excellent bonsai.

See what I mean ?

yep they do make great bonsai, such a forgiving species. they ramify a lot better than pyracantha and can look quite stunning with densely ramified branches, im sure you've seen some of Harry harringtons privets.
ill probably sell it down the line, im not really a big fan of privets. i only paid £40 for this lump

will be worth a lot more when im done.

 

[BobbyLane]

a very impressive privet on kaizen atm, for anyone interested

 

[BobbyLane]

over the next few days going to be doing some touch up carving on a couple of the dead stubs. its getting denser now, thats been the goal all season along with getting early movement in branches here n there or the shoots become long n rigid. mainly clip n grow

 

[BobbyLane]

some carving on this Privet...
theres a face in there somewhere, a tortured soul

 

[BobbyLane]

Privet repotted...
the tree has a shallow root system so simply a matter of dropping into a shallower pot...
this is going to be moved on now, i dont have the space for too many lumps

 

[BobbyLane]

the tree is now sold, in the process of wrapping up. Great potential

 

[BobbyLane]

to think that in feb this was just a bare stump, shows what can be done in a matter of months by getting stuff done. this tree is well on its way to a bright future. the main thing is, it looks good and is healthy.

 

[just.wing.it]

Well done good sir!

 

[Carol 83]

That's a pretty amazing transformation in such a short time.