Some of My Better Trees for Sale

[HotAction]

Hot action, rest assured that the larch is going to a loving home. Where it'll be appreciated for the masterpiece of natural art that it is indeed. And yes I'm the lucky one.

Very nice to hear. It sure is a cool tree, and I'm glad it will be staying in the Nut House.

Dave

 

[Attila Soos]

I won't pretend that I could purchase the Mountain Hemlock - not for any other reason than I have absolutely no more room on my porch for this stuff, though it's incredibly beautiful - but a question: how would it not survive in most Zones? I'm in Zone 9 and have seen a few here that are in great shape. Are they just particularly hard to take care of?

And not that I need to add to the chorus, but you have some really incredible stuff.

I also live in L.A., and the few helmocks that I have, are slowly declining. Every year a little worse. And I've been doing this for a very long time.

So, don't bother with hemlocks, sooner or later they will lead to bitter disappointment. They need winter freeze, which we don't have down here. I sometimes see them in nurseries, but that doesn't change the fact that within a few years they start declining. It's a better situtation when they grow in the ground, in which case there may be micro-climates where they can survive in this area. But not in a pot.

 

[tmmason10]

Hot action, rest assured that the larch is going to a loving home. Where it'll be appreciated for the masterpiece of natural art that it is indeed. And yes I'm the lucky one.

Wow Judy! Congrats, that is an outstanding piece.

 

[goosetown]

Ah ha - did not know they required that winter freeze, but that would certainly make sense. Will avoid - would be a shame to only be able to keep a tree healthy for a few years.

I also live in L.A., and the few helmocks that I have, are slowly declining. Every year a little worse. And I've been doing this for a very long time.

So, don't bother with hemlocks, sooner or later they will lead to bitter disappointment. They need winter freeze, which we don't have down here. I sometimes see them in nurseries, but that doesn't change the fact that within a few years they start declining. It's a better situtation when they grow in the ground, in which case there may be micro-climates where they can survive in this area. But not in a pot.

 

[JudyB]

Wow Judy! Congrats, that is an outstanding piece.

I agree wholeheartedly... I feel extremely fortunate to have this opportunity, it's a very thoughtfully done work.. And I love larch.

 

[grouper52]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone.

Yes, Judy made such a fuss a while back over the larch that I had to let it go for a reasonable price - essentially just the price of the original material and the pot. I'd been following her growth on this and another forum for a while, and knew she would take care of it nicely, and it should do well in her climate. It's a great tree, and one of my favorite works, and I'm glad for her to have it. And it's nice that it's also still in the BNut family, where folks can still see its progress from time to time. I will send it to her in the fall just after it drops its needles, but before the weather is too cold. It's a very hardly tree and currently in very robust growth, but we want to make sure it has the best chance of surviving the trip.

The limiting factor with the mountain hemlocks is apparently not the winter freeze, but the heat of the summer nights - its likes them really cool and moist, such as we have here, and few have them elsewhere. Other types of hemlocks may grow elsewhere as bonsai, but the foliage on the mountain hemlocks is especially beautiful, and makes them prized as bonsai.

 

[tmmason10]

I agree wholeheartedly... I feel extremely fortunate to have this opportunity, it's a very thoughtfully done work.. And I love larch.

Every time you say "I love larch" on the forums I can't help but think of anchorman and " I love lamp".

I love larch too, be sure to keep us posted once you get it.

 

[Attila Soos]

The limiting factor with the mountain hemlocks is apparently not the winter freeze, but the heat of the summer nights - its likes them really cool and moist, such as we have here, and few have them elsewhere. Other types of hemlocks may grow elsewhere as bonsai, but the foliage on the mountain hemlocks is especially beautiful, and makes them prized as bonsai.

The following is the description (wikipedia) of the sub-alpine zone, where the mountain hemlock is a prominent species:

The climate of subalpine ecosystems is dominated by very long winters and short growing seasons of 6-9 weeks. Temperatures are cool even during the growing season and frost can occur 12 months of the year. Precipitation ranges from 750–1,250 millimetres (30–50 in) per year, which falls mostly as snow during the winter.[2] Temperatures average -11.5 to 1.5 °C (11 to 35 °F) in January and 5.5 to 19.5 °C (42 to 67 °F) in July, with a mean annual temperature around 4 °C (39 °F). Snow depths often exceed 3 metres (10 ft), but average 2 metres (7 ft) by the end of March.[3]

Cool summer nights are definitely one of the requirements, but there are about 7 other factors as well, which California lacks. The fact that a Southern California winter is about the same as the summer in the subalpine zone, is THE major limiting factor. For the mountain hemlock, a year in So. California looks like this: one long hot summer, followed by one short mild summer. So, the tree is constantly stimutated and never gets a rest.

 

[rock]

/... So. California looks like this: one long hot summer, followed by one short mild summer. So, the tree is constantly stimutated and never gets a rest.

Sounds like fun.



I concur with my esteemed colleague from LA, no Hemlock...slow steady death.

Add to that- spruce, fir, crytomeria, Sequoia,

Way to go Judy !

Cool trees Grouper...back to topic...bing

 

[grouper52]

The Mountain hemlocks are reputed to fail as bonsai anywhere from Portland southwards in the lowlands, and even in cold northern climates back East, all because of the hot summer nights. The summer days here can occasionally get into the 90s, but the nights are cool like no other lowland place I've ever been.

I've heard of folks growing these south of Portland, only to find out later that they were Western hemlocks, not Mountain hemlocks.

Dan Robinson had one (in the book) that a collector in Upper State NY was willing to pay enormous amounts for ($30K+, IIRC), but Dan wouldn't sell it to him because, despite the bitter cold winters, the summer nights there would kill it.

 

[Attila Soos]

Will,
My point was that the Southern California climate is unsuitable for ANY hemlock species (never mind the mountain hemlock, which is the most sensitive), and beside the warm summer nights, there are a number of other factors that will also kill these northern trees, the Eastern and Western hemlocks included. I have an Eastern hemlock that is giving up the ghost as we speak, after 10 years of slow decline.

 

[grouper52]

I'm sorry I didn't understand your point, Attila. What you say makes perfect sense, though, and I'm in awe that you were able to keep even an Eastern hemlock alive at all!

 

[grouper52]

This one's now sold.

 

[dick benbow]

would it be worth your effort to put some trees on consignment with bonsai NW?

 

[Ang3lfir3]

would it be worth your effort to put some trees on consignment with bonsai NW?

Dick ... several of Will's trees (including some that have sold) are already on consignment at BNW .....

 

[grouper52]

That's right. Sharon is willing to have up to four trees of mine on consignment at a time. I took three over there about 6-8 weeks ago, and two have sold. I may take another three this weekend if I get a chance to get over there when she's in.

 

[JudyB]

This one's now sold.

Anybody we know??? Obviously someone with good taste!

 

[grouper52]

Anybody we know??? Obviously someone with good taste!

I have no idea who bought the two trees sold over there. That shop's in Seattle, and I have little connection with the club or community over there, so the odds are I don't know the person.

 

[Xavier]

Anything else that you have for sale.

I'll use this thread to gradually post some trees I want to sell.

I'm at a stage in the hobby where I have far more trees than I want. I most enjoy collecting in the wild and the first 3-10 years of initial styling, but not so much the final refinements nor the maintenance, so I have decided to sell some of my more finished trees, trees that are pretty much where I wanted to bring them to.

Here are photos of some of my trees for sale. The photos are either recent, or represent trees that are easily trimmed and cleaned back up to a similar look - in other words nothing is significantly different. Other photos of the trees can often be found on my progression threads elsewhere on this site. Anyone ready to make a purchase can ask for an updated photo if the posted one is more than a season old.

Some trees are too large or too fragile to ship, and would need to be picked up at my home in the Puget Sound area. Some I would only sell to people living in climates where I know they would survive.

Most are in Tokoname pots (some are antiques) and a few others in Sarah Raynor pots. I'll specify if I know.

Many times the price reflects only a small mark-up over the price of the tree and pot, and these are often my best trees and I really wouldn't mind keeping them, so the prices are pretty firm. The cost of shipping will be tallied and added in later if I ship them.

I'll start with about a dozen trees.

First, a Cryptomeria, variety unknown, 22" above the soil, in an antique Tokoname pot. $600. Can be shipped.

 

[JudyB]

I love larch too, be sure to keep us posted once you get it.

I was hoping to post some photos of the larch being discussed above, that I'd made arrangements with Will to purchase.

Sadly for me, he determined it would be too risky to ship it. I wouldn't want to jeopardize the health of such a wonderful tree, so I've reluctantly agreed to let it go.