Contorted willow

bonsai barry

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I picked this up at a nursery that was going to throw it away because if looked dead. You can see I've trimmed it up and started carving on one of the two stumps. I'm thinking of making this windswept (branches flowing left in the photo). You can see I've wired the lowest branch. Any and all comments appreciated.

If anyone can identify this tree more accurately, that would be great.
 

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Tachigi

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I picked this up at a nursery that was going to throw it away

You've been dumpster diving again Barry?
 

Bonsai Nut

Nuttier than your average Nut
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I love willows. I have this vision of eventually seeing a huge old willow in an informal upright similar to the trident maple on the cover of The Bonsai Workshop. The growth pattern of willows reminds me of Corylus Avellana 'Contorta', aka Contorted Hazelnut, aka Harry Lauder's Walkingstick. Here's a photo of a tree that I have growing right now just for fun. It has not been styled; what you are seeing is its natural growth pattern.

walkingstick.jpg
 

John Hill

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Hi Jeff,
I was just playing around tonight and this is what I came up with. It could be done?

A Friend in bonsai
John
 

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bonsai barry

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Hey John, that's a very dramatic presentation. You have given me to ideas I hadn't thought of: 1) a new style of pot, and 2) changing the direction of the branches. As my wiring indicates, I thought about having the branches bend in the other direction. I can't wait until daylight to try to visualize it in three dimensions. Thank you.

PS You're becoming a virtual master!
 

cbobgo

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Looks like a contorted willow to me (S. matsudana 'Tortuosa' ). Easy to grow, but not very "bonsaiable." They grow very fast, with long extending growth that goes strait up (except for the corkscrews.) They do no weep. They can not be forced to weep with wires or weights (trust me, I've tried.) They will only grow up. Branches you mess with frequently die back.

So, long story short, you would save yourself some heartache by planting it in your yard and enjoying it as a shrub.

- bob
 

bonsai barry

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Update on Willow

Here is what this willow looks like today. The secondary branching is slow to develop. (However, everything this year is slow to develop in my neck of the woods.)
 

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