Phoenix Graft Project

[Tidal Bonsai]

I just realized I never documented my Phoenix Graft Project/progression. I found this dead cedar branch in the woods, and I fell in love with the scales, and the horn-like shape of it. I took it home and spent hours scraping out all of the insect damaged wood, and shortened the left branch with pliers and sandpaper to keep the natural look.

After the work was done I hit the whole piece with lime sulfur mixed with a few drops of grey paint. The next day I applied wood hardener to the base and the insect damaged areas.

These pictures are of the original branch fresh out of the woods, followed by progression pics, and finally what I was envisioning for the initial styling.

 

[Tidal Bonsai]

After looking at it for a week or two, I decided to simplify things, and refine the design. Getting two very large whips (about 18 inches or more long) to fit in the small section in back was a little too ambitious. Also, finding a whip that had two sections in a perfect position each measuring 18 inches was nearly impossible. So I sawed off the bottom section shorter and removed the left piece. After sawing off the left branch, I gave it a more natural look with pliers, a dremel and sandpaper. These are the pieces I have now (due for another lime sulfuring/wood hardening).

 

[Tidal Bonsai]

I am in the process of air layering a Taxus Baccata whip in my backyard that will fit perfectly into the the groove near the top broken branch. Fingers crossed it will work, or I am just giving up and dropping a U.S. Grant on a 16 inch Juniper whip! This is the tenative plan for what could be a pretty sweet Literati/Bunjin Phoenix Graft!!!

 

[Tidal Bonsai]

Someone at my club gave me a Serbian Spruce that was the perfect size for my piece of deadwood. There was one area with a stiff bend in the opposite direction, but I will fix that later with a brass screw. I spent an hour or two carving and fitting, carving and fitting, carving and fitting until I was sick of carving and fitting! This is it before my final addition of sulfur and wood hardener before attaching.

PS the color is darker because I rinsed off all of the wood dust.

 

[ghues]

Nice find.......maybe a juniper could have worked...but what the neck... Spruce......Good luck with it......we need a general Phoenix graft thread.

 

[Tidal Bonsai]

Finding junipers this long/skinny/straight was not only a challenge, but $$$. This is also my first Phoenix Graft, so I am trying to keep it as reasonable as possible. I am optomistic it will survive, but you never know...