Eastern hemlock top

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I guess it depends on the definition of flush, since I wasn't pinching, but I was also surprised (and relieved) when the extended growth formed new buds which also have extended, and continue to do so. I agree with your "ripen a little bit at a time" description of the growth. After I collected last spring, that years growth was just starting. The new growth shriveled of not long after collection, so I kept it out of the full sun until this spring.
Was your Hemlock collected or nursery material? You mention a spiral growth of the needles around the stem, which makes me think you have a variety of some sort, unless that habit gradually occurred after some years living in a pot.
How often do you repot yours? Do you think I would be safe in repotting next spring or should I wait a third year before approaching the roots?

I apologize for all of the questions, but there is not much institutional knowledge of the Eastern Hemlock and it's bonsai cultivation. And, you really do have a wonderful specimen attesting to your proper care for the tree.

Thanks again,
David
 

Vance Wood

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I guess it depends on the definition of flush, since I wasn't pinching, but I was also surprised (and relieved) when the extended growth formed new buds which also have extended, and continue to do so. I agree with your "ripen a little bit at a time" description of the growth. After I collected last spring, that years growth was just starting. The new growth shriveled of not long after collection, so I kept it out of the full sun until this spring.
Was your Hemlock collected or nursery material? You mention a spiral growth of the needles around the stem, which makes me think you have a variety of some sort, unless that habit gradually occurred after some years living in a pot.
How often do you repot yours? Do you think I would be safe in repotting next spring or should I wait a third year before approaching the roots?

I apologize for all of the questions, but there is not much institutional knowledge of the Eastern Hemlock and it's bonsai cultivation. And, you really do have a wonderful specimen attesting to your proper care for the tree.

Thanks again,
David

You don't know if you don't ask and if people have a problem with that then what are they doing reading this post?
 

ABCarve

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I guess it depends on the definition of flush, since I wasn't pinching, but I was also surprised (and relieved) when the extended growth formed new buds which also have extended, and continue to do so. I agree with your "ripen a little bit at a time" description of the growth. After I collected last spring, that years growth was just starting. The new growth shriveled of not long after collection, so I kept it out of the full sun until this spring.
Was your Hemlock collected or nursery material? You mention a spiral growth of the needles around the stem, which makes me think you have a variety of some sort, unless that habit gradually occurred after some years living in a pot.
How often do you repot yours? Do you think I would be safe in repotting next spring or should I wait a third year before approaching the roots?

I apologize for all of the questions, but there is not much institutional knowledge of the Eastern Hemlock and it's bonsai cultivation. And, you really do have a wonderful specimen attesting to your proper care for the tree.

Thanks again,
David
I collected it in our woods. They're fairly prolific around here. I had it in the ground for a couple of years, but in hindsight that was probably stupid. It really hasn't gained much caliper over the last 20 or so years, although the bark has become quite nice. It is about a foot taller though. When I first styled it I did the "gin the top" thing, as all bonsai youngsters do. These trees are very apically dominant so it was just a few years before I cut the gin off and started letting the top develop and cutting it off a number of times.
The spiral needles is caused by the needle reduction/ramification (see pic).... I think. Not all needles have gotten that small. The new growth is large but will reduce after the first pinching.
I have a small tree I collected last spring as you did. I will raise it up in the large bonsai pot to expose the nebari next spring but I won't root prune it. Up until now I've repotted this large one every four to five years however I think I'm going for the long run now, 10-15 years. We'll see how it goes.
 

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CWTurner

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ABCarve,

That's awesome. Beautiful work. I like how you covered the funky lump in the middle of the trunk with a bit of growth.
 

ABCarve

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Thanks CW. Its only covered up in the photo. I actually like it and it's still fairly apparent in real life.
 

Nomiyama

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I will echo what others have said, very nice Hemlock. Recently I picked one up myself, and am excited to work on it as it seems like they have nice potential as bonsai. Forgive me if I missed it, but who was the artist/maker of the rustic pot the Hemlock is currently in now? Very nice and pulls off the wild feel in my opinion.
 

ABCarve

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I will echo what others have said, very nice Hemlock. Recently I picked one up myself, and am excited to work on it as it seems like they have nice potential as bonsai. Forgive me if I missed it, but who was the artist/maker of the rustic pot the Hemlock is currently in now? Very nice and pulls off the wild feel in my opinion.
The more I work with Hemlock the more I like it. It's ability to heal quickly is a big plus. Finding material can be a challenge. I just collected another I'm hoping to style in literati. The pot is mine. Thanks for the vote.
 

Giga

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I have two eastern hemlock, but your is very very nice! I really like it and the pot combo. I 2nd the fast healing as when I collected my fist one it healed over the trunk chop the same season I collected it.
 

ABCarve

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The pot has been a little controversial to some of the community......and that's OK. I think the trick to collecting is getting deep shade trees. They haven't become so dense that the inner growth has died off, which is how most nursery stock comes. The branches have a good memory but I'm experimenting with a technique which can speed things up. I'll let you know if it works. This one was collected in 2013.
 

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CWTurner

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My Hemlocks:

I collected both of these in mid-May from upstate PA. They are doing better than previous collections because I've been misting them 1-2 times a day.

#1: hemlock1.jpg I didn't get a lot of root with this one so I potted with most of its original loamy soil still on the roots. Obviously I haven't done any styling yet, but the tree seems happy and is popping new buds still.

#2: Hemlock2.jpg This one was growing mostly on a rock ledge, but one root required me to plant it kind of high in this bus tub. The tree has some taper, but I'm probably going to style it as a an upright with broken top. And I really like the mature bark. A couple of the branches are long enough for me to try a through or approach graft and maybe get another low branch on the left if it doesn't backbud for me.
 

ABCarve

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I'm probably going to style it as a an upright with broken top.
Mine had a carved, broken top (jinned), but the tree was so vigorous a new top formed in short order. I chopped the jin and the wound healed. That is what created the S-curve in the trunk. You could probably carve the trunk taper and wire the top branch up for a new apex. Only a suggestion. You can also do inarch grafting with hemlock. The fine flexible branches can be shoved into a blind hole and allowed to heal.
 

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ABCarve

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What a difference a day makes.
Thinning out and chasing back for the summer cut. Never cut it back this hard before but it was outgrowing its silhouette and the foliage too thick for its own good.
 

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Aeast

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Bringing this post to the surface. Hoping this tree will look like ABCarv's tree someday. Need to work on the root issue first. ( Not trying to take away from your post, just want to bring this back up)
 

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Aeast,
Wow, those are some crazy roots. What's the story on the tree? It doesn't seem to be growing over a rock. Did you break the top off of it, or was that nature?
CW
 

Aeast

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Just so happens that bucks love to rub hemlocks during the rut, don't know why but they do, so in turn our woods has alot of smaller hemlocks with dead tops like that.

As for the roots, I have no idea why they grew like that, it's not on a rock and the soil seems decent underneath. It's not ideal though, there's few feeder roots close to the trunk. So upon ABCarve's advice, I'm going to trench around the tree this spring and try to get some feeder roots to grow.
 
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