Hornbeam-The Ram

BobbyLane

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Picked this one up at start of nov.
it was a 6ft tall tree at the nursery. these are rootballed trees, so it would have just been dug from a field for the bare root season.

I bring all my tools to the nursery and reduce the tree to a managable size on the spot. with (bow saw, loppers, secatuers.) dont get it home otherwise!

20210104_232444.jpg

Its since been cut back a bit harder, and i transferred it to a training pot a few week ago. this was before bud break.

it took a while to get going, but i put that more down to the shitty spring.

Its exploding now
20210602_185142.jpg20210602_183515.jpg20210602_183536.jpg


will need a little more carving down the line
 

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Clorgan

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Picked this one up at start of nov.
it was a 6ft tall tree at the nursery. these are rootballed trees, so it would have just been dug from a field for the bare root season.

I bring all my tools to the nursery and reduce the tree to a managable size on the spot. with (bow saw, loppers, secatuers.) dont get it home otherwise!

View attachment 378571

Its since been cut back a bit harder, and i transferred it to a training pot a few week ago. this was before bud break.

it took a while to get going, but i put that more down to the shitty spring.

Its exploding now
View attachment 378572View attachment 378573View attachment 378574


will need a little more carving down the line
Love this, great find!
 

JeffS73

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Man, it really was a bad Spring wasn't it? My Scots and JBP are only just pushing candles. Deciduous have leaves but no new shoots yet. Killed a dozen or more repotted trees, froze in the greenhouse. Definitely learning, living less so! Love that hornbeam, It'll be fun to see how it develops.
 

BobbyLane

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Some work on a large, 'highish' root i reduced on this stump a few weeks ago..

i got a bit carried away with the carving today, was only supposed to be a shari of sorts
 

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BobbyLane

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20210604_151924.jpg20210604_151944.jpg20210604_151832.jpg

because the deadwood is near the soil line i may apply wood preserver at some point.

looks better than it did before. back angle. probably could be a front.
the hollow kind of makes the base appear wider.
visual effect.
 

BobbyLane

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I think your first photo with wire on branches is from January? Either it already had those branches when it was much taller, or you have a very late growing season! :D
Hi, yep these have branches up n down the trunk, i only select ones with lots of ideal low branches, its more fun for me as it gives me something i can work 'right out the box' so to speak...

this as it went in pot. actually had longer branches, i had cut them back later.
you can see what had to come off the bottom, this was after taking a slice off at the nursery. some video footage to follow

here i was contemplating if a wedge cut between the major branches would be a good look
Screenshot_20210604-174301_WhatsApp.jpgScreenshot_20210604-172547_Gallery.jpg



a lot of people will see it differently but for me that bottom half of wood is coming off. RIGHT NOW:)


and this will look brutal. but from my experience of 'killing a few' the hornbeam will take this much reduction. this was a 6ft tall tree and from research, deciduous trees store energy in the trunk as well as the roots. its a good balance up considering what was lopped off the top, there will be loads of energy in the stump as such we are seeing now with the growth.. it will be growing new roots now.
funnily enough, a few weeks ago just as the buds were getting ready and i transferred it into the washing bowl, there was a fresh white feeder root emerging from the front of the tree, out from the trunk all by itself. so some root growth was occurring even before bud break. seems like something olives would do. push out random roots from the trunk, but now ive seen these can do it too. or maybe its normal
 
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BobbyLane

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The ones in pots will usually have way more feeders, in those cases ill usually leave on more root...
still need to be tamed tho before transporting...
i sold this one
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HorseloverFat

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I need to share that I shouted, “GOOD GOD!” When I first saw the pictures...

WHAT a monster!!!

Love it.... lots of fun to be had in that crotch.

🤓

(JUST realized that I chose my words less-than-carefully 🤣)
 

atlarsenal

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The ones in pots will usually have way more feeders, in those cases ill usually leave on more root...
still need to be tamed tho before transporting...
i sold this one
View attachment 378961

I wish we had this kind of material in the US. These must be grown specifically for hedging.
 

BobbyLane

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I wish we had this kind of material in the US. These must be grown specifically for hedging.
yeh gardeners/landscapers will buy a few at a time and plant them straight into a hedge. if i had a truck and a garden i would be able to get the whole tree and take loads of layers. there are taller thicker ones, both beech and hornbeam where if you layered off the top you'd have a killer tree, i mean really substantial.

like this, this is the apex of a beech
Screenshot_20210605-010100_WhatsApp.jpg
 

vp999

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I love your direction with this tree...I have a huge hornbeam that's been sitting there for almost a year with barely any taper and this tree inspired me to do something with it. Chopping it down low tomorrow lol.
 

Woocash

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@BobbyLane That be a lovely stump. What direction do you see the carving going to make this a believable tree? I often envisage this type of material to end up like an ancient, completely hollowed out tree, like the oaks at Blenheim or such (Btw you really should go and check out the trees in the grounds there - avenues of your sort of inspiration). I’ve never really seen a bonsai of this type, being hollow right Into the ground. Chunky, squat material seems ripe for it.
 

BobbyLane

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I probably wont hollow this one fully, just do some work on the wedgeScreenshot_20210605-135059_Gallery.jpg and create a small hollow in the top similar to this
 

misfit11

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From your various threads over the years, you've had some very nice Hornbeams, Bobby. It seems like you often sell off your trees though. Do you have trees that you've kept long term and have developed to a more mature phase? If so, could you share some of them?
 

BobbyLane

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From your various threads over the years, you've had some very nice Hornbeams, Bobby. It seems like you often sell off your trees though. Do you have trees that you've kept long term and have developed to a more mature phase? If so, could you share some of them?
Have a look at some of my favourite images over the years in my media gallery. I've shared a few many times on here.
ULMUS CAMPESTRE/FIELD ELM and Chinese Elm broom might be my longest threads though. You can also find them in my Flickr linked below or on my profile under view threads by user.
 
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