Too Young to Manipulate the Trunk?

goosetown

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I procured this sapling a while back for a buck-fifty - was told it was a San Jose; it's almost certainly a procumbens, but that's beside the point. It is (obviously) in a pond basket and growing quite nicely; was about five inches tall when I brought it home and it's double that size now.

I want to turn this, ultimately, into an informal upright with some nice twists and turns. What I don't know is when it's the right time to start the wiring process. My instincts tell me it's still too young to try, but I wanted to elicit the advice of the group here. If now IS too soon to start, when is a good time, in general?

sapling.jpg
 

capnk

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Not too young. Especially if you want big movement close to the ground.
Go for it.
Chris
 

capnk

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Go for it

Goosetown,
Smoke's treatise on the use of rafia, etc is excellent.
But, you don't need rafia to bend a tree as small as yours.
We do a couple hundred every year.
Chris Kirk
Telperion Farms
 

Bill S

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Get the first bend close to the ground.

Why do you feel that this is procumbens, not San Jose?
 

goosetown

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Thanks for this, and yeah, there would absolutely be no need for raffia on this one; hell, there aren't even any "branches" yet, just tiny little offshoots. Was more commenting on how drastic one can be with the manipulation. I also have another young shimpaku stock that might still fall into the raffia category as well.

Can't wait to give it a shot. Thinking about doing hundreds of these a year gave me goosebumps, but my precious few will have to suffice :)

Goosetown,
Smoke's treatise on the use of rafia, etc is excellent.
But, you don't need rafia to bend a tree as small as yours.
We do a couple hundred every year.
Chris Kirk
Telperion Farms
 

goosetown

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Honestly? More cynicism than anything else. Have found that a lot of whips labeled as something else end up being procumbens. It's also showing shoots of procumbens-like needling in certain spots. I'm sure someone more experienced with a good eye could tell one way or another at this point, but that person isn't me. And that's OK for now - bought this one specifically so I could try my hand at working one (almost) from the ground up.

Get the first bend close to the ground.

Why do you feel that this is procumbens, not San Jose?
 
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