Triple Trunk Redwood

[Mbpauley]

I visited the Lotus nursery in Placerville for the first time today and picked this little guy up. Good people out there.

Pictures were taken after cleaning off most of the moss that had covered the entire trunk and doing just a little thinning of unnecessary branches. The trunk furthest to the right is dead, the two live veins come from around the base of the tree and curve up and around the back. The bigger root in the front right arches close to an inch over the soil and actually has a hollow about 1cm going through it. Hasn't been repotted in quite a while, so I'll have to look into that.

 

[october]

Nice tree... Does it look like this because winter just ended. The tree looks a bit unhealthy. What bothers me is the the growth, especially on the ends, looks very weak, if not dead. Also there is so little growth. Just my opion but if it were mine. I don't think I would do any work to this tree. Maybe with the exception of planting it in good bonsai soil and letting it grow freely for a year or 2.

In this part of the country, it is tough to keep them healthy. However, the ones that are healthy, pretty much look green and lush most of the time. When they get the pale and weak look, it means there might be a serious issue with them.

Rob

 

[Mbpauley]

Nice tree... Does it look like this because winter just ended. The tree looks a bit unhealthy. What bothers me is the the growth, especially on the ends, looks very weak, if not dead. Also there is so little growth. Just my opion but if it were mine. I don't think I would do any work to this tree. Maybe with the exception of planting it in good bonsai soil and letting it grow freely for a year or 2.

In this part of the country, it is tough to keep them healthy. However, the ones that are healthy, pretty much look green and lush most of the time. When they get the pale and weak look, it means there might be a serious issue with them.

Rob

The foliage on this one definitely is weaker than the few others I saw while I was there. I do plan on repotting it into maybe a cut down 15 gallon training pot to give the roots a little more room to push. There are fresh buds though, so that is encouraging. When I repot I will not be reducing them at all unless I find any that are concerning.

 

[Jason_mazzy]

I like!..........

 

[Poink88]

Wow, very nice and unique. I like it!

 

[bonsai barry]

That trunk is great. It reminds me of the painting, The Scream, by Edvard Munch.

 

[Mbpauley]

That trunk is great. It reminds me of the painting, The Scream, by Edvard Munch.

Ha! You're right, it does resemble The Scream, doesn't it?

I managed to get it repotted tonight just before I lost light. I thought I had a 15 gallon plastic pot I could cut down but I was mistaken. For now it is in a larger rectangle Tupperware container with a ton of holes drilled for drainage. The sides are clear so I will find a way to block out light, as I have noticed that algae likes to grow around the sides of these containers otherwise. It's probably about 15-16" long and around 10" wide, maybe 3.5" tall. I didn't notice any foul smelling or black mushy roots at all. Plenty circling the inside of the pot. For now, as Rob suggested, I will leave it be and let it regain strength.

 

[PaulH]

Very interesting trunk. I live just a few miles from the nursery where you got this tree. My redwoods always look their worst at this time of year, too. They will start pushing new buds soon as the weather warms. Do you see small green buds forming? If so, the tree is probably fine. I know Scott wouldn't have sold you the tree if he didn't think it was healthy. I've found that it is a fact of life with coast redwood bonsai that they occasionally lose branches and replace them with new buds from the base of the branch.

 

[JudyB]

Very cool trunk. Much more interesting than the single ones. Hope it does well for you.

 

[Mbpauley]

Very interesting trunk. I live just a few miles from the nursery where you got this tree. My redwoods always look their worst at this time of year, too. They will start pushing new buds soon as the weather warms. Do you see small green buds forming? If so, the tree is probably fine. I know Scott wouldn't have sold you the tree if he didn't think it was healthy. I've found that it is a fact of life with coast redwood bonsai that they occasionally lose branches and replace them with new buds from the base of the branch.

Yes, several of the branches in the back have buds popping all around them. Do yours get quite this dark though? I'm still a little worried because the other tree that was on the bench next to it had almost entirely bright, fresh green foliage. It may be possible however that my tree had recently been moved to that warmer bench from a cooler area of their property. When I was talking to Scott about the two trees, I mentioned that the other looked a bit healthier but he didn't seem so concerned.

 

[Mbpauley]

Very cool trunk. Much more interesting than the single ones. Hope it does well for you.

Thank you, judy. And I agree; I had never seen a shohin redwood until I went to the GSBF convention in Sacramento a few months ago. I don't remember if I got a picture of the one that was there. I will have to try to find it, as I can see now that developing the large foliage on such a small tree may be fairly difficult.

One thing is for sure though, I LOVE the way they smell...

 

[bonsai barry]

Yes, several of the branches in the back have buds popping all around them. Do yours get quite this dark though? I'm still a little worried because the other tree that was on the bench next to it had almost entirely bright, fresh green foliage. It may be possible however that my tree had recently been moved to that warmer bench from a cooler area of their property. When I was talking to Scott about the two trees, I mentioned that the other looked a bit healthier but he didn't seem so concerned.

My redwood gets very brown needles this time of year and then starts to pop new ones. However, your tree didn't have a lot of branches to start with...

 

[Mbpauley]

My redwood gets very brown needles this time of year and then starts to pop new ones. However, your tree didn't have a lot of branches to start with...

There were several more branches when I first brought it home, in a couple places there were maybe 4-5 branches that I thinned to 2-3 and chased back some of the darker foliage that was near the ends. I realize now that I should have waited a little longer before doing such, but I think it should be alright.

 

[PaulH]

Yes, several of the branches in the back have buds popping all around them. Do yours get quite this dark though? I'm still a little worried because the other tree that was on the bench next to it had almost entirely bright, fresh green foliage. It may be possible however that my tree had recently been moved to that warmer bench from a cooler area of their property. When I was talking to Scott about the two trees, I mentioned that the other looked a bit healthier but he didn't seem so concerned.

Just let it grow for now. The easiest way to kill redwoods is by over working them. If it doesn't look a lot better by May you might have a problem, but it sounds like you're OK. Just resist the urge to cut on it for a year.

 

[Vance Wood]

Just let it grow for now. The easiest way to kill redwoods is by over working them. If it doesn't look a lot better by May you might have a problem, but it sounds like you're OK. Just resist the urge to cut on it for a year.

That is good advise not only for the Redwood but for any tree that looks stressed out. Remember that bonsai techniques are really only effective on healthy and vigorous trees.

 

[Mbpauley]

That is good advise not only for the Redwood but for any tree that looks stressed out. Remember that bonsai techniques are really only effective on healthy and vigorous trees.

Normally I'm pretty good about that, but I had assumed that it just had its winter color still. Hopefully i get lucky and don't have to learn that lesson the hard way with this tree. For now i will just monitor the tee and will post updated pics in a few months.

Paul, you said you live just a few miles from the nursery; are you going to the demo on Thursday?

 

[PaulH]

Normally I'm pretty good about that, but I had assumed that it just had its winter color still. Hopefully i get lucky and don't have to learn that lesson the hard way with this tree. For now i will just monitor the tee and will post updated pics in a few months.

Paul, you said you live just a few miles from the nursery; are you going to the demo on Thursday?

You bet I'll be there! David Ngui is a genius with California junipers and I plan to win the raffle!
He'll also be doing a demo Tuesday night at the American Bonsai Assoc. meeting at the Shepard Garden Center at 7:30. Another chance to win a demo tree.
I'll also be in an all - day workshop with David on Thursday working on a California juniper I collected a few years ago and haven't done much with yet. I can''t wait.

 

[coh]

I have 2 coast redwoods here in western NY, and both maintain very green foliage through the winter...provided I don't forget to water, that is. I've made that mistake a couple of times over the years and the result has been brown/dead foliage. Otherwise, I haven't noticed any change in coloration from summer to winter. I over-winter both in an unheated mudroom that stays between about 30-40 deg in a normal winter.

Chris

 

[Mbpauley]

You bet I'll be there! David Ngui is a genius with California junipers and I plan to win the raffle!
He'll also be doing a demo Tuesday night at the American Bonsai Assoc. meeting at the Shepard Garden Center at 7:30. Another chance to win a demo tree.
I'll also be in an all - day workshop with David on Thursday working on a California juniper I collected a few years ago and haven't done much with yet. I can''t wait.

I will probably see you there this Thursday, then. I will likely also come to the next club meeting after that.

 

[Mbpauley]

I have 2 coast redwoods here in western NY, and both maintain very green foliage through the winter...provided I don't forget to water, that is. I've made that mistake a couple of times over the years and the result has been brown/dead foliage. Otherwise, I haven't noticed any change in coloration from summer to winter. I over-winter both in an unheated mudroom that stays between about 30-40 deg in a normal winter.

Chris

Hmmm... This is good to know. In your experience with redwoods, is brownish (or very dark green) foliage essentially synonymous with dead foliage, or will some color gradually return? I'm aware that with junipers and certain other conifers if the foliage is brown, it likely died months before. None of the foliage on this tree seems dry or brittle, just... Dark. Most is dark green, but as Rob pointed out, some of the foliage towards the ends is a little more brown than green. The branch coming out at the apex, for example, is darker than most of the tree, but there are still new green buds showing around the base of the branch.