Austrian Pine Yamadori: How big is too big?

[Cioffi]

They're taking down a huge Austrian pine where I work. I asked if they could leave the root ball and a portion of the trunk. They will dig it up, too. How big is too big? I'll bet the trunk is 1.5-2.0 feet in diameter. Can that be turned into bonsai?

 

[Wulfskaar]

That seems way too big.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

It is up to you, how big is too big for you to physically handle? Can you lift it by yourself? Especially for public collections, and public gardens, large sizes are not a limit. There are "Two Man" bonsai, and there are "Forklift" bonsai. IF you have a forklift, or a team of gardeners, then there is no limit.

The larger the starting material, the longer the "initial chop" will take to heal. A trunk over a foot in diameter will take 15 to 25 years to heal the cut wound. It will take nearly as long to develop the next segment of trunk, to get a reasonable transition in taper. But if you are a teenager, with a long bonsai career ahead of you, you might want to put the time in.

Myself, I would consider that tree simply too big. If I can't lift a tree easily, I consider it too big. If the wound won't heal in 5 years or so, I consider it too big.

So it is up to you. That you had to ask, indicates it is probably too big.

 

[Cioffi]

Good advice. I figured it was too big, but I'm new to bonsai, and I love Austrian Pine. And finally, I'm no teenager - alas. Time is not on my side for this one.

 

[roberthu]

Finding a pot to fit it is going to be a big challenge. You can plant it in your back yard as a garden tree though