River's Edge
Imperial Masterpiece
This is one of those ugly project trees that has a special place even though it will never be a show tree in the true sense. Started out as a $50 nursery find that a friend selected, gave up on and sold to me for $50. I liked the trunk, the flaky bark and most importantly the challenge. Today I finished up a session of pruning, thinning and wiring for compaction and further back budding. I think it will turn out pretty reasonable in a few more years with increased foliage and pad development. Scots Pine. I call the tree " Murphy" because the only way I could figure out to progress with this tree was to create several drop branches and embrace the unconventional. I consider it a " fun" tree. Two pictures, one before and one after. Please keep in mind that at this stage the development determines the branch and pad size. Some are way too long, others close to the right length and many still too short. That is the nature of the process when one starts with larger conifers from a landscape nursery. Currently 38 inches tall. And yes that is old school grafting wrap used as a bandage on the trunk. It covers cut paste that covers a crack in the trunk that mysteriously appeared during bending.
