Hinoki Cypress Styling

evolve

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Up until this point in my bonsai journey I've mostly been playing horticulturalist. It's been a fantastic ride and I am learning so much. A big thanks to such a wonderful community and all the the knowledge that has been shared.

This last weekend I decided it was time to start cutting my teeth on learning, or practicing, some styling. I picked up a couple of cheap mugos and this little hinoki cypress. I didn't know anything about hinoki, only that I've come across some wonderful examples as bonsai. After much reading it sounds like it's one of the most challenging species to work with as it will not back-bud on lignified wood. I stared at it for several days feeling a bit intimidated and unsure how to approach it. Finally, yesterday, I decided to dig in and see what happens.

hinoki1.jpghinoki2.jpghinoki3.jpghinoki4.jpghinoki5.jpg

The foliage is still a bit unruly and I'll need to pick up some finer wire in order to clean it up. I spent around 8 hours pruning, wiring, and styling yesterday and around 3 hours repotting today. A lot of work in a short amount of time, hopefully it survives the treatment.

Would appreciate feedback on the results.

Many thanks
 

Redwood Ryan

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Using the fourth picture as the front, you could wire the branches kinda like the red lines in the below pic:
hc.jpg
 

bonsai barry

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I think this is a great start, especially for your first styling. I like photo #4 best. I'd consider using the jin on the right side and extending it as a shari down the trunk.
 

evolve

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Thanks for sharing all.

You may want to speed up the repotting process though.

lol, yeah, it took forever. The roots were a tangled mess. But, I was able to remove nearly all of the old soil while only removing maybe 1% of the roots.

I like the 4th pic for the front as well. Originally I was working with the 5th as the front, but after snapping pics from several angles I found I liked that one the best.
 

october

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Hello evolve..I think you did an anwesome job for the first styling of this tree and yes, you are correct It can be a very difficult tree to cultivate as bonsai because of the no back budding situation. Also, if you prune the green foliage back to far..even though it is green, the tree may also not grow foliage in that area ever again. Since your tree is young. I think you have some time to just let it grow a bit more, then cut back and do some thinning.

Regarding the foliage growing horizontal instead of vertical, yes, that is how they grow for much of the time. Eventually, when the tree is closer to being finished and it's final style is visible. You will need to train the foliage as well as the branches. This is done by wiring. You can loosely and gently wire the little stems and tufts of foliage and give it a light twist. Eventually, each piece of foliage can be trained to be horizontal. Sometimes, on the smaller branches, you can also slowly, and lightly twist it so that the foliage tufts are horizontal. I know it sounds like lot of work..thats because it is..lol. Basically, you are not only training the branches and trunk, but also most of the foliage.

The good new is that the foliage grows at a pretty moderate rate. However branch and trunk thickness comes at a seemingly very slow pace. For example, in almost 10 years of training my Hinoki cypress. I may have got about 1/2- 3/4 of an inch..and that is in close to 10 years. I have to add that is spite of their difficult, I do love these trees. Actually they are one of my favorites.

I hope this was helpful.

Rob
 

evolve

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Super helpful, thanks Rob. 1/2 - 3/4" in 10 years sounds painful. This may end up in the ground next season, assuming it survives my styling education. :) And with the amount of fun I had with this, I'm now on the look out to find a larger one to work with.

I did wire a couple more of the secondary branches, which I think helped, however subtly.

hinoki6.jpg

For now I'll let this little one grow out and see where it's at next season.

Thanks again, respect,
 

Mikee002

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That's a great looking style you did there. Like you, I am much more about the horticultural aspect right now. It' nice to know that you're able to keep a healthy and thriving tree... it also means faster bonsai development once you get around to starting on that road.
 
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