Thuja Occidentalis “Degroots Spire

Hartinez

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Picked up 3 of these a few months ago. Looked it up and these are a dwarf variety with particularly tight and small fronds.

Heavily worked the foliage and roots on 1, planted another to gain size and just worked this one the other day. It had multiple trunks so I wasn’t sure how to handle it. I was inspired when I saw this image of an old growth western red cedar. Now the tree will prob never have the mature bark to really make this tree 100% convincing, but it’s foliage size, I felt, was conducive to an immediate styling. Regardless this was fun.

The diagram is more candelabra than what I made, but the biggest inspiration and take away i pulled from the image, was the multiple apecies and trunks that are present. Really need to baby this one as it’s HOT right now.

Lastly, my wiring needs work, but I though this 10 dollar material was a good opportunity to practice.
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Here’s a pic of 1 of the others I bought. Not this one, but I always forget the before shot. It looked about the same though.
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Leo in N E Illinois

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I now have a couple Thuja occidentalis, and I now am in my 3rd year of trying to figure out how they respond, and how they differ from the Hinoki.

I'm not sure I could offer any help, just when I think I know what and where, they don't do what or when.
 

Hartinez

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I now have a couple Thuja occidentalis, and I now am in my 3rd year of trying to figure out how they respond, and how they differ from the Hinoki.

I'm not sure I could offer any help, just when I think I know what and where, they don't do what or when.
I’m right there with ya Leo. I was attracted to these mainly for there foliage size. And I’ve seen them executed well. Much smaller and tighter than expected. What’s tricky, is any I’ve seen growing in landscapes, the foliage is not horizontal and “pad” like. Rather it’s vertically oriented. So I don’t know know how my pad placement will work. Time will tell. 🤷🏼‍♂️
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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Look for Thuja occidentalis 'Hetzi Dwarf' or maybe just called 'Hetzi'. I have one and foliage does splay out flat. Mine was cutting grown, and was sitting neglected in a nursery for 10+ years past it's intended sale. Still only 12 inches tall, and 18 inches wide. Foliage has an off yellow color when it emerges in spring, I think it was an early aureum type, that doesn't have a clear gold color. It's rather subdued, which is acceptable for bonsai. But I have only had it a few years, it is still recovering from it's 2018 repot and removal of 65+% of the root system going from 5 gallon nursery pot down to a 16 x 16 x 5 inch Anderson flat.

It is one of the few where the fronds do lay out in a horizontal plane.
 

Hartinez

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I’ll def look for that variety @Leo in N E Illinois , thanks.
All 3 of the thuja I’ve bought so far were in 1 gal pots from Lowe’s, but I was at a nursery in SF today and found a lovely Degroots spire variety in a 5 gal!! Great big Nebari with wonderful root flare. Around 2.5 to 3”maybe bigger. I’ll post a pic tomorrow.

I’m feeling a bit taken with the variety at the moment and their similarity to cypress. They seem far more hardy and forgiving also. I found this article about them. Mostly dealing with general history, info, collection and post care, but some tips on styling as well. Thought I’d share it here.
 

Jzack605

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I’m right there with ya Leo. I was attracted to these mainly for there foliage size. And I’ve seen them executed well. Much smaller and tighter than expected. What’s tricky, is any I’ve seen growing in landscapes, the foliage is not horizontal and “pad” like. Rather it’s vertically oriented. So I don’t know know how my pad placement will work. Time will tell. 🤷🏼‍♂️
If I remember right, Thuja’s can be a PITA, the horizontal fans are T. orientalis. At least much more prominently and the other varieties.
 

Hartinez

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If I remember right, Thuja’s can be a PITA, the horizontal fans are T. orientalis. At least much more prominently and the other varieties.
Ive only read the the pads can be a bit unruly and appear unkept if your not on top of maintenance. Time will tell. This variety in particular has unusually small fronds so i figured that at the cos,t id go for it, and see what types of results I can yield. Ive also seen some exceptional Thujas one here and on the web in general. Typically as collected specimen, but I really think I can maintain and make something special of the bunch I have.
 

Hartinez

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Had some more fun with another nursery Thuja. The much thicker base allowed for a larger composition. Again, I used the above image as inspiration, taking advantage of the natural growth habit of the species, while maintaining some semblance of typical bonsai aesthetics. Multiple apecies with foliage dropping as it gets further from the trunk. This time I paid more attention to the deadwood adding some texture and lime sulphur. All in all I’m happy, but long term the foliage pads will need refinement. Don’t know if this tree will ever photograph well either. That’s partially due to my lack of setup. Too many shadow lines, making an already busy tree, busier. 253641253643
 

Hartinez

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Ok. Last of the Thuja “Degroots spire” I purchased this year. This one has a great trunk base and decent Nebari, but the surface roots will need work. Each pad will need extension horizontally and increased density. Once the pads fill in, some of the straight portions of the trunk will be his a bit. Also may not be showing it at its best angle.
Before
After
And crude drawing showing plans for the future
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Hartinez

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I’m excited for the development on all of these. It’ll be interesting to see how well the foliage develops and if I can maintain the pads well enough for the trees to be convincing.
 

Hartinez

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Used this image as inspiration for the last tree. It’s a tsukomo cypress I saw on Ryan Neil’s super critique video from BSOP rendezvous. I don’t think the foliage will ever be as tight but I know I can increase the pad density and size. But I LOVE this tree.

(Don’t know who took the photo. Not me and not my tree)254915
 

just.wing.it

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I remember the one. I really liked it and remember commenting on it! Sucks when successful stylings end up being fire wood.
Thanks, yeah....
Im not sure what happened, but I had 6 yews when I moved into my new house in June of '18.....they all died by this spring.
Oh well, moving on.
 

Hartinez

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Thanks, yeah....
Im not sure what happened, but I had 6 yews when I moved into my new house in June of '18.....they all died by this spring.
Oh well, moving on.
Onward is right! A dead tree is just an opportunity to learn from your mistakes and replace an empty spot on your bench! 🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳
 
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