Easy Cryptomeria Progression

[grouper52]

Well, a glitch just erased about a hour's worth of posting for this thread.

The capsule summary. I've done 3-4 trees like this before - a search may help you find them for reference. They have all been sold or given away.

I bought this one while visiting Tsugawa's Nursery north of Vancouver, WA recently, simply to show here on BNut how easy it is to take these trees to a pleasing, convincing, naturalistic image of an old growth conifer on very short order.

Image 1 is the tree as I got it.

Image 2 shows it raised a bit in the pot and the basal flare exposed.

Image 3 shows the results of a mere 45 minutes of trimming. I only quit because the light was fading.

Some further trimming, establishing the tops and deadwood, removing that little intermediate trunk, and cleaning the roots and repotting are all that needs to be done. Might take an hour or two.

Tsugawa's still has a bunch more like this: their bonsai guy there - I think his name was Griffin - got a bunch of these a while back, each field grown for 40-60 years, and selling for about $40 (!!!), and, like me, he is amazed that no one seems interested in working with such gratifyingly simple and elegant material. Maybe this thread will pique your interest.

 

[Vin]

I wish I wasn't about as far away from the nursery as one could be.. Nice transformation! I have a japonica but haven't quite figured out how to tame the long leaves.

 

[edprocoat]

I wish I wasn't about as far away from the nursery as one could be.. Nice transformation! I have a japonica but haven't quite figured out how to tame the long leaves.

Yea me too, I would love one of these. I see them occasionally with trunks almost as large a a pencil ...

ed

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Nice Will. This crypto reminds me of your threadbranch(?), one of my favorite trees on this site.

 

[RKatzin]

'Sugi'

I'm always glad to see a mention of one of my favorites, I have four in progress.

Cryptomeria is the national tree of Japan where it is known as 'Sugi' and it is one of the most important timber trees there. It is related to the Redwoods in the Taxodiacae family along with bald cypress. A popular tree in Hawaii for forest plantations and wind breaks it favors moist soils in humid, warm temerate regions.

What's not to like about this tree?

 

[grouper52]

We live on a 125' cliff overlooking the Hood Canal, and beyond that to the west the entire sweep of the Olympic Mountains. Majestic Doug firs tower at intervals along the cliffs, and bald eagles like to nest and hang out in them. Many were out this afternoon, screeching at each other in that unique cry of theirs as I once again spent a very brief time - no more than an hour today - working on this guy, using only a folding saw and a pair of garden shears.

A bit of die grinder work, a bit more refinement of the foliage and general cleaning up, then it'll rest until spring, when I'll put it in a proper pot.

I'll post one last time then, but I hope this very brief "progression" thread has inspired people, showing the ease with which these trees can be transformed into pleasing and convincing naturalistic bonsai.

Enjoy.

G52

 

[JudyB]

You need to get a very small eagle to place up in that tree, the image would be complete to go with the story. Very nice and really honest tree.

 

[Vin]

We live on a 125' cliff overlooking the Hood Canal, and beyond that to the west the entire sweep of the Olympic Mountains. Majestic Doug firs tower at intervals along the cliffs, and bald eagles like to nest and hang out in them. Many were out this afternoon, screeching at each other in that unique cry of theirs....

Shangri-La brother, Shangri-La...

 

[grouper52]

OK - for those following this progression, after merely another 1.5 hours today, here's the next step.

Note the robust new growth starting to appear as well.

Sometime over the summer, if the mood strikes me, some die grinder work to refine the image will be all that's needed. Enjoy.

 

[VAFisher]

I really like everything about this tree!

 

[Giga]

Very nice!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

How hard can these be cut back when dug Will? Back to bare trunks, or do they need to be coaxed into back budding first?

 

[DhD47]

I picked up one that's really looking bad now. I was thinking of cutting it back to remove the dead and see if it will grow back. Will these rebound or do they not back bud well?
D

 

[grouper52]

Bryan and DhD47 - these are not fierce back-budders onto old wood like the trunk, but I have seen it. Unfortunately it will usually just occur around the base of existing live branches, but on occasion a bit more far afield.

 

[DhD47]

Thank you for the post. I had one that got a lot of wind damage and I was hopeful it would et some new growth back on older areas.
Dave

 

[fraser67]

Lovely tree! Thank you

 

[Hack Yeah!]

Bryan and DhD47 - these are not fierce back-budders onto old wood like the trunk, but I have seen it. Unfortunately it will usually just occur around the base of existing live branches, but on occasion a bit more far afield.

Still alive?

 

[grouper52]

Still alive?

Thanks for asking - yes, it was still alive when I last saw it three months ago. It was one of about 20 of my trees that Dan Robinson asked me to leave to him for his Elandan Gardens Collectrion when I retired overseas. Unlike most of the rest, he had not yet added his own styling to the tree when I last saw it, but it was in robust health.

 

[Gsquared]

Great job! It would be great to see it now. I’ve seen these at Tsugawa and been temped by them. What size container was it in when you got it? Last time I was there, they had some huge ones (like 24” boxes) that were almost as thick as your thigh. That is a little too big for me to take on, but the 5-10 gallons seemed more my speed. Looks like you got the root ball reduced pretty well from the start.