Big Hawthorn

[Marco B]

Last winter I collected this big Hawthorn. It has a nebari is 25 cm and is just below the one meter border... Especially for a yamadori his flat nebari is excellent, in my opinion. Now it has sprouted all over and its doing well. I'm already thinking about the future of the tree. What are your thoughts?

 

[leatherback]

i think you need to drop this off a little bit to the east of you!

 

[leatherback]

Would a further reduction be too extreme?

 

[BobbyLane]

First i would try carving a large wedgy, get the balance right and see how the tree looks from that. also i wouldnt cut the knob on the right flush, carving a feature there might help to offset some of the inverst taper in other areas. i think this would be a good option if you wanted to try to keep as much of what you have.
could play with some left n right angles too. nice nebari, but i think the tree comes out the soil a little straight in your bid to show all the base, could possible sacrifice some base for some more overall dynamism. might help to offset some taper issues too.

other options are to cut off one of the left or right apexes. maybe the right one. then tilting the tree right from the base. then try the other side.

or Leatherbacks shorter tree option. but i would do it all in stages

great material btw! i love the look of that rugged terrain too. i would be like a kid in a sweet shop!

 

[Cioffi]

That is an amazing tree. I like Bobby's suggestion, although Leatherback's suggestion would certainly work for my newbie eye.

 

[Shibui]

There are always a number of different bonsai hiding in every tree. Both @leatherback and @BobbyLane designs have merit. One is obviously taller than the other so now it depends on personal preference.
I would add some extra dead wood or shari to the right stump in either case just for better taper in the transition from lower trunk and a little more interest but again personal preference comes into the design.

Definitely one of the better hawthorns I have seen. A nice change from the usual vertical stumps.

 

[Marco B]

The option LB gave, was also an option I had in my mind. I think I like it better than the option Bobby gave.. This because of the hight of the tree. I also have this is my mind. But no idea if this is possible in some way with a trunk of 10 cm of a deciduous tree. With conifers it should be possible, in combination with some carving at the inner part of the branche. Any of you have seen such operation?

 

[sorce]

Nice ...them Hokadavhi are dope too!

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[Marco B]

nobody any idea?

 

[TomB]

Hawthorn wood is very hard. I doubt if you'll be able to move it, let along bend it permanently. I'd probably be looking at something along the lines of Leatherback's virtual, especially if the nebari allows you to tilt it very slightly to the right. I wouldn't cut the current deadwood stub flush - it could be turned into a good feature, along the lines of some of Will Baddely's work.
Good material.

 

[Paradox]

It has such a weird shape, I can even begin to think of what would make sense with this tree.....
The base is really nice.
The top part is nice too
But they just dont work together.
Its almost like they are two different trees.

Do these air layer well?
That honestly is my first thought....air layer it and make 2 trees

 

[BobbyLane]

The shorter option is growing on me, so we would then be looking at this type of thing.
IMG_4512 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

IMG_8322 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

theres loads of examples in nature

 

[Marco B]

This tree is doing very well. It's so healthy that I did some first minor steps in te direction of a bonsai...

 

[Marco B]

Nothing more done at this tree since the last post... It seems that the tree is shaping himself

 

[Marco B]

Today I did some very first shaping, just to get some movement into the branches. Now they have to grow very long and carry as much as possible leaves, to thicken as fact as possible, I'm afraid that this big fellow will need much space in the next years..

 

[luvinthemountains]

Great work, Marco. I am really looking forward to seeing how this tree develops!

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Hedge laying

www.immaterieelerfgoed.nl

This technique is done on 200+ year old hawthorn hedges over here. Cut halfway (or more) through the trunk and bend it down. Might be a bit too late for you @Marco B but it might be interesting for others.
It seems that it can be quite extreme when it comes to how deep the cuts are.

 

[Marco B]

Hedge laying

www.immaterieelerfgoed.nl

This technique is done on 200+ year old hawthorn hedges over here. Cut halfway (or more) through the trunk and bend it down. Might be a bit too late for you @Marco B but it might be interesting for others.
It seems that it can be quite extreme when it comes to how deep the cuts are.

That's an old technique used here in Holland. But, in my opinion, for bonsai it is not very usefull: the scars made are very big.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

That's an old technique used here in Holland. But, in my opinion, for bonsai it is not very usefull: the scars made are very big.

Absolutely, they're huge. But it could mean that smaller cuts, done over longer periods of time would probably not kill the plant. Even if there's extreme bending involved ;-)

 

[Marco B]

Here an update of this tree. It developed well last season, It even has some berries! I havent decided which side will be the front. Even remove the top is an option...