Bald Cypress "Creative Critique"

[Chucktownbonsai]

Hello all,

I'm looking to get feedback on this tree that I've been working on for two years. It started its bonsai life as a neglected, 14-foot root-bound tree in a 15-gallon pot. I found it in the back of a landscape nursery.
The first photo (white sheet behind it; please excuse wrinkles) shows the the tree right after repot and defoliation, and the other two photos show the tree a month and a half later. The remaining tufts on the upper part of the trunk are where I hope to get a branch or two. If they don't happen where I would like, I will graft them in. This tree likes to put out a lot of buds, so I might wait until they happen on their own.
Now that I have a very rough shape, I'm focusing on ramification of the branches that I do have. I have carved the top out along the branches that I've kept. The edges have been rolling over nicely, and the tree continues to fill in.
I'm happy with this tree, but I want to be ready to take it to the next level…..whatever that means.

Best,
Adam

 

[SimonDuval]

It's looking good! I think I would give a little more twists and turns to the primary branches on top. Also I'm not too sure about the pot...
You've got a good start there, give it another couple of years and it will be superbe!

 

[Don Blackmond]

If you want to take it to the next level, then you need to make some changes. Except for the pot, less is more.

But, the first thing I'd do is put it in a deeper pot. That will assist in developing the tree more rapidly, plus it will look much better.

It will take a really long time for the trunk and base to look good. Your base is made from downward growing roots, not fluted trunk. It will look better as it ages, but the transition from the base to the trunk is going to take a long time to look right. The second photo shows a much better transition, more natural, less pitchfork.

I'd remove some of the branches at the apex chop. There are too many. Pick what you want, and develop them. How many are there? It looks like about 6. I'd keep about 3 or 4 at the most. Otherwise, it will look like a wheel with spokes, and the trunk will swell where the spokes meet it and you will have what looks like a beer glass.

You have a long stretch of trunk without much taper or character. I'd consider more carving. Either remove half of the trunk at the apex, or widen your "V" cut and make it 3-4 times as long. Either option will limit chances of swelling and increase trunk character.

Its a good start, and you can make a decent tree the way you have it designed. You want to make it better? Make the tough choices.

 

[edprocoat]

Adam do you have any pictures of how it looks now ? I seen where you said the first pic was when you got it and the second two pics were a month and a half later. How is it looking now almost 2 years after those pics?

ed

 

[carp]

I'm going to agree that the pot is too small. Even for establishing a nice root system. Bald Cypress roots tend to circle naturally, and in a small pot that process is going to start immediately. The rule of thumb is generally 3/4 the total length or width of the tree (whichever is bigger) and your tree is more than double the size of your pot. You probably already know that. Under potting trees does makes the tree feel larger than it is, so I think it can be acceptable in the future when the tree goes into refinement versus development to put it in a smaller pot like this one. The choice is yours.

I would extend the cut farther down the trunk to make the look of being struck by lightning versus someone with a hatchet notching a V. You've got a very tall, straight trunk without extreme taper; it is kind of boring. This is a common issue with Bald Cypress natural growing habbit. People always collect very tapered and fluted bases, but generally the trunks end up being very tall without movement or taper. Extending the cut for shari will add interest into the long straight hunk of wood.

It looks like you're working towards a flattop design, which always works on a cypress, so just keep developing the apex. Consider removing or shortening the lower branches if that is the style you're looking for. Shortening the branches would be the route to go if you decide to keep them. Generally, not always, what you see in the wild with flattop's is that the apex has shaded out any existing lower branching, either weakening or killing them totally. Another option if you decide you don't want the low branches in the future is to grow them thicker, wire some movement into them, and then use them for jin.

Also consider changing the front of the tree to the angle of the second photo. The current front feels very two dimensional. I said it in another thread before; "Its more alluring when a woman lifts up her skirt and shows a little leg, rather than showing it all at once." The current front is showing you everything the trunk has, in your face, and your eye takes it all in and moves on. The second photo gives more depth. The fluting in the base is more pronounced and creates shadowing from this angle, where as the first photo, its very flat feeling. You also see a root coming around from the back of the tree in the second photo, which actually adds to the three dimensional feel.

I'm working on a virtual so you can see what I see. I like this idea.

 

[carp]

Here's that virtual.

And yes, I watermarked it.

 

[johng]

Hey Adam! I hope you are doing well! I am not sure that I have much to add...I think Don and Seth have given you pretty solid advise. I especially like the new front....I did have to chuckle about the watermark on the virtual

I read that this tree was from a nursery...not a bad base considering that. From my experience, the shape of the base reminds me of Pond Cypress (wine bottle shaped base)...although the foliage doesn't. I wonder how vigorous this tree is...I have found that BC is much stronger...grows faster and more than PC.

Personally I am not really a fan of shari on BC...I would rather see it hollowed...for me that makes it look much older in the long run.... Shari seems to be used often by the Fl folks and I can see it on some of the really old PC that they collect from southern part of the state but not as much of a fan for it on trees like you are designing.

All in all, I think you have a decent tree...keep working on it and you will have an apex like the virtual in no time.

John

 

[Chucktownbonsai]

If you want to take it to the next level, then you need to make some changes. Except for the pot, less is more.

But, the first thing I'd do is put it in a deeper pot. That will assist in developing the tree more rapidly, plus it will look much better.

It will take a really long time for the trunk and base to look good. Your base is made from downward growing roots, not fluted trunk. It will look better as it ages, but the transition from the base to the trunk is going to take a long time to look right. The second photo shows a much better transition, more natural, less pitchfork.

I'd remove some of the branches at the apex chop. There are too many. Pick what you want, and develop them. How many are there? It looks like about 6. I'd keep about 3 or 4 at the most. Otherwise, it will look like a wheel with spokes, and the trunk will swell where the spokes meet it and you will have what looks like a beer glass.

You have a long stretch of trunk without much taper or character. I'd consider more carving. Either remove half of the trunk at the apex, or widen your "V" cut and make it 3-4 times as long. Either option will limit chances of swelling and increase trunk character.

Its a good start, and you can make a decent tree the way you have it designed. You want to make it better? Make the tough choices.

Thank you for the feedback. I've thought a lot about the carving but have never gotten up the guts to do it. Next season I will man up.

 

[Chucktownbonsai]

Adam do you have any pictures of how it looks now ? I seen where you said the first pic was when you got it and the second two pics were a month and a half later. How is it looking now almost 2 years after those pics?

ed

Hey Ed, This is the tree now. It was a 14' tree when I got it. The pictures you are seeing now are 2 years since I've been working it. I took the pictures of it on the stand last week.

 

[Chucktownbonsai]

Here's that virtual.

And yes, I watermarked it.

To be honest, I had a different pot in mind at transplant -- but it didn't fit. It was round and deeper, but the diameter was wrong. I would like to get it in a round pot the next time around. I also completely agree with your choice of front. That is why I took the after pictures at those angles. It was just a matter of poor planing and not having more big pots on hand. I had it in a big tub, but I needed help to move it, so I didn't want to put it back in there. Thank you for the feedback. Good thing you watermarked that picture! I had big plans to sell prints of my tree. haha.

 

[Don Blackmond]

To be honest, I had a different pot in mind at transplant -- but it didn't fit. It was round and deeper, but the diameter was wrong. I would like to get it in a round pot the next time around. I also completely agree with your choice of front. That is why I took the after pictures at those angles. It was just a matter of poor planing and not having more big pots on hand. I had it in a big tub, but I needed help to move it, so I didn't want to put it back in there. Thank you for the feedback. Good thing you watermarked that picture! I had big plans to sell prints of my tree. haha.

I would not worry too much about the pot choice right now. If I was developing it, I'd put it back in a large, deep training pot so that development is sped up. I like using mica for this process because its big, firm and light, and I don't have to worry about chipping/cracking/breaking.

Ultimately, I try to get my flattop cypress into a small deep oval, or a large wide shallow dish. I rarely use anything in between. Both pot styles work really well with the look of the tree and canopy. Plus, you need stability to keep the tree from being blown over (unless you wire the pot to your stand/bench).

Johng suggested hollowing and not creating shari. That's what I meant when I suggested widening and extending your "V" cut at the apex. If you take some of the meat out of the interior then you will have room for tissue to grow inward. Otherwise, as your tree grows, it will grow outward. You have a lot of branches all growing from the same level at the apex, so the tree will grow faster right at that level (as opposed to lower) and you will develop a inverted flute.

Ultimately, to be convincing and elegant, you will want just a couple lower branches with little ramification, and just a couple apex branches with ramification and refinement. Too much up top and you will have an umbrella or pom-pom.

 

[Chucktownbonsai]

Hey Adam! I hope you are doing well! I am not sure that I have much to add...I think Don and Seth have given you pretty solid advise. I especially like the new front....I did have to chuckle about the watermark on the virtual

I read that this tree was from a nursery...not a bad base considering that. From my experience, the shape of the base reminds me of Pond Cypress (wine bottle shaped base)...although the foliage doesn't. I wonder how vigorous this tree is...I have found that BC is much stronger...grows faster and more than PC.

Personally I am not really a fan of shari on BC...I would rather see it hollowed...for me that makes it look much older in the long run.... Shari seems to be used often by the Fl folks and I can see it on some of the really old PC that they collect from southern part of the state but not as much of a fan for it on trees like you are designing.

All in all, I think you have a decent tree...keep working on it and you will have an apex like the virtual in no time.

John

Thanks, John. This BC is very vigorous. It's a constant battle to keep wire on and buds off the base. I also don't like Shari on BC. So, this winter I will take the plunge and go for a bigger hollow. I have a few bits that will let me get more than half the way down. So that's the question: Do I hollow that far or just a quarter of the way down? I really appreciate your input. As you know, your style is the impetus for this tree.

Best,
Adam