Jmmz’s Native Tree & Pot Challenge: Alnus Serrata

Shogun610

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I posted in this before when the thread was started for peeps to sign up. Figured I’d start my own threat since the Alders are progressing just as expected yes yes mmmmmm goood goooood (Palpatine Voice)
The first one was kept in the greenhouse, till today , I’m going to do a repot later , just cutting the leaves off. The second one, I don’t have a picture yet but this is during the repot of that last week some time. It’s just starting to push.
 

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Shogun610

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I’ll have to take current pictures now. These Alders back bud like crazy which is good. The first tree I will be taking the wire off and see where buds are forming on the wired branches tonight, I’m growing out and thickening the lower branch that did produce new buds. The second tree I’m going for a clump style, there are buds lower on the trunk too, so I’m just letting it flush out, and see what I’m left with later this growing season/ fall when leaves drop.
I really think Alders can be explored further , the seem to be really harsh, just need to determine when the cut paste can come off, hopefully wounds are callusing.
 

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Shogun610

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I trunk chopped the other one way down don’t think it’s ready in 5 years but will show it’s progress. This one I cut down to new leaders but the base in thick, looking forward to what I can do. Going for a shohin style with this one, will cut back the taller branch stub too once the lower bud extends more.
 

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Forsoothe!

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This thread is a pretty good example of lots of things, beginning with unrealistic expectations being piled upon taking baby steps to Hell. Chopping a chopped tree again and again is wrong headed, and I say this as a Treebler. Subjecting a recovering tree to removing everything it has regrown is bad enough, but doing it this late in the growing season with very little time left for the tree to recover and build buds for next year before beginning the long quiet period of autumn getting ready for the Big Sleep is wrong. Defoliating on top of that is even worse. And then messing with the roots, too? That's 0 for 5.

Late to start means not having a snowball's chance in Hell against the hundreds of others who chose a project with a possibility of presenting a nice tree within the difficult to begin with 5 years. Then, pile on with re-doing everything at the wrong time. Doomed. Deservedly doomed. Oh! And on top of that shoin are a more difficult size. Smaller is not easier, not ever.
 

Shogun610

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This thread is a pretty good example of lots of things, beginning with unrealistic expectations being piled upon taking baby steps to Hell. Chopping a chopped tree again and again is wrong headed, and I say this as a Treebler. Subjecting a recovering tree to removing everything it has regrown is bad enough, but doing it this late in the growing season with very little time left for the tree to recover and build buds for next year before beginning the long quiet period of autumn getting ready for the Big Sleep is wrong. Defoliating on top of that is even worse. And then messing with the roots, too? That's 0 for 5.

Late to start means not having a snowball's chance in Hell against the hundreds of others who chose a project with a possibility of presenting a nice tree within the difficult to begin with 5 years. Then, pile on with re-doing everything at the wrong time. Doomed. Deservedly doomed. Oh! And on top of that shoin are a more difficult size. Smaller is not easier, not ever.
I worked on the roots out of nursery container this spring. I didn’t take a picture of it but it was flushing out nice up top, but more importantly budding out below. Where I cut back, it was dead anyways. The original leader died off long before I got the tree. I cut cut further down to where there was still live tissue. The Second picture is before I put cut paste across the top, I cut off the other branches because it budded back lower. I have a green house I’m able to utilize to extend more recovery time. I wasn’t late to start I submitted this right around the beginning of the challenge. There aren’t a lot of Alders as Bonsai so it’s also a learning experience to see where it’s limitations are, like I said I’ll be utilizing a green house to give this more time to recover. It will only need 6 weeks of dormancy.
 
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Shogun610

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This thread is a pretty good example of lots of things, beginning with unrealistic expectations being piled upon taking baby steps to Hell. Chopping a chopped tree again and again is wrong headed, and I say this as a Treebler. Subjecting a recovering tree to removing everything it has regrown is bad enough, but doing it this late in the growing season with very little time left for the tree to recover and build buds for next year before beginning the long quiet period of autumn getting ready for the Big Sleep is wrong. Defoliating on top of that is even worse. And then messing with the roots, too? That's 0 for 5.

Late to start means not having a snowball's chance in Hell against the hundreds of others who chose a project with a possibility of presenting a nice tree within the difficult to begin with 5 years. Then, pile on with re-doing everything at the wrong time. Doomed. Deservedly doomed. Oh! And on top of that shoin are a more difficult size. Smaller is not easier, not ever.
I never implied shohin was easy at all. I appreciate your critique but looking forward to proving you wrong. And wtf is a treebler
 

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Me, excoriated? Pointless in that twice as many people are Treeblers as 'Taters.
 

augustine

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I saw some alder bonsai from European practitioners online, looked good.
 

Shogun610

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It’s back budding , elongating growth ,till it rests in greenhouse in winter. It’s pushing new buds where I want them, hopefully they can close up some wounds until I have to intervene again next year.
 

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Shogun610

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Repotted this alder today. It’s been doing well .. look at those roots. I trimmed back some extra branches growing inward only keeping outward growing branches. Cleaned up some wounds and sealed. There was also the top that never healed over and one side of the tree was just dead wood. Surprisingly hard , so I decided to carve it down and make a hollow of the one side. When I was carving there was still living tissue towards the apex of the tree so I sealed off the perimeter except for base of tree where hollowed out section begins. Any tips on a wood sealer to prevent rotting quickly? As time goes on I will continue to hollow it out more to get a deeper hole.
 

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Shogun610

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More of the work and final repot. Sawed off a big bottom portion, repotted in a pumice base , with lava and peat.. it’s water loving… I will re-asses roots next year... I did not want to use my akadama on this.
 

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