A Privet Story

brewmeister83

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Did a couple sketches last night, not really liking the whole olive tree feel I originally had in mind for this tree... Call me crazy, but I'm getting more of an apple/maple tree feel from this trunk... Watched a bunch of Graham Potter's carving vids and asked myself WWWD? (What would Walter Do?) and looked at Mr. Pall's site for inspiration as I have many times before... Kinda' liking the feeling of his field maples, particularly the one labeled "nr. 5" under his broadleaf tree section... something like that could potentially be feasible for this plant.
 

evmibo

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Kevin,
What was your strategy to cut the downward facing roots directly under the tree?
 

brewmeister83

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There weren't many to begin with since there were a few rocks causing most of the roots to deflect outwards and away from the tree instead of straight down. The few that were there were no bigger than an inch or so, so I just cut them relatively close (maybe 4-5" or so) to the trunk before putting it in the grow box since they did have a lot of fine feeder roots still attached. I figure within a year or so I'll be able prune back closer and closer and eventually wind up with a nice flat mat of roots that will be able to fit in 3-4" of soil
 

clevetromba

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... looked at Mr. Pall's site for inspiration as I have many times before... Kinda' liking the feeling of his field maples, particularly the one labeled "nr. 5" under his broadleaf tree section... something like that could potentially be feasible for this plant.
Kevin,
I like that tree, thanks for pointing it out. I like the large (almost filled in) uro on the side of the trunk.
 

edprocoat

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Nice privet ! I really like the last pic as a front as it showcases the lean. IMO that's the best side.

ed
 

brewmeister83

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Nice privet ! I really like the last pic as a front as it showcases the lean. IMO that's the best side.

ed

Thanks! I've thought of that too, this tree has a couple fronts I like (that being one) but the way it's planted is not the final angle... If you're looking at the last pic (#6), I've buried the roots on the right side a little deeper to try and encourage them to thicken up a little since they're a bit small compared to the rest. Once I level the tree so all the nebari is exposed, the majority of the trunk would be only a few degrees off vertical and that elbow at the top won't be pointing up, but rather quite left... If you were looking at either of the middle pics, this would mean the top of the tree was naturally coming towards the viewer, hence why I've been thinking to make that the front of the tree.

I'm rather torn, because I could train that upward branch to the right (in pic 6) and make a new leader for a slanting tree, but if I ever wanted to change the front to either 3 or 4, it would mean trying to bend an inch thick branch forward (which might be unfeasible) or cut it off and start over - which could be a 15 year process down the drain...
 

JoeR

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I can't wait to see what you do with this.

But uh....

...all those large wounds that need healed. Going to take years for them to heal. You should try the technique where you hollow out the stubs, leaving the cambium and bark intact, then fold the flaps down. Is it the 'Van Meer Technique' thread I saw that?
 

Eric Group

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I can't wait to see what you do with this.

But uh....

...all those large wounds that need healed. Going to take years for them to heal. You should try the technique where you hollow out the stubs, leaving the cambium and bark intact, then fold the flaps down. Is it the 'Van Meer Technique' thread I saw that?
I think he said originally his goal is to carve the ever loving crap out of this thing... Dead wood is not a problem, it is a target! LOL

Or, he can make large hollows in the trunk as well... I do not see those healing over any time soon, even if they are smoothed out flat.
 

brewmeister83

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I think he said originally his goal is to carve the ever loving crap out of this thing... Dead wood is not a problem, it is a target! LOL

Or, he can make large hollows in the trunk as well... I do not see those healing over any time soon, even if they are smoothed out flat.

Bingo!

So I took a look at the branching again today, now that I can see what's alive, and I started selecting what would become the future primary branching of this tree...
As I was inspecting it, I noticed a bunch of split flaky bark in places...

IMG_1068.JPG

Upon closer prodding, I found it to be large areas of die-back from the year before, and ended up removing the bark so the wood underneath could dry and become more stable until I carved it...
IMG_1069.JPG IMG_1072.JPG IMG_1073.JPG

Design-wise, this has forced my hand a little, so the side view that ed had mentioned was no longer viable with this massive streak of deadwood up top...
I was kind of expecting this, privet does have a tendency to die back quite a bit when cut from larger stock. Actually, I am surprised it didn't die all the way back to the base of the tree!
 

brewmeister83

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After careful selection of branches and pruning back everything unwanted, I made a quick sketch of the trunk and relative positions of all the branches. 15 branches in total (if you count 14, it's because the main leader at the top right has both the 14th and 15th branch on it)
1.JPG

Here's a rough 'n dirty rendering of how I'm thinking of carving the hollows (bark is grey, deadwood = tan + brown)
I may end up carving more, but this is probably the most conservative option...
2.jpg

And finally, with a rough idea of how I want to grow the primary and secondary branching... Keep in mind I said this is ROUGH, it may change as I start growing it...
3.jpg
All in all, should end up approx. 4 feet tall when done.

Now grow baby, GROW!
 
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Eric Group

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Bingo!

So I took a look at the branching again today, now that I can see what's alive, and I started selecting what would become the future primary branching of this tree...
As I was inspecting it, I noticed a bunch of split flaky bark in places...

View attachment 72248

Upon closer prodding, I found it to be large areas of die-back from the year before, and ended up removing the bark so the wood underneath could dry and become more stable until I carved it...
View attachment 72249 View attachment 72250 View attachment 72251

Design-wise, this has forced my hand a little, so the side view that ed had mentioned was no longer viable with this massive streak of deadwood up top...
I was kind of expecting this, privet does have a tendency to die back quite a bit when cut from larger stock. Actually, I am surprised it didn't die all the way back to the base of the tree!
I found myself doing something similar with a large Water Elm in a workshop with Kathy Shaner recently and she spoke about the importance of first finding the edge of the live vein- using a slightly dulled edge, scrape away the dead bark and find the edge of where it is living (green/ off white in color of course), then seal around that edge to encourage the tree to callous over and seal off the living wood from the dead... Then, once your deadwood is cured and you know your tree is good and healthy, go ahead and carve away!

Something like that anyway.. I am sure a similar recommendation can be made for your Privet.
 

Potawatomi13

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Great base and tree to start with. I'd have to say that thread grafting would be easy for this. On the other hand I'd say you have your hands full or you must be a regular Michaelangelo to carve a trunk anything like those old trees you pictured. Also don't forget that opening up the trunk inside like that will encourage rot as well as various bugs.
 

brewmeister83

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Did some work on the tree yesterday. It was really weird, it seemed like each branch was from a different plant... some bent easy and held, others were so tough I needed to add copper wire to get them to stay, and others were so finicky and fragile that I couldn't bend them as much as I wanted otherwise they started cracking everywhere. Here's the result...
IMG_1270.JPG IMG_1281.JPG

I did loose one branch in the process, on the back side. It wired up no problem, but when I went to put in the first bend it popped right off the trunk!
IMG_1271.JPG

Looking at the branch stub I figured out why, only the bottom third was alive, the top had died and was not connected to the trunk! No worries though, seems the tree's got my back and planned ahead for this...
IMG_1278.JPG oops.JPG

All in all, a fun day. Still have some things to tweak with branch placement, but that can wait 'till the fall when the branches have put on more wood and have healed up from this ordeal. Oh, and if you're wondering how I moved it to its new location all by my lonesome, well here ya' go!

 

brewmeister83

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Well, I had background music to the video, but even though I put the same wording and credits as Graham Potter does in his vids, Youtube has decided with it's overzealous media scanning software to block my video in some countries because of this. Instead of getting involved in a copyright usage battle, I ended up removing the audio track from the video so it wasn't blocked to anyone. What really irritates me is that you can search, and FIND the song I had paired with the video ON youtube. WTF? Ok, rant over... back to bonsai (seriously youtube, on a home video that's not for profit? what happened to "user created content" licenses???)
 

Eric Group

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So, I have two very large privets with chunky trunks and low branches in my front yard. One variegated, one regular... They are very average landscape plants, but the more I look at them I think they may make very nice Bonsai!

Your thread here is inspiring me to have "the conversation" with my wife about how much nicer a... Rose bush/azalea/ whatever she agrees to.. might look there!
 
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brewmeister83

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So, I have two very large privets with chunky trunks and low branches in my front yard. One variegated, one regular... They are very average landscape plants, but the more I look at them I think they may make very nice Bonsai!

Your thread here is inspiring me to have "the conversation" with my wife about how much nicer a... Rose bush/azalea/ whatever she agrees to.. might look there!

Go from the angle I did... "It's invasive and it just takes up space and is nothing but "green"... - wouldn't you like a nice flowering native bush like a dogwood or sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia) there? Something that'll look/smell nice and attract butterflies?"
 

klosi

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Great job!
On everything. From posting such detailed pictures, to your very good and interesting descriptions. Thaks a bunch!
Post on!
And yes, I'm at beginner stage now and also watch graham's videos and also dream of big privet that I would carve and style :) These trees are invicible! I would never make such a good job Graham does or you will do. Good luck!

Ps. Great tree! If you pull off your sketches this tree will be super sick!
 

Tieball

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Wow! Awesome find. Hard work...I know that feeling. You did great. I have not tried the plastic tent over the newly cut trunks. What can you tell me? Does it sit in the shade? How long? Any information would be helpful.....it seems to have worked excellent results for you.
 
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