Tsuga Mertensiana ( Mountain Hemlock Yamadori)

[River's Edge]

This is a smaller collected mountain hemlock from vancouver island. Previously this tree has been acclimatized and given a rough style while adapting to an anderson flat. From collection to this point is five years. Some rough pruning and bending was also accomplished during that time.
This morning i decided to do some styling and wiring. Please keep in mind this tree is beginning refinement and collected trees all have imperfections. The base is 4 inches and the current height is just under 18 inches. The next stage will be to develop pads with fuller foliage. I am attaching pictures of all four sides so all the warts are visible. My current choice for a front is side a.

 

[Velodog2]

I’m probably not the best to respond, but I will say this is very nice material of a species I would love to see more of. If I were to express an opinion, it would be that the upper, newer trunk is not this trees best feature, at least as it appears in the photos. There is relatively little taper, the curve is not interesting, and the bark is relatively immature, all in comparison to the wonderful lower part. Therefore I’d conclude that pic a which shows much more of the upper part of the trunk than any other would not be my choice for those reasons.

I can’t judge the others really because with a tree this curvy I can’t really see I’d the trunk is coming at me, or away, etc, which is important. But just based on what I can see I prefer b or c.

 

[Arcto]

Nice Tree. My personal fav conifer. 2 dimensional pics are always risky. That said, side C.

 

[River's Edge]

I’m probably not the best to respond, but I will say this is very nice material of a species I would love to see more of. If I were to express an opinion, it would be that the upper, newer trunk is not this trees best feature, at least as it appears in the photos. There is relatively little taper, the curve is not interesting, and the bark is relatively immature, all in comparison to the wonderful lower part. Therefore I’d conclude that pic a which shows much more of the upper part of the trunk than any other would not be my choice for those reasons.

I can’t judge the others really because with a tree this curvy I can’t really see I’d the trunk is coming at me, or away, etc, which is important. But just based on what I can see I prefer b or c.

I would love it if the newer top was older. The challenge with the curves as you note, is picking the best movement and base while managing the moving away or towards aspect. Hemlock takes a very long time for the new growth to bark up. For this tree i will have to wait. The movement is subtle as well as the taper in the top. Actually looks better in real life.
I agree with the items you have noted! Side A has the best base and movement as it moves gently to the side and away then back to the viewer with the apex slightly forward. Side C has the tree going straight back away from the viewer and then curving back forward. I would say this is a collected tree where at least one of the rules will be broken.

 

[River's Edge]

Nice Tree. My personal fav conifer. 2 dimensional pics are always risky. That said, side C.

Thanks
Picture of side C really intrigues me as well. I was surprised when i reviewed the picture. But that is because the actual direction of the main trunk is obscured by the angle. Like you noted it is the two dimensional thing

 

[GGB]

I like side C. It was my favorite before I read the comments, sometimes I think everyone just picks the popular answer but I really do like C, it's open just like A is but looks less manmade. I love hemlock, this tree is cool

 

[Velodog2]

My tried and true method of determining a front is to put the tree on a turntable and look at it. Turn it and look at it. Let my mind wander and turn it some more while looking at it. Eventually I will notice the view that I stop at at most often is the one I enjoy viewing the most. I will eventually always look at it from that angle so may as well make it the front.

 

[PiñonJ]

Side C is the one that caught my eye immediately, as well. Then, when I examined it more closely, it was my clear favorite. The movement is much more interesting (A is too 'S' shaped for me) and it still has a strong base. Also, the apex bows toward the viewer. You could play with the angle, as well. Nice find!

 

[0soyoung]

Side C is the one that caught my eye immediately, as well. Then, when I examined it more closely, it was my clear favorite. The movement is much more interesting (A is too 'S' shaped for me) and it still has a strong base. Also, the apex bows toward the viewer. You could play with the angle, as well. Nice find!

I agree, C (D is obviously a backside - see the tail?).

 

[River's Edge]

I agree, C (D is obviously a backside - see the tail?).

Docked Tail Exactly, that is the original trunk before Mother Nature removed it somehow. I wish Mother Nature would speed up the aging process on what used to be just a lower branch.
As i mentioned in the initial post this one is in the beginning stages. Perhaps an additional bend is in the works somewhere.
Love the challenge of true yamadori, not the simple development pattern. Then there is the acceptance of native species growth habits.

 

[0soyoung]

Docked Tail Exactly, that is the original trunk before Mother Nature removed it somehow. I wish Mother Nature would speed up the aging process on what used to be just a lower branch.
As i mentioned in the initial post this one is in the beginning stages. Perhaps an additional bend is in the works somewhere.
Love the challenge of true yamadori, not the simple development pattern. Then there is the acceptance of native species growth habits.

I choose to work with ordinary garden nursery crap. Yamadori offers the advantage of a barked old trunk; that is all, IMHO. The challenge is always to disguise faults and emphasize the interesting things or even to create interest where there is none. Predictability (e.g. an 'S' shaped trunk line) is boring. The unexpected is 'interest'. This is why A/B looses out to C/D.

'Irritating' c.an be a point of interest. It can be good or bad, but usually bad. While I like the unpredictability of the trunk line in C/D, I don't know that I like the almost standard conifer tree image - branches and foliage are all 'up top'. It is kind of irritating to me; something about it is similar to a long legged flasher. I would toy with placing some foliage to interrupt the full frontal exposure of the lower trunk. Maybe it doesn't work, I dunno. But this it the 'problem' that makes bonsai fun. I have many similar problems, but none have nicely barked old trunks like this one of yours.

A snip here, some wire there, ....

 

[River's Edge]

The challenge and the frustration go hand in hand. I happen to appreciate some of the natural tendancies inherit in Mountain Hemlock. will continue to see what can become of this long legged flasher.

 

[mattspinniken]

The challenge and the frustration go hand in hand. I happen to appreciate some of the natural tendancies inherit in Mountain Hemlock. will continue to see what can become of this long legged flasher.

I love your tree and I love Mountain Hemlock. Mountain Hemlock reminds me of Larch without the winter color but with a better summer foliage.

Did you collect this tree yourself? Do you mind sharing the story of collection if so? Vancouver Island seems to produce some of the best Yamadori in the U.S. I need to plan a vacation.

 

[River's Edge]

Hi Matt
Thanks for the positive comments. I acquired the tree from another local Canadian collector. He has a great eye for material and like myself collects fewer trees than the average collector. Mountain Hemlock have some very unique characteristics that make them both desireable and challenging to work with as Bonsai. As understory type trees the foliage grows out to the end of long leggy branches low down on the trunk. On the other hand they grow with gentle curves reacting to the light, often reversing direction multiple times over their lifetime. They bark up very slowly and have very short growing periods in the high altitudes of our mountainous ranges. Most of the character is caused by heavy snowfall or wildlife. The foliage is graceful and easy to shape. The branching is very springy and difficult to wire in place. Repeated wiring is required to create shape without scarring. I have to admit the repotting and root characteristics are also challenging. One must take a lot of care and use a slower approach with the roots. Having said that they respond beautifully and can be very vigorous in their growth habit.
Perhaps you can tell they are one of my favourite native species, along with shore pine.

 

[wireme]

Hi Matt
Thanks for the positive comments. I acquired the tree from another local Canadian collector. He has a great eye for material and like myself collects fewer trees than the average collector. Mountain Hemlock have some very unique characteristics that make them both desireable and challenging to work with as Bonsai. As understory type trees the foliage grows out to the end of long leggy branches low down on the trunk. On the other hand they grow with gentle curves reacting to the light, often reversing direction multiple times over their lifetime. They bark up very slowly and have very short growing periods in the high altitudes of our mountainous ranges. Most of the character is caused by heavy snowfall or wildlife. The foliage is graceful and easy to shape. The branching is very springy and difficult to wire in place. Repeated wiring is required to create shape without scarring. I have to admit the repotting and root characteristics are also challenging. One must take a lot of care and use a slower approach with the roots. Having said that they respond beautifully and can be very vigorous in their growth habit.
Perhaps you can tell they are one of my favourite native species, along with shore pine.

I love hemlock too, I’ve spent a bunch of time years ago tree planting on Vancouver island, lots of blocks up high on steep gnarly mountainsides. I love the way those slow growing hemis up there get that nice natural layering to in the foliage. I wish I had some. To find hemlock here I would have to exore areas where the likelihood of collecting a great tree is much lower than places I do go, it’s possible although probably never would find hemlocks as nice as the best from the island.
Anyways, looking forward to see the tree as you progress along. I tend to agree with C as a front in the pics but I can see the lower trunk must really move away from that side. Going with your choice of A there’s something about the first branch that seems to somehow throw it off a bit for me. I erased it to have a look. I can imagine tilting and squashing as being pretty cool too but anyways looking forward to updates.

 

[wireme]

Actually looking at the pics I really, really like side A with the branch virtually removed, no major bends needed or anything, that’s just all around sweet. You’re lucky I don’t live closer, you might find me in your backyard with pruners!

 

[PiñonJ]

You’re lucky I don’t live closer, you might find me in your backyard with pruners!

Maybe you can send the Bonsai Bear to prune it! (Sorry, Frank, see wireme’s RMJ thread to get the reference).

 

[0soyoung]

I love hemlock too, I’ve spent a bunch of time years ago tree planting on Vancouver island, lots of blocks up high on steep gnarly mountainsides. I love the way those slow growing hemis up there get that nice natural layering to in the foliage. I wish I had some. To find hemlock here I would have to exore areas where the likelihood of collecting a great tree is much lower than places I do go, it’s possible although probably never would find hemlocks as nice as the best from the island.
Anyways, looking forward to see the tree as you progress along. I tend to agree with C as a front in the pics but I can see the lower trunk must really move away from that side. Going with your choice of A there’s something about the first branch that seems to somehow throw it off a bit for me. I erased it to have a look. I can imagine tilting and squashing as being pretty cool too but anyways looking forward to updates.

I'm not much of a woodsman. Maybe this indeed looks like a real tree. I am not much of an artist either, but what little skill I've acquired tells me that the transition needs to be disguised and that the long 'S' needs to be visually interrupted. I would instead pull that branch forward and downward so that the foliage sits something like this


Another option with this view (A) might be to make it into a cascade - as in turning view A a bit more than 90 degrees counter clockwise. Then one has the choice of making a horizontal canopy from what it there OR bending the upper trunk back up similar to trees on avalanche slopes.

Regardless, Frank has too many good options with this tree - such a living hell!!!!

 

[River's Edge]

I love hemlock too, I’ve spent a bunch of time years ago tree planting on Vancouver island, lots of blocks up high on steep gnarly mountainsides. I love the way those slow growing hemis up there get that nice natural layering to in the foliage. I wish I had some. To find hemlock here I would have to exore areas where the likelihood of collecting a great tree is much lower than places I do go, it’s possible although probably never would find hemlocks as nice as the best from the island.
Anyways, looking forward to see the tree as you progress along. I tend to agree with C as a front in the pics but I can see the lower trunk must really move away from that side. Going with your choice of A there’s something about the first branch that seems to somehow throw it off a bit for me. I erased it to have a look. I can imagine tilting and squashing as being pretty cool too but anyways looking forward to updates. View attachment 179724

I feel good about the options and the virt makes a compelling case! I usually like to spend lots of time spinning the wheel as others have suggested. So what is one more angle.

 

[River's Edge]

Maybe you can send the Bonsai Bear to prune it! (Sorry, Frank, see wireme’s RMJ thread to get the reference).

Put up a fence last year to keep the acreage deer free. Never thought about Bonsai Bears! We back on to Natures Trust, Provincial Park and the Englishman River so Bears do wander by as they feel like it. Elk occasionally as well.