Another Hinoki, rough stock

october

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I am always on the lookout for a Hinoki cypress with potential. Been looking for quite a few years and found nothing. However, at a local garden center recently, they had one. It was the typical story, all the inside was pretty much dead. Foliage only at the ends of very long bare branches. Branches that get much thicker as the they go up the trunk, messy foliage, reverse taper...lol.. yup, this one has it all. Anyway, spent a few hours on it and almost threw in the towel a couple of times. However, with some serious movement added to all the branches and the right angle, it sort of came together.

The height of the tree upon purchase was probably around 2 1/2 feet. It is now about 15-16 inches.

There is so much more future work to be done. Perhaps some shari in a few places on the lower trunk. Also, the whole tree need to gain strength. The tree ended up being different than what my drawing. As I went along, it was just one problem after another

Here are some pics.. Some of the quality is not so good, but I will try to get better ones soon.

Pic 1 is the tree as purchased
Pic 2 is the tree after some major pruning but before wiring
Pic 3 is the rough styling after wiring.
Pics 4 and 5 are the tree in a grow pot. It will hopefully stay in this pot for 3 years
 

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Vance Wood

Lord Mugo
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Very nice. Good eye for style. Now you get to pinch and pinch and pinch some more. If this is not done all the time it will pom-pom on you and the primary branches will get longer and the internal branches will die. This is why the Japanese do not use them much. Aside from all that they are a great tree if you don't mind the work. They also like more water than your average conifer.
 

october

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Thanks Mark..:)..

Thanks Vance.. I have to admit that it was one of the toughest styling jobs in my 10 years of bonsai. I have had my other hinoki for 9 years and it has been in training all that time. I am using that one as sort of a guide for this one. With this tree, I probably will not do much pinching until the 2nd or 3rd year... There are many issues with this tree. One, none of the foliage is really very healthy. I am planning on letting it grow a bit, and then cutting back a bit to healthy foliage. However, letting it grow too much would just make it more difficult to handle..

Another issue, is if a branch dies... The tree has only crucial branches and if one dies, it will be a big problem. However, if this does happen. I suppose that another branch could be allowed to grow long and mabe give the illusion of a foliage pad in that area. also, back branching, there is very little in the middle of the tree. I am couting on some small branchlets growing very well. I am putting a lot of faith in it, especially for a hinoki.

This tree will probably need some major winter protection this upcoming winter. I know that when winter starts to roll around, these trees can start shedding quite a bit of foliage. However, I have almost managed to avoid this for years with my other hinoki, by keeping it very strong and providing good winter protection.

Here is my other Hinoki for those who have not seen it... 9 years well spent..:)


Rob
 

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october

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These pics are a bit clearer.. I think..
 

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rockm

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Very nice job. Great little tree. I gave up on hinokis a while ago. Too much trouble :D, but then I'm lazy
 

october

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Hi Dave.. The Wednesday night workshops at NE bonsai aren't the same without you around...You had some really nice trees.

Most likely there will be carving done.. Probably a thin shari on the left bottom of the trunk and then another one a little further up that will run up to the jin that is on the right but not visible in the pics.. That is, if this tree flourishes. There was a large amount of work done to the tree and some work done on the roots. I'll really have to watch to see how it progresses. There are parts of the tree that are a dark green, I do not know if it will grow from these areas. If not, the whole design will be ruined.. We'll have to see what the tree decides to do...I hope it's not fire wood.:D
 
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amkhalid

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Very sweet tree... great initial styling.

I have found that winter dieback can be minimized in zone 6 by timing a scissor thinning to occur in mid-late august. This also works well on Thuja.

You definitely have more experience with hinoki than I, so it seems you have figured out what works, but I just thought I would share this.

Cheers... looking forward to seeing this tree progress.
 

october

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Thanks rockm.. Ya, they certainly need extra care to keep them looking good..

Hello amkhalid.. Thanks for the tips.. and yes, I use a lot os scissor pruning and wiring when dealing with hinoki.

I hope that there is a progression ..lol... I am really counting on it growing from some of the dark green foliage areaa..I know it will grow form the light green... These trees are very stubborn though.
 

digger714

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These are great trees. I just got through helping with a workshop with Cathy Shaner at the Bonsai Learning Center in Charlotte NC, and worked with 10 of these. She is an awesome teacher. If anyone is looking for someone to bring in for demos, she is the one to get. Our trees looked similar to the one here. Nice job working it down, and like rock said, keep pinching after it recovers for a while.
 

october

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Thanks dugger, Jason and FourMile....I will have to say the tree is the one that dictating every aspect of this styling... My initial plans had to constantly be altered as the styling went on.. Branches that I was going to keep, ended up being cut. Also, branches that I was going to cut, ended up staying. I really did almost throw in the towel twice. However, after a couple of branches were bent to swoop far down and a lot of movement put in them, it started to come together.
 
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