3 new trees lebanese cedar Olive and ziqba

[maroun.c]

Those 3 tress were at a bonsai nursery thats closing down, I had my eye on the olive and the ziqba since some time back but pricing was off, as nursery is closing I got them at a very good deal so didn't hesitate. Appreciate your unput on how to go forward with them.as I believe they have very good base and movement yet top styling is t the best. This is material quality I can never find around here so didn't hesitate to pick them up.

Olive has a massive base, chosen front hides the two branches , also no branches were kept on the length of the tru k and only a single large flat pad was kept. Branches are still a bit flexible so I can drop a few branches a bit lower to fill the empty space yet growing new branches lower if the tree will.gibe some I believe is the way to go..Chopping and restarting is a big no so have to do with what I got.
Do u suggest a front change to show the two branches and how would u go about styling. Leaf size is amazing small bit believe thats because tree was starved.
Current front showing the huge base but hiding the second branch
45 degrees turn shows the second branch but base looks a bit smaller and the large cut is more visible, not sure if this would be a nice feature as it heals a bit more

And the flat top.

 

[maroun.c]

2nd tree is a local tree owner calls Ziqba, have never heard of it nor could I find a translation or to find it online .... looks like some oak although owner says its more of an olive like tree, yet with the serrations on the leaves I think its some oak . Base is also impressive yet top is limited to few branches and no branches along the trunk. Branches are flexible so can pull them a bit into better positions.
Current front showing a nice base but foliage is 2 dimensional, can pull a branch back and another to front for more 3 D




current right side also shows.a nice base and believe better branching


Back side


Foliage
any idea on ID
Also any advice on better pots when I repot next year ?

 

[maroun.c]

And this Lebanese cedar, structure wise believe its the nest of the 3 but base isn't nearly as nice.
Wondering if I should keep the current front where the front pad i believe needs to be heavily reduced or removed

Also not sure.ilhow.to.deal woth these roots from.a higher previous pot I believe?


Current back doesn't have the front pad and apex goes towards it but overall trunk isn't as nice



Any advice on how to change it is appreciated

 

[eugenev2]

Those 3 tress were at a bonsai nursery thats closing down, I had my eye on the olive and the ziqba since some time back but pricing was off, as nursery is closing I got them at a very good deal so didn't hesitate. Appreciate your unput on how to go forward with them.as I believe they have very good base and movement yet top styling is t the best. This is material quality I can never find around here so didn't hesitate to pick them up.

Olive has a massive base, chosen front hides the two branches , also no branches were kept on the length of the tru k and only a single large flat pad was kept. Branches are still a bit flexible so I can drop a few branches a bit lower to fill the empty space yet growing new branches lower if the tree will.gibe some I believe is the way to go..Chopping and restarting is a big no so have to do with what I got.
Do u suggest a front change to show the two branches and how would u go about styling. Leaf size is amazing small bit believe thats because tree was starved.
Current front showing the huge base but hiding the second branch View attachment 476806
45 degrees turn shows the second branch but base looks a bit smaller and the large cut is more visible, not sure if this would be a nice feature as it heals a bit more View attachment 476807
View attachment 476808
And the flat top.
View attachment 476809

Full disclaimer, i am not nearly experience enough to provide proper advice on material like this, hopefully by commenting it would provide more traction to your post. As well as i would love to follow the progress on this.
But also i would like to think people post on this forum to get opinions and advice from other perspectives than their own. Whether the like them or not.
Personally i would provide you with the advice you do not want for this olive and cut i down to about the the original cut or slightly above it. The ratios seem off to me as it is and does not make a believable bonsai, it looks rather like a garden tree in a pot at the moment. And as a it is a olive, back budding should not be an issue.

 

[eugenev2]

2nd tree is a local tree owner calls Ziqba, have never heard of it nor could I find a translation or to find it online .... looks like some oak although owner says its more of an olive like tree, yet with the serrations on the leaves I think its some oak . Base is also impressive yet top is limited to few branches and no branches along the trunk. Branches are flexible so can pull them a bit into better positions.
Current front showing a nice base but foliage is 2 dimensional, can pull a branch back and another to front for more 3 D


View attachment 476814

current right side also shows.a nice base and believe better branching

View attachment 476815
Back side
View attachment 476816

Foliage View attachment 476817
View attachment 476818any idea on ID
Also any advice on better pots when I repot next year ? View attachment 476819

Second tree looks like a really nice project tree.

 

[eugenev2]

And this Lebanese cedar, structure wise believe its the nest of the 3 but base isn't nearly as nice.
Wondering if I should keep the current front where the front pad i believe needs to be heavily reduced or removed View attachment 476865
View attachment 476866
Also not sure.ilhow.to.deal woth these roots from.a higher previous pot I believe?
View attachment 476867

Current back doesn't have the front pad and apex goes towards it but overall trunk isn't as nice
View attachment 476868
View attachment 476869

Any advice on how to change it is appreciated

This one is most definitely the best of the 3 in the current states. Personally i prefer what you referred to as the back as the front, the branch you mentioned would require reduction provides meaningful depth from this perspective. Taper is a bit of a issue on this one, but as i'm not familiar with this species, it's difficult to provide accurate advice, especially when it comes to hard prunes and whether back budding can be achieved. What i would do though is repot in spring, as it looks like it may have slip potted, half bare root one half now and depending on health the next HBR the other half the next. Final bit of advice would be to bring it back to conical shape, but this would be dependent on whether you repot this spring or not.

 

[Doogliebop]

Those 3 tress were at a bonsai nursery thats closing down, I had my eye on the olive and the ziqba since some time back but pricing was off, as nursery is closing I got them at a very good deal so didn't hesitate. Appreciate your unput on how to go forward with them.as I believe they have very good base and movement yet top styling is t the best. This is material quality I can never find around here so didn't hesitate to pick them up.

Olive has a massive base, chosen front hides the two branches , also no branches were kept on the length of the tru k and only a single large flat pad was kept. Branches are still a bit flexible so I can drop a few branches a bit lower to fill the empty space yet growing new branches lower if the tree will.gibe some I believe is the way to go..Chopping and restarting is a big no so have to do with what I got.
Do u suggest a front change to show the two branches and how would u go about styling. Leaf size is amazing small bit believe thats because tree was starved.
Current front showing the huge base but hiding the second branch View attachment 476806
45 degrees turn shows the second branch but base looks a bit smaller and the large cut is more visible, not sure if this would be a nice feature as it heals a bit more View attachment 476807
View attachment 476808
And the flat top.
View attachment 476809

I'm jealous of you. This olive is spectacular. I'd encourage low buds and chop hard.

 

[LuZiKui]

Cool trees, you can definitely get a feel for the nursery owner's style in trees 1 and 2.

For the Olive I think I would look to repot it and get it into a slightly larger pot or grow box. It should be throwing out more shoots and suckers along the length of the trunk and around the root base. The soil looks pretty old/broken down so I think it would thrive with a repot. Good time to do it as well coming into the summer soon.

 

[maroun.c]

Cool trees, you can definitely get a feel for the nursery owner's style in trees 1 and 2.

For the Olive I think I would look to repot it and get it into a slightly larger pot or grow box. It should be throwing out more shoots and suckers along the length of the trunk and around the root base. The soil looks pretty old/broken down so I think it would thrive with a repot. Good time to do it as well coming into the summer soon.

Indeed his style is evident in all his trees, as he's self taught and not really into forums or apprenticeship... he favours aerial roots for his pines uses clay soil successfully weirdly.... which has been a challenge at my location as I have a bit more humidity which causes issues with root rot in his trees for me as well as some trees I lost taking them out of original soil.

 

[maroun.c]

Got an ID on the second tree (Zikba) is a mock privet Phillyrea latifolia family Oleaceae.its also called olive tree.
I'm not sure yet if it behaves close to an olive which would be great for back budding on older wood and possibility of getting.lower branches to work with. Would appreciate any input on this one especially:
Repotting time
Pruning, wiring plan
Fertilizing
And any techniques that would help like directional Pruning? Partially defoliating....

Most important for me.to know is root sensibility as I will be repotting it and half bare rooting it next year.
Plan for this spring and autumn is to fertilize aggressively to get the tree back into energy totolerate future repot and wiring. Tree has only received a single dose of fertilizer per year last 4-5 years around Jan Feb only. Not showing any weakness but leaf size and the soil its in and the fact it hasn't been repotted since years onlyntells me it's not necessarily doing great.
Appreciate any advice as its the first time I deal with trees of this size abd with such a nice base would be a real shame to kill it.

 

[maroun.c]

And luckily seems mock privet is backbudding from.everywhere, base and trunk so believe won't be too hard to build a nicer top from it

 

[AJL]

Any update on your Phillyrea Latifolia- Zikba ?
Very few people seem to grow them , better than Olives IMHO and they are such beautiful hardy trees!
Im trying to find some here in UK but not much available - does anyone know a source even of whips/ rooted cuttings?
Do they root easily from cuttings?

 

[maroun.c]

It's doing great and all the new sprouts have already grown, will share a pic when back home. Nursery owner had a couple of those a friend if mine picked up the other one a bit smaller but roughly same shape. Not sure if they are easy to root will try to make couplenof cuttings in February and see if they take. It does seem like a nice tree with foliage color and size, mine is severely flawed shape wise but with how fast new branches are growing I believe it wouldn't be too many years to improve overall shape.

 

[maroun.c]

Phillyrea Latifolia as said is budding all over from old bark. Here's couple pics of the new shoots. Sorry was on the bench so a bit hard to see the shoots separate from other trees around.
Plan is to prune the new growth post harden around mid June abd wire it if already hardened to start changing the shape. I won't be chopping the upper two branches at this stage before I have good overall branching. I'm also searching design to make use of at least one of the two branches and if possible both and add new branches, so will be doing first structural wiring early fall.
So far plan is towards something like:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/phillyrea-latifolia-02--509680882808235135/

Or

Care guide for the Privet Bonsai tree (Ligustrum) - Bonsai Empire

The Ligustrum (Privet Bonsai) botanical family consists of many subspecies and cultivars (>50) with a diversity of leaf colors and forms. The Ligustrum is often used for hedging

www.bonsaiempire.com

 

[Esolin]

Very nice trees!
I've seen Ligustrums here in California grown as landscape shrubs, but never grown one myself, so I can't offer advice. But I like your plan of letting it sprout lo so you can chop the top. Someday it will look like a massive ancient bonsai tree!