Preparing American deciduous broadleaved trees

[butlern]

Picked up a Christmas present for myself while in Willowbrook, Illinois last week...

Jeff is a great guy and he spent considerable time showing me around the trees, both those for sale (i.e. all those Walter showed and many, many more) and those he's overwintering for clients. Incredible place. Definitely worth a visit to see Jeff if you're in the area.

Will take some time to develop, as discussed above, but I think this material has promise. I like it a lot, so minimally, I suppose, that's all that matters!

 

[JudyB]

Picked up a Christmas present for myself while in Willowbrook, Illinois last week...

Jeff is a great guy and he spent considerable time showing me around the trees, both those for sale (i.e. all those Walter showed and many, many more) and those he's overwintering for clients. Incredible place. Definitely worth a visit to see Jeff if you're in the area.

Will take some time to develop, as discussed above, but I think this material has promise. I like it a lot, so minimally, I suppose, that's all that matters!

View attachment 172178

American Hornbeam? Nice base to start with. Merry Christmas!

 

[butlern]

Yep, hornbeam. Merry Christmas, indeed... Got a new pot for my Cedar Elm , too!

 

[JudyB]

Yep, hornbeam. Merry Christmas, indeed... Got a new pot for my Cedar Elm , too!

nice, lets see it!

 

[butlern]

My wife presented me with the pot as a gift today. She said she got it at Bonsai Vision.

It's placed well in front of the elm (still in a cut-down 5 gallon container), so the pot and tree look deceptively large and small, respectively.

It's kind of a tricky tree for pot selection, as the bark is rough and branches masculinely rugged, but the trunk is femininely curved.

Either way, think it'll look good aside the brilliant yellow foliage the elm displays in the fall.

 

[MACH5]

View attachment 170990

Yes and here is another monster European hornbeam I purchased earlier this year from Stickroot. Next spring it will be transferred into a large wooden box. This has outstanding potential!

 

[justBonsai]

My wife presented me with the pot as a gift today. She said she got it at Bonsai Vision.

It's placed well in front of the elm (still in a cut-down 5 gallon container), so the pot and tree look deceptively large and small, respectively.

It's kind of a tricky tree for pot selection, as the bark is rough and branches masculinely rugged, but the trunk is femininely curved.

Either way, think it'll look good aside the brilliant yellow foliage the elm displays in the fall.
View attachment 172205

That's a nice winged elm. Even better wife . I recently got one too. (the tree)

 

[Bonsailane]

Brian,

why let someone tell us what we have to like. Why is deadwood on conifers not forbidden? I do not think at all that these cuts have to close eventually. Just as with conifers we can create these wounds a major features. Some will say that this would then be ugly. Really? Why exactly is deadwood on c0nifers not ugly. Where is the fundamental difference?

And this is why I like watching your videos and listening to your opinions !
A lot of bonsai artists think they have to do it just like Japanese ,,
We call these people busybodies .
“If it’s not Japanese style than you doing it all wrong and you should be ashamed of your tree”
Lol!
In my opinion ,
If the tree is healthy and you are happy with The way you have designed it then you have accomplished something more valuable than any lesson .

 

[Bonsailane]

I’m from Arkansas and do a lot of hunting ,this means that I am in the woods a lot in my life .
And if you are trying to make your bonsai look like something you would see in nature you should never go with the Japanese style ( my opinion )
I cannot count how many times I have observed reverse Taiper , bigger branches at the top of a tree rather then the lower , no movement in the truck , all of these things I have witnessed naturally in the wild !
So do makes you feel happy because I can guarantee mother nature does not follow any type of guideline !

 

[augustine]

Guys,

I'm not saying that we have folks that are very knowledgeable about natives but I was inspired by Walter's enthusiasm for our hornbeams and such. Gives a nice "shot in the arm."

I follow Zach's website and know he knows his stuff. Just that Walter is doing some different things by creating these cool unconventional trees and making a new paradigm.

Happy New Year!

 

[Timbo]

Yes and here is another monster European hornbeam I purchased earlier this year from Stickroot. Next spring it will be transferred into a large wooden box. This has outstanding potential!

Any newer picks of it? Did you get it in a pot?

 

[MACH5]

Any newer picks of it? Did you get it in a pot?

This is the last photo I have taken of it back in November. For more updates please see here: https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/european-hornbeam.33919/

 

[Timbo]

Nice color, mine sorta gets a fiery red/yellow and then browns. Maybe cause it rains so much in the fall....Cool tree, i love how Hornbeams flare at the base.

 

[MACH5]

Nice color, mine sorta gets a fiery red/yellow and then browns. Maybe cause it rains so much in the fall....Cool tree, i love how Hornbeams flare at the base.

Thanks Timbo. Next spring I will start to make some desicions and rough out a basic structure for the canopy.

Is your tree a Korean hornbeam? I have never heard of European ones turning shades of red?

 

[Timbo]

Thanks Timbo. Next spring I will start to make some desicions and rough out a basic structure for the canopy.

Is your tree a Korean hornbeam? I have never heard of European ones turning shades of red?

No, sorry. Mine are locally dug up. Carpinus caroliniana
A few years ago I knew someone who had land in swampy area and they were all over the place with shallow roots. I got about 10, i think i have 6 left. He doesn't have the land and i couldn't get the bigger ones that year. I actually got the ones i have way after leaf out due to a odd spring, they all survived it. One was 15-20 feet tall, cut it down to about 2 feet . My collected trees look similar to the original post, just growing out the branches in the ground on the bigger ones.
Obviously, being such hard wood, if they aren't in a swampy area they take a lot of elbow grease. I can't imagine how hard that tap root was to cut.
Cool thing(or bad thing) about Hornbeams is most i've seen have pretty good flare base and roots.

If i close my eyes i can dream that they are a Brazilian Rain tree with the muscle trunks

 

[coh]

Thanks Timbo. Next spring I will start to make some desicions and rough out a basic structure for the canopy.

Is your tree a Korean hornbeam? I have never heard of European ones turning shades of red?

My Euro hornbeam doesn't even turn a nice shade of yellow, it goes almost directly to a very dirty brownish yellow or even brown. I might be giving it too much sun or fertilizer or something, still trying to figure it out!

Sergio, yours is looking great! Can't wait to see it in Rochester in 10 years or so

 

[MACH5]

My Euro hornbeam doesn't even turn a nice shade of yellow, it goes almost directly to a very dirty brownish yellow or even brown. I might be giving it too much sun or fertilizer or something, still trying to figure it out!

Sergio, yours is looking great! Can't wait to see it in Rochester in 10 years or so

LOL is either Rochester in 10 or my back. Let's see who comes first! Chris FWIW I have kept mine under about 4 hours of direct afternoon sunlight. Otherwise is under bright shade.

Mauro has said to me that having a large creek close by my garden helps keep my trees cool and help avoid sun scorch. I thought that was interesting and never really thought about it alhtough it makes sense. However, not sure how much of it is actually helping?

 

[Timbo]

My Euro hornbeam doesn't even turn a nice shade of yellow, it goes almost directly to a very dirty brownish yellow or even brown. I might be giving it too much sun or fertilizer or something, still trying to figure it out!

Sergio, yours is looking great! Can't wait to see it in Rochester in 10 years or so

Thanks Timbo. Next spring I will start to make some desicions and rough out a basic structure for the canopy.

Is your tree a Korean hornbeam? I have never heard of European ones turning shades of red?

Here is what mine looks like when it starts to get fall colors. I have mine in full sun, Which i should rethink because some of the bark on mine is peeling...not this one though. Carpinus carolinia

 

[Darth Masiah]

This is another one

View attachment 171004[/QUOTE
i have quite a few 100 year+ old oaks in my area of alabama that look just like this. i love the natural styled tree in a pot. your trees are always an inspiration.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

What I really appreciate is Jeff at Hidden Gardens, and @Walter Pall have brought great native deciduous stock to the Midwest. Native to the Midwest. I'm tired of looking at all those great southern USA trees that are not winter hardy in our area. Most Japanese trees and most southern USA trees just won't thrive here unless you build heated greenhouses or elaborate winter storage shelters. I love the locally native species, but there has been damn little collection and availability of the the local species. The previous bonsai nurseries, now out of business, used to focus on Japanese species, stock grown at Brussels and and southern or subtropical trees.

I will say Walter's focus is no longer viewed as new, but here in the Midwest, we finally have a commercial scale source for this material. Kudos.