Hinoki Cypress. HOW DO YOU GET TIGHT FOLIAGE PADS!!???

[tim_meh87]

Can someone, anyone, please write an instructional on Hinoki Cypress foliage pad development. Please!

I'm so tired of looking at this and not getting it right.

I love Hinoki and find them to be some of the most beautiful of bonsai. But I'm so stumped on how to deal with them.

 

[Alain]

Really awesome question!

I just potted an air-layer of thuja occidentalis (so cypress also) and I was asking myself the same: how could I turn those flat, planar leaves into pads?
Obviously you won't be able to answer my question but at least may be you could share your failures with me

Did you try pinching (or cutting, I don't want to start a new debate there ) the new growths on the tips of the leaves in order to induce a back budding? (I'm sure you tried...)

 

[tim_meh87]

I

Really awesome question!

I just potted an air-layer of thuja occidentalis (so cypress also) and I was asking myself the same: how could I turn those flat, planar leaves into pads?
Obviously you won't be able to answer my question but at least may be you could share your failures with me

Did you try pinching (or cutting, I don't want to start a new debate there ) the new growths on the tips of the leaves in order to induce a back budding? (I'm sure you tried...)

I've tried pinching and cutting. My next step is to wire it up with 1mm aluminium wire, fine detail wiring like you would with a shimpaku for show?

That may be the trick. I hope so! Won't do it now tho, it has to start recuperating and putting out new spring growth.

 

[Alain]

I

I've tried pinching and cutting. My next step is to wire it up with 1mm aluminium wire, fine detail wiring like you would with a shimpaku for show?

That may be the trick. I hope so! Won't do it now tho, it has to start recuperating and putting out new spring growth.

You mean keep the planar leaves but try to wire them in order to create some sort of bouquets?
If so yes, I though about that (didn't do it though, for the moment my thuja is recovering from the potting, I didn't do anything on it).

 

[Cotyledon]

Idk if it's the right way , but I take a scissor and trim each one of those fans down to verry small fans. Also after a while I remove older fans. Seems to tighten it up

 

[cmeg1]

One of Bjorns videos of BONSAI ART OF JAPAN covers it in detail.I cannot remember which one

 

[cmeg1]

Here you go

 

[0soyoung]

Taming the 'Hinoki'

 

[jk_lewis]

http://www.rgbonsai.com/thuja.htm

http://www.absbonsai.org/eastern-white-cedar-pinching-techniques

http://torontobonsai.org/archive/Journal/Journal.2009/oct.2009/cedar.htm