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Deleted member 65481
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I recently picked up an Ilex crenata from my local garden center. It was styled like a little big snow globe—very compact and dense and stuffed into the pot, but I could (just barely) make out several thick trunks with a lot of interesting movement. I couldn’t see or feel much at the root level, but I was betting there were 2 or 3 trees clustered together. If that had been the case, it would’ve been a real bargain.
However, when I got it home and carefully removed the topsoil, I was surprised to find a single trunk, just over 2 inches thick. The branch structure is incredibly dense—almost impossible to see into the interior without really digging in.
The tree was potted in a very sandy soil that rinsed out easily with a light wash. Underneath, I found three thick roots and a dense, healthy mat of fine roots. The only issue was that the tree had been growing tight against one side of the pot, and the root mass had developed almost entirely on the other side.
To address this, I quickly put together a shallow grow box and was able to spread the fine roots out almost flat, without needing to cut any. I repotted it into a mix of akadama, lava rock, and pumice, topped with a layer of sphagnum moss, and placed it in a semi-shaded area to recover.
Now comes the big question—styling. At the moment, the tree has 5 similarly sized branches (or mini-trunks) all emerging from roughly the same point. I’m still undecided on the future style or direction for this little one (when the time comes in the future, of course).
How would you approach the styling of a tree like this? Would you treat it as a clump, or maybe select one leader and remove the rest? I’d really appreciate hearing your thoughts or seeing examples if anyone has worked on a similar material.
Edit:
Another picture from the opposite angle:
However, when I got it home and carefully removed the topsoil, I was surprised to find a single trunk, just over 2 inches thick. The branch structure is incredibly dense—almost impossible to see into the interior without really digging in.
The tree was potted in a very sandy soil that rinsed out easily with a light wash. Underneath, I found three thick roots and a dense, healthy mat of fine roots. The only issue was that the tree had been growing tight against one side of the pot, and the root mass had developed almost entirely on the other side.
To address this, I quickly put together a shallow grow box and was able to spread the fine roots out almost flat, without needing to cut any. I repotted it into a mix of akadama, lava rock, and pumice, topped with a layer of sphagnum moss, and placed it in a semi-shaded area to recover.
Now comes the big question—styling. At the moment, the tree has 5 similarly sized branches (or mini-trunks) all emerging from roughly the same point. I’m still undecided on the future style or direction for this little one (when the time comes in the future, of course).
How would you approach the styling of a tree like this? Would you treat it as a clump, or maybe select one leader and remove the rest? I’d really appreciate hearing your thoughts or seeing examples if anyone has worked on a similar material.
Edit:
Another picture from the opposite angle:
Last edited by a moderator:
