Eastern hemlock top

ABCarve

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Hi @ABCarve Fantastic tree! I love it!
Could you help me understand what you're saying in posts 55 and 58 about
both constant pinching and allowing it to grow, producing fewer buds.
To me, the outcome sounds the same for constant pinching and for allowing it to grow on,
so before I leave the thread for the day, I would like to get a grasp on this. Sorry I am confused with that aspect.
I just pre-ordered a couple dwarfs, 'hussi' and 'Jervis' and doing some Wintertime research.


It is possible I will want more buds initially, but being dwarfs I doubt it. Have to see what I get 1st.

On nursery material that is 1-2 years old (sight unseen) would it be a good idea to get directly into
bonsai soil this Spring 1st thing as buds move? I am considering an element of organic potting soil
to compliment a mostly inorganic mixture at a 15-20% rate (organic) given the species, and age.

Again I love your tree and thanks for sharing it.
Hmmmm......that is a good question!! And for the life of me I don't know what the hell I was thinking. "That constant pinch is important in that far fewer buds develop." I'm old and that was 2 years ago.:eek: I think if that sentence were removed everything would be less ambiguous.

As for your question on soil, I'm not a fan of organics in the soil, although the 1-2 years material might accept it, so for an answer, "I don't know". All my hemlocks have been collected from my woods.
I have tried a Jervis. Keyword is "tried". It produced a tremendous amount of buds that were in very tight swirls. Most of them would have to be removed in the spring as they would choke each other out. They were difficult to remove without damaging the adjacent buds. This may be a condition that is caused by bonsai culture. This variety seemed to actually bud back on old wood. I've seen them in the ground and they're quite nice, albeit very, very slow growing. Mine was in this rock pot to the far right. It's no longer there, as it just didn't want to develope in this mame size.
It is a witches broom (mutant growth) from a parent tree. It is still a Tsuga canadensis.
 

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Japonicus

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Hmmmm......that is a good question!! And for the life of me I don't know what the hell I was thinking. "That constant pinch is important in that far fewer buds develop." I'm old and that was 2 years ago.:eek: I think if that sentence were removed everything would be less ambiguous.

As for your question on soil, I'm not a fan of organics in the soil, although the 1-2 years material might accept it, so for an answer, "I don't know". All my hemlocks have been collected from my woods.
I have tried a Jervis. Keyword is "tried". It produced a tremendous amount of buds that were in very tight swirls. Most of them would have to be removed in the spring as they would choke each other out. They were difficult to remove without damaging the adjacent buds. This may be a condition that is caused by bonsai culture. This variety seemed to actually bud back on old wood. I've seen them in the ground and they're quite nice, albeit very, very slow growing. Mine was in this rock pot to the far right. It's no longer there, as it just didn't want to develope in this mame size.
It is a witches broom (mutant growth) from a parent tree. It is still a Tsuga canadensis.
Thanks for some clarification there. It just sounded like both allowing free growth and keeping it pinched
produced the same, fewer buds.
Your rock plantings of mame trees looks very nice.

Honestly I will probably be shooting for medium sized 10-14" with mine and will have to ground grow
them out being the dwarfs. I'll probably get a standard canadensis and see your posts concerning ground growing those ;)
Just wanted a Golden Splendor but out of stock
So I had to fill the void somehow:D Thanks for your insights.
 

ABCarve

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Thanks for some clarification there. It just sounded like both allowing free growth and keeping it pinched
produced the same, fewer buds.
Your rock plantings of mame trees looks very nice.

Honestly I will probably be shooting for medium sized 10-14" with mine and will have to ground grow
them out being the dwarfs. I'll probably get a standard canadensis and see your posts concerning ground growing those ;)
Just wanted a Golden Splendor but out of stock
So I had to fill the void somehow:D Thanks for your insights.
I always wanted to try a weeping hemlock or coles prostrate so as not to battle the upright growth habit. Maybe someday if I find the right one. You know I have a collected canadensis that I want to get rid of. If your interested I'll PM you.
 
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I always wanted to try a weeping hemlock or coles prostrate so as not to battle the upright growth habit. Maybe someday if I find the right one. You know I have a collected canadensis that I want to get rid of. If your interested I'll PM you.
In Nick Lenz book it mentions full sunlight causing the foliage to spring up more, and suggested a more shaded environment for bringing down the growth.
I try to give mine as much sun and plenty of fertilizer to hasten development, but it could be worth a shot to see how it effects growth. My “Depot” (big box) hemlock seems to have a semi weeping habit, certainly more so than my “wild” caught one. The “Depot” was not labeled as a variety.
 

GGB

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I showed this tree to my wife when we were at the nursery for the open house, it's one of the most interesting trees there right now. Fitting that it's our state tree and this one is so stately. Can I ask why you are selling off conifers? Just liking deciduous?
 

ABCarve

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I showed this tree to my wife when we were at the nursery for the open house, it's one of the most interesting trees there right now. Fitting that it's our state tree and this one is so stately. Can I ask why you are selling off conifers? Just liking deciduous?
Thanks for the kind words. That size hemlock is very labor intensive and it looks the same in all seasons, which is my main complaint for conifers. Deciduous and more specifically flowering deciduous is what’s turning my key these days. There’s always something new they’re offering. I also enjoy the development more than the maintenance. The two trees at Natures Way I consider finished and they just don’t hold my interest much anymore.
 

Cosmos

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ABCarve, sorry if you’ve answered this before, but what kind of sun exposure do you give your hemlocks? Do you move them around depending on the time of year (ie heat waves vs. cooler temps in spring or late summer)?

We know they grow in the shaded understory but can also take full sun (although it seems the foliage gets lighter and less appealing then), what has been your experience? Your hemlocks all have a rich dark green that I love.
 

ABCarve

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ABCarve, sorry if you’ve answered this before, but what kind of sun exposure do you give your hemlocks? Do you move them around depending on the time of year (ie heat waves vs. cooler temps in spring or late summer)?

We know they grow in the shaded understory but can also take full sun (although it seems the foliage gets lighter and less appealing then), what has been your experience? Your hemlocks all have a rich dark green that I love.
I give them full sun all the time and don't move them other than rotating weekly for even distribution. For me, the sun come up over my woods around 10am and sets around 5pm during the growing season. So there is filtered light before and after. They seem to like humidity. Mine sit close to the pond. At one time they sat near my paved driveway where the heat radiated up. They weren't happy. I don't know what to tell you about the color. My pal has one with the same problem. It hadn't been repotted for quite some time and we did it this spring, putting it into a APL mix. Hoping for the best. Years ago I had mine growing in haydite and bark without a problem with color, but their vigor suffered.
 
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