Yew for a beginner.

[duderubble]

I got this yew as a starter project because it had a nice sturdy trunk. I know you can't see much here because of the foliage, but I'm looking for advice on an initial pruning. I know it's probably late for it but I will keep it in shade and my experience with yews (non bonsai) in this area is that you can't kill them. take them off to the ground and they bud back. You'll not that the trunk is large but then branches off in all directions all at once. There are sizable branches opposite one another but no real central leader from that point, a number of smaller branches go up.

I like the fact that the needles are quite short, others at the store were even shorter, but they had no single trunk, but this gives me hope that this one will respond in kind. I'd like to get it in this pot as well, but am open to suggestions of all kinds starting with an idea of best overall style direction.

 

[cmeg1]

October,a member of this forums,does real great with stuff like this.He probably has some awesome advice for you.Maybe you can PM him,but I am sure your thread will be noticed.Hope all goes well with your Yew.

 

[october]

Hello duderubble. These yews can become nice bonsai, it will take some time though. Probably about 5 years or so. Not to say that it will not look good through some of that time though.

Can you post pics of the base of the trunk like the one you posted, but from different sides. You will be looking for a view that has a wide base that gradually tapers as it goes up. The view you provided seems to have some reverse taper. Meaning smaller at the base and bigger as it goes up. This is considered a problem as far as bonsai goes. Also, you may want to dig around the trunk a bit to see if there is more trunk underneath the top soil.

Rob

 

[duderubble]

yes, there is some more trunk, I was a little worried about digging too far before I'm ready to repot. I didn't notice that reverse taper until I got some of the lowest foliage out of the way. It starts at the branching. I though perhaps I could remove all but the strongest branch and go for a crooked informal upright. But that would be a lot of scarring and I don't know if it would overwhelm the tree.

I'll dig a little more.

Here are the other photos I took from slightly different angles.

 

[october]

Well, I don't think a ground layer would be a good idea. I think either carving or just chopping part of the side off might work. How much is connected to both sides? I am thinking the left side has to go. However, I would like to see how much is attached to that section.

Rob

 

[duderubble]

Having a hard time getting pics with all the foliage in the way. It looks to me like the foliage is pretty evenly supported by three fairly large branches and a number of small branches in the center of these. It probably wasn't the great choice I thought it was at first. The stem goes down pretty deep at that width and has some small roots off of it fairly shallow and one large one coming out horizontally a couple inches down. I almost feel I need to bare root it to see what I've got down there. I got sucked in by a nice thick trunk, but didn't think about nebari.

 

[october]

View attachment 37468

Having a hard time getting pics with all the foliage in the way. It looks to me like the foliage is pretty evenly supported by three fairly large branches and a number of small branches in the center of these. It probably wasn't the great choice I thought it was at first. The stem goes down pretty deep at that width and has some small roots off of it fairly shallow and one large one coming out horizontally a couple inches down. I almost feel I need to bare root it to see what I've got down there. I got sucked in by a nice thick trunk, but didn't think about nebari.

Ya, many times when you get it home and get a closer look. Problems become more apparent. Also, you are going to need to be brave with this tree. If you are new to bonsai. Don't worry about it. This will be good practice, it will teach you a lot and you only paid $20 for it.

First, cut off the of the branches after the red line in the virtual. After they are cut, remove the foliage that is left on the shorter stubs. After they are clean. Take an exacto knife or other wood carving knife and cut into the wood. Like a surgeon making an incision. Follow the blue line in my virt. Go all around that area.. front, underneath and back. Basically you are cutting a line all around that area. Cut pretty deep. You want to cut down through the bark and cambium. You can draw with chalk on the tree for a guide before you start cutting. Now, you can take pliers, jinning pliers if you have them, and crush those stubs. After a few squeezes, the bark should loosen up and you can peel it off. Be careful not to rip past where the cuts are made with the exacto knife. The cuts are actually made so that it does not tear beyond this point. Virt 2 shows what you will be left with and if the deadwood was refined. However, Don't worry about refining it now. Just leave the stubs as is. In the future you might be able to carve more in that area.

If all goes well, you should be left with some better taper and some nice future potential deadwood. After this. I would let the tree rest and grow for the rest of the season. Next year, you can repot and maybe do a little styling.

Rob

 

[october]

p.s. Next year, maybe the branch on the right can go. After that branch is removed, now you can starting to see a nice trunk outline. Everything else will fall into place after that. It can be difficult to provide styling advice with accuracy just by looking at pics. However, this does seem to be a workable possibility.

 

[duderubble]

Thanks so much, I believe I'll give it a go.

 

[october]

Just wondering if you went ahead and did the work on this tree.

Rob