Still checking out yard for material

[brentwood]

Couple suspects, my dream is the raft hornbeam... Can't tell if it's two or three trunks. Single hornbeam and a chinkapin oak that never caught on in our shady back yard...
Brent

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

The raft might work. The trunks are in a straight line, which is okay but not real exciting. If they were not linear, that would be even better. The emerging trunks are pretty straight, they will need to be chopped rather low to get more movement. A lot of growing would be needed. A series of chop back and then grow out cycles would be needed. Could take a decade to mature.

The chinkapin oak is very young, it will need many years to size up. In the mean time, it will need movement and interest added to make it an interesting tree. Best to dig up, get it into a grow out container, nursery container, Anderson flat, home made box, bulb pan, any container that is wider than deep and will allow the tree room to keep growing. Move it to a location with more sun, so that it can increase its growth rate. Let it size up. Then cycles of growing out and cutting back. This is probably a decade or two project. Oaks are slow to develop.

 

[brentwood]

Maybe the single hornbeam is the best, cut at first bend...

 

[JoeH]

the yard is my untapped source right now. There are oak and podocarpus volunteers to be had. I like the single hornbeam too.

 

[brentwood]

The other plan I've had is ongoing chops of the maple whips, would live to do a forest one day with them...

B

 

[brentwood]

And actually, the oak is getting smaller out there, the deer have chopped it more than once.. always surprised to find it, had been in the ground at least three years after I bought it