Arctic blue willow
- Thread starter Arcto
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JoeR
Masterpiece
No Idea but it sounds boss!
GrimLore
Bonsai Nut alumnus... we miss you
Salix in general are a little tricky in my own experience. If you are lucky enough to find one with a substantial trunk and base they can be slowly developed into a respectable Bonsai. Most definitely a long term project and as I get older I am not certain I will try anymore.
Grimmy
I tried willows because I like these trees but really they are a pain in the butt.
In particular there branches die for no apparent reason. Each time you prune there is a 1 or 2" of the branches that turn black. Really not easy to work with.
In particular there branches die for no apparent reason. Each time you prune there is a 1 or 2" of the branches that turn black. Really not easy to work with.
wireme
Masterpiece
Got a pic?
I have this little thing I've been developing from a tiny cutting over the last 5 years or so. As far as salix goes I think its great, dieback has been minimal and the leaves can be kept quite small. This is of course still in development, not a finished state or anything, promising though I think.
This was labelled arctic willow at the nursery but other bonsai I've seen online called article willow look much different. I don't have a Latin name for this but it looks and grows like a miniature or dwarf version of salix exigua.
I have this little thing I've been developing from a tiny cutting over the last 5 years or so. As far as salix goes I think its great, dieback has been minimal and the leaves can be kept quite small. This is of course still in development, not a finished state or anything, promising though I think.
This was labelled arctic willow at the nursery but other bonsai I've seen online called article willow look much different. I don't have a Latin name for this but it looks and grows like a miniature or dwarf version of salix exigua.
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wireme
Masterpiece
Looks like the same thing or similar, if there is a trunk in there I'd be all over it.
I have a few in the existing landscaping. They are being overtopped and are in decline, so are available to dig up and work with. The one pictured was actually chopped back by an irate realtor who snagged her outfit on it while showing the house. Very nice upcoming little willow you have there by the way.
wireme
Masterpiece
Don't be concerned about a midsummer dug, just keep it nice and moist, it can take it just fine. Don't worry about keeping foliage either, cut it back wherever you want before collection.
My little one seems to respond OK to pruning for a salix but it still is salix, expect dieback a good ways below any major chop sites.
My little one seems to respond OK to pruning for a salix but it still is salix, expect dieback a good ways below any major chop sites.
Yes, thanks for the advice from everyone. So far I've amused myself by clipping the tips back a little and pulling back the duff and jiggling it a bit. It appears that the shading killed one side including the roots and 2/3 of the trunk. Also from a design standpoint, what to do with the trunks braiding together a foot up? I'll give the tree and myself some time to decide that.
6 1/2' tall. 4 1/4" trunk at soil line. One side of base dead. A lot of movement when I wiggle tree. So I suspect it lost some anchor roots as well. I plan to dig it tomorrow. I'll know more then. Feel free to collaborate, comment, critique. First time I've tried this with an internet group. Could be fun. Sorry for the crappy picture. Mid day with a tablet camera will do that
Here it is in a training pot. The dig was more involved than I anticipated (aren't they always). A lot of Ajuga growing and intertwined with the root ball. It was also planted as a 4 gal container plant. A lot of large roots encircling the trunk. A number of them were partially dead and removed.
A view looking down at the dead area. A couple of the remaining multi trunks are dead as well.
View from the other side. The 2 lower angled branches on the right will probably go at some point. Right now, I call them plan C and plan D. It's in shade for a recovery period. As I see new budding it will come out into the sun. It was chopped back to 34". I left extra length in case of dieback that viewers alerted me to.
Zac chandanais
Mame
I have a salix alba (white willow) that I have grown from a 1"diameter cutting. This was my first tree (I love willows) that I acquired for bonsai before learning that they aren't ideal subjects. I haven't had any issue with die back and have had a nice amount of new growth. From what I have researched (in books and on this site) willows will kill branches off if situations aren't ideal. Rather then repair the limb they will just grow a new one. I read in a book (Bonsai: by Deborah koreshoff) that the best way to avoid this die back is to NOT touch it during the growing season. Do all major pruning in the dormant season and give it tons of water while its growing. If you want to slow/stop branch growth (lengthwise) you can pinch the tips where new buds emerge but nothing else. I am still new and by no means an expert. This is just what I've read thus far. Hope it helps
Zac
Zac
Thanks Zak. Ummmm...I didn't touch it, I pretty much butchered it! But so far the remaining growth looks fine with no wilting even in the 90+ heat. As it isn't much more than a glorified cutting right now, I'm content to just keep an eye on it and see how it recovers.
Chicago_Willows
Seedling
Hello,
I just joined this site looking for info on these willows. I bought one of these as a landscape shrub as the tag said mature size of 4'x4'. These things can grow a couple feet a year if given enough water and sun. A couple years later and I'm obsessed with making these little guys bonsai.
I've been taking cuttings the last couple of years and dropped them in some water, established some roots and put them in the ground for winter. They are very aggressive with root growth and new leaf production. There is lots of backbudding happening on all the cuttings and more mature plants I have. I like this species because of it's cold rated to -30º and I've read of them growing in Alaska as a landscape bush so they can take a tough winter. I recently did some major pruning to the mother plant I have in my yard and despite upper 80's heat they have growing roots and even their sending out new leaf growth at the same time. I will post pics of individual projects in the future but am new here and want to read more on the site before I do that. I was also wondering what section would be good to post about this species.
Thanks for looking!
Here are some pics of what I've gotten from the one foot tall plant I bought about 8 years ago.
Recent cuttings:
1 year in ground:
1 year old cuttings:
Lots of backbudds:
In ground for 2 winters with some bark peeling experimenting:
This ones top died off from neglect so I chopped it and am training some new buds:
Mother Tree:
I just joined this site looking for info on these willows. I bought one of these as a landscape shrub as the tag said mature size of 4'x4'. These things can grow a couple feet a year if given enough water and sun. A couple years later and I'm obsessed with making these little guys bonsai.
I've been taking cuttings the last couple of years and dropped them in some water, established some roots and put them in the ground for winter. They are very aggressive with root growth and new leaf production. There is lots of backbudding happening on all the cuttings and more mature plants I have. I like this species because of it's cold rated to -30º and I've read of them growing in Alaska as a landscape bush so they can take a tough winter. I recently did some major pruning to the mother plant I have in my yard and despite upper 80's heat they have growing roots and even their sending out new leaf growth at the same time. I will post pics of individual projects in the future but am new here and want to read more on the site before I do that. I was also wondering what section would be good to post about this species.
Thanks for looking!
Here are some pics of what I've gotten from the one foot tall plant I bought about 8 years ago.
Recent cuttings:
1 year in ground:
1 year old cuttings:
Lots of backbudds:
In ground for 2 winters with some bark peeling experimenting:
This ones top died off from neglect so I chopped it and am training some new buds:
Mother Tree:
wireme
Masterpiece
Nice, Chicago, looking forward to see what you wind up with down the road.
Actro, I've planted hundreds of thousands of willow cuttings, they were used for erosion control, revegetation and reclamation projects, my field of work for many years. We used, willow, red osier dogwood and cottonwood, they all respond similarly. The large ones did tend to do better, better growth and success rates. Old fissured bark caused higher failure rates though. Mostly we kept cuttings to a smaller size due to logistics of handling and transport but would sometimes throw some big honkers unto the ground, largest cuttings about 9 or 10 inch diameter I guess. The big ones usually were cottonwood or salix lasiandra.
My wee one today, trying to grow out a crown of sorts and keeping branches pruned back.
Actro, I've planted hundreds of thousands of willow cuttings, they were used for erosion control, revegetation and reclamation projects, my field of work for many years. We used, willow, red osier dogwood and cottonwood, they all respond similarly. The large ones did tend to do better, better growth and success rates. Old fissured bark caused higher failure rates though. Mostly we kept cuttings to a smaller size due to logistics of handling and transport but would sometimes throw some big honkers unto the ground, largest cuttings about 9 or 10 inch diameter I guess. The big ones usually were cottonwood or salix lasiandra.
My wee one today, trying to grow out a crown of sorts and keeping branches pruned back.
Attachments
Chicago_Willows
Seedling
Thanks for the positive feedback.
Yes, I would agree with the larger ones doing better than smaller ones. It's like pissing off the Hulk, he just gets stronger the more you upset him. The large cuttings last year were about 1" thick. With the recent cuttings, I took these mid-summer and the thicker ones are determined to continue to grow back despite the heat and made new buds and roots within a week. I put a little bees wax/oil mix on the tops of the trunks where I cut to help seal them up and keep as much new growth towards the tops as possible. It seems to be working.
I'm eying up the mother tree and was thinking about harvesting the larger trunks in front and leaving the one single trunk in back. I'm not sure at this point because I like the current shape of the mother tree... for now. But those trunks are really maturing nicely and with the way these things recover, I might give it a go this fall.
Yes, I would agree with the larger ones doing better than smaller ones. It's like pissing off the Hulk, he just gets stronger the more you upset him. The large cuttings last year were about 1" thick. With the recent cuttings, I took these mid-summer and the thicker ones are determined to continue to grow back despite the heat and made new buds and roots within a week. I put a little bees wax/oil mix on the tops of the trunks where I cut to help seal them up and keep as much new growth towards the tops as possible. It seems to be working.
I'm eying up the mother tree and was thinking about harvesting the larger trunks in front and leaving the one single trunk in back. I'm not sure at this point because I like the current shape of the mother tree... for now. But those trunks are really maturing nicely and with the way these things recover, I might give it a go this fall.
Wire me, the little one is looking good. I'll try to post a pic later of mine starting to recover from the abuse I gave it. I cut down an old weeping willow at the old place and sectioned it up for fire wood then got lazy and left it on the ground all winter. When I cleaned them up in spring, found several 8"+ pieces had struck roots into the ground. I am going to start some red osier cuttings soon for wildlife habitat here (the Mosquitos need a place to rest before swarming me in the evening). You should strike a 12" cottonwood cutting for a bonsai. Definitely give you a head start in the caliber side of it.
