Trumpet vine........literati..ish

[Joe Dupre']

I collected this trumpet vine last spring and it lived in the ground all last summer. I cut off the large main trunk and sellected the remaining trunk/branch to be the new leader and potted it up this spring. It grows great sprays of branches that have to be massaged down closer to or below horizontal to make them pleasing to my eye.

I say "literati....ish" because it has that vibe. I'm torn between letting some bottom branches grow ( which I think would look good) and going full-literati and just keeping the top clump of branches.

 

[TinyArt]

Looking forward to seeing it in bloom!

 

[ABCarve]

I tried one a few years ago. I got a few flowers but not worth the effort. They form at the ends of new growth that become so long you lose the sense of it being a bonsai. Yours looks like a lot of fun though. It’ll be interesting to see what you can do with it!!

 

[Joe Dupre']

I tried one a few years ago. I got a few flowers but not worth the effort. They form at the ends of new growth that become so long you lose the sense of it being a bonsai. Yours looks like a lot of fun though. It’ll be interesting to see what you can do with it!!

AB, I like this type of plant for just it's visual appeal. Whether it conforms to the bonsai standards or not doesn't really enter into it for me. I'm curious what it will do in the future also. Flowers would be interesting, but I'm enjoying the movement and the visual power it has.

 

[ABCarve]

AB, I like this type of plant for just it's visual appeal. Whether it conforms to the bonsai standards or not doesn't really enter into it for me. I'm curious what it will do in the future also. Flowers would be interesting, but I'm enjoying the movement and the visual power it has.

Go for it!! Not trying to discourage you. I’m sure there is lots to learn from this one.

 

[Crawforde]

This could be fun.
I have a tall bougie in a similar shape with an interesting trunk and trunk line.
it’s literatiish when not in bloom, and topiarish when in bloom.
we almost need a new category for subtropical flowering vines in treeish shapes.

 

[TinyArt]

we almost need a new category for subtropical flowering vines in treeish shapes

Flowering literati… “charm school” just popped into my head!

 

[Crawforde]

Hmmm maybe but most of them bite too.
There is not much charm in a plant with thorns
Biting beauties?
Dangerous damsels?
Maybe I had a bit too much coffee this morning.

 

[TinyArt]

@Crawforde — hence the need for schooling!

 

[Starfox]

Following with interest.
I have a small one that I dug, figured if you can't beat them then may as well put it in a pot.
Can't recall where maybe on bnut but I read something about how they don't like wire and when the guy changed to clip and grow it was much better.

edit: here 'tis https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/campsis-radicans-–-trumpet-vine.44822/

 

[Cadillactaste]

Hmmm maybe but most of them bite too.
There is not much charm in a plant with thorns
Biting beauties?
Dangerous damsels?
Maybe I had a bit too much coffee this morning.

No thorns on a Pink Pixie...now, a Flying Dragon ...that's it's real charm.


Now as to not derail this thread any longer...pulling myself out of the rabbit hole. I think that will be a fun project to be honest! I'm not all about the confines of proper bonsai...so enjoy the journey with it!

 

[Crawforde]

ok
So thorns aren’t a given...
How about Glitterati?

 

[Forsoothe!]

Inasmuch as they are hard to kill, and inasmuch as you have a really great literati trunk with older bark, but on a very large scale, you might try to apply the principle of extreme tipping: cutting back every leader to 2 pair (except entirely off on the to-be-bare part of the trunk) which could be a daily event building a giant Cauliflower head. The principle of course is to create so many short-stopped leaders that when all are allowed to grow to flowering length they will all be shorter because there are many more leaders sharing the roots resources. Eventually, the first flush will pause and then all the tips will simultaneously begin to extend with flower buds. You would edit for scale at that time. I haven't seen this work on a temperate mid-to-late season bloomer, but it's a great idea that works to turn Bougainvillea into a bush instead of a vine.

 

[Joe Dupre']

Inasmuch as they are hard to kill, and inasmuch as you have a really great literati trunk with older bark, but on a very large scale, you might try to apply the principle of extreme tipping: cutting back every leader to 2 pair (except entirely off on the to-be-bare part of the trunk) which could be a daily event building a giant Cauliflower head. The principle of course is to create so many short-stopped leaders that when all are allowed to grow to flowering length they will all be shorter because there are many more leaders sharing the roots resources. Eventually, the first flush will pause and then all the tips will simultaneously begin to extend with flower buds. You would edit for scale at that time. I haven't seen this work on a temperate mid-to-late season bloomer, but it's a great idea that works to turn Bougainvillea into a bush instead of a vine.

I'll give that some thought. I'm liking the current direction, though. Flowers would be cool, but not at the expense of the form that I love.

Re: older bark. This plant has the strangest bark and trunk consistancy. If someone were to just show you a small section of trunk, you would swear the tree was dead. It has a flaky, punky, dry wood that looks like it's 99% over the hill.