A collected Thuja

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This tree looks like it was born to be a bonsai. A very old tree somewhere around 150 or older. I have not pruned one live branch just a few extra pieces of deadwood so far, the tree never reached more than 3ft in the wild. Looking forward to trying to keep the nature feel of this one and find a wild pot for it in a few years.

I just collected it this spring, I put it on a bit of bottom heat and it has started growing new foliage and roots faster than most.

Also, most people dont do this with White Cedar but I may strip all the bark like a shimpaku on this one to show the live viens and all the different dead interesting pieces. I had to bury some of the base to help it survive the collection and will uncover a bigger base in time. The picture where I am holding it is what I am thinking right now for planting angle. Just looking for others thoughts or tips on its future. DSC_5188.JPGDSC_4961--3.jpgDSC_4939--2.jpg
 

Cosmos

Shohin
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Great tree. On what kind of terrain was it growing in?
 

PiñonJ

Omono
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This tree looks like it was born to be a bonsai. A very old tree somewhere around 150 or older. I have not pruned one live branch just a few extra pieces of deadwood so far, the tree never reached more than 3ft in the wild. Looking forward to trying to keep the nature feel of this one and find a wild pot for it in a few years.

I just collected it this spring, I put it on a bit of bottom heat and it has started growing new foliage and roots faster than most.

Also, most people dont do this with White Cedar but I may strip all the bark like a shimpaku on this one to show the live viens and all the different dead interesting pieces. I had to bury some of the base to help it survive the collection and will uncover a bigger base in time. The picture where I am holding it is what I am thinking right now for planting angle. Just looking for others thoughts or tips on its future. View attachment 195785View attachment 195786View attachment 195787
Nice find! Not much native soil left on it. Greened up nicely, though.
 
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Nice find! Not much native soil left on it. Greened up nicely, though.
Its more about getting enough roots and being careful with them with White Cedars I have found. If you get enough roots you can remove more of the field soil which will make the tree thrive sooner in a pot than it would have. At least with Thuja.
 

defra

Masterpiece
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Nice matt!
I had three nursery thujas and threw away two to make some room but kept one to eventualy style just because you show that they are usable for bonsai
 
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Nice matt!
I had three nursery thujas and threw away two to make some room but kept one to eventualy style just because you show that they are usable for bonsai
Nice, a lot of people don’t like them but I think they are an acquired taste. Check out Nigel Sanders recent video on YouTube of a Toronto Bonsai show with some very nice Thuja on display.
 

defra

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Nice, a lot of people don’t like them but I think they are an acquired taste. Check out Nigel Sanders recent video on YouTube of a Toronto Bonsai show with some very nice Thuja on display.

Yes ive seen it !
I also saw a prety nice one at the noelanders trophy this year
 

MACH5

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Great material Matt. I think depending on the character of the tree, I prefer to leave the bark intact and in others strip it to reveal the smooth reddish layer underneath. I like both approaches. Because it has a thinner, elegant trunk line, I agree that in this one it may be best to clean off the rough bark.

Because of its very strong movement towards the right, I would probably style it going decidedly in that direction rather than building a more static canopy around the dynamic long jins.
 
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Great material Matt. I think depending on the character of the tree, I prefer to leave the bark intact and in others strip it to reveal the smooth reddish layer underneath. I like both approaches. Because it has a thinner, elegant trunk line, I agree that in this one it may be best to clean off the rough bark.

Because of its very strong movement towards the right, I would probably style it going decidedly in that direction rather than building a more static canopy around the dynamic long jins.
Thanks Mach I really value your opinion and I agree exactly with what you said. When I do start to style it I will attempt to give it some nice direction along with the Jins. Not sure if I will be successful but it will be fun to try.
 

eeeealmo

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the tree looks incredible! would you mind describing your pruning processes to get it to have such tight foliage? do you prune during the growing season, and if so how do you know when its appropriate to (and how often)? thanks!
 
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Thanks @eeeealmo The tree has built up quite a bit of density. Honestly alot of the work is wiring all the branches once the tree is healthy. Once the branches are in the correct place its much easier to build density from there. I never prune when the tree is not ultra healthy but I probably prune my Cedars around 3 times per year. Others may say that is too much but for me it has worked well. I also fertilize lightly weekly.
 

eeeealmo

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Thanks @eeeealmo The tree has built up quite a bit of density. Honestly alot of the work is wiring all the branches once the tree is healthy. Once the branches are in the correct place its much easier to build density from there. I never prune when the tree is not ultra healthy but I probably prune my Cedars around 3 times per year. Others may say that is too much but for me it has worked well. I also fertilize lightly weekly.
Thanks a ton! Two quick follow-ups.
  • What do you fertilize with? Do they benefit from foliar feeding?
  • What's the latest you'd prune? I haven't pruned at all this year and I'm wondering if it's too late. It's growing incredibly well so far.
Here is how it looked 3 months ago.

PXL_20210330_191343700~2.jpg
 
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