Hornbeam route forward

[leatherback]

Soooo.. 2 years ago I pulled a bunch of carpinus betulus from a pile of lifted hedging. Two lived to tell the tale. This is one of the two pieces of the story.

I am in doubt however which route to go. Right now, it has something unique. I am worried if I remove one of the misfit trunks that iit will become a standard tree, which I do not like. Yet, I would also not like to waste my time and work on this for ever and never reaching a sstate that it comees across as a pleasing image. So choices, choices. Time to let some other people pitch in, your ideas..

 

[AlainK]

I am worried if I remove one of the misfit trunks that iit will become a standard tree, which I do not like.

I can hear that, still, to me the vertical trunk should go off. The problem would be the time for the scar to heal.

Another option would be to treat it as dead wood, an option that I usually don't favour, but in this case, there's some logic in it....

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I am in doubt however which route to go. Right now, it has something unique. I am worried if I remove one of the misfit trunks that iit will become a standard tree, which I do not like. Yet, I would also not like to waste my time and work on this for ever and never reaching a sstate that it comees across as a pleasing image. So choices, choices. Time to let some other people pitch in, your ideas..

At some point, most of us who have been doing this for a while realize that something “unique” now is often problematic for the design later. Here is an example of a very similar situation with a Japanese maple:
https://nebaribonsai.wordpress.com/2015/05/16/the-cycle-continues/

That large middle trunk is a problem you’ll eventually wish you had corrected when you were still at this point in the design. If you remove it now, you still have some unique features to highlight, such as the lowest left branch, which is well-placed and has movement. The lower right branch has good placement too, and interacts well with the lowest right branch. If you do this, consider letting a shoot run for a couple years to see if it will add some taper to the second section of trunk, which isn’t yet very interesting.

 

[Hack Yeah!]

Brian's vert looks spot on, might be one of those cases where you could saw that larger trunk off a little at a time to help it heal its own scar

 

[BobbyLane]

in these situations i tend to look at what pros or other serious enthusiasts do with similar material. the problem some folks face, is that they're tentative to leave any holes, scars or a little deadwood on the tree, so right away they limit their options of what could potentially turn into a nice tree.

Look at what @grouper52 did with similar material
https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/field-grown-japanese-beech-makeover.2654/

over time the deadwood from removing a big chunk of wood has become a welcome feature

i'd probably lean towards Bryan's virt.

the horizontal branch coming off the thick subtrunk, doesnt look right really, there's an abrupt change there that looks off. its a shame that horizontal branch isnt more vertical. maybe you could get it more vertical with a turnbuckle or heavy wire. its so short it may snap.

 

[leatherback]

consider letting a shoot run for a couple years to see if it will add some taper to the second section of trunk,

Would help to heal the large cut too, I suppose. Guess it will not close fully before it starts to rot, but yeah.
OK, bullet -> Biting.

Thx!

 

[leatherback]

In the end I decided to take the curved section off, and use the regrowing of the top to close the larger cuts. Time is just time. Who cares about waiting half a decade, right?

 

[leatherback]

Fast forward, cannot believe it has only been 1 year...

Probably the thick branch on the right will need to go/have to be replaced. But with all the big cuts already in place I am taking some time.