Hinoki cypress, subtle slant style

october

Hello all……Here is the first styling of a rough nursery stock Hinoki Cypress that I picked up last week. I have been looking for a good rough specimen like this for a couple of years with no real luck. I had pretty good luck with the Hinkoi I have been training for about 6 years and I wanted to try another one.



Finding a good hinoki can be incredibly difficult. They are tough trees to work with mostly because they will not back bud on old wood. So, you would need to start with a specimen that has quite a bit of interior foliage to begin with. However, if you want that nice brown, lightly fissured bark that hinkoi have, you would have to find one with some age behind it. So, finding a tree that is like 20-30 years old and still having a decent amount of interior foliage can be difficult.



This tree had tons of interior foliage. However, the foliage is very dark green and old foliage, but it still should be good for growing new foliage. It will grow from where it is green, so care must be taken not to cut too much.



Basically, there were 3 upper trunks that were taking over as leaders and I cut them off. The apex, was the only feasible branch that could be used for an apex. Although the tree is a bit tall scale wise, there where no other branches that would have made a nice apex, not even in 10 years. The apex branch I chose was a front branch growing slightly up and towards the viewer. Also, there where 3-4 nice strong interior branches coming off of it. The tree has a very subtle and peaceful slant to it which I like. Also, the height and branch proportion kind of reminds me of huge landscape spruces. Spruces that have been well taken care of by their owners so they have retained their low branches quite well.



After styling, the tree was slip potted into a large terra cotta grow pot. Next year, I will go to a grow pot a size down, then 2 years after that, its first, probably over sized grow pot.

However, for now, there are many horticultural issues that need to take place. I need to keep all the old foliage healthy so new foliage can begin. In 3-4 years, I am hoping that almost all the foliage you see, will grow a whole tree of new foliage. Also, there are hardly any sub branches. So, the tree will need to ramify, which will take about 6 years with good luck and care. Not to mention breaking apart that completely pot bound cemented root ball next year..lol..Also, there is a not much taper at the bottom, not quite enough to be called reverse taper. Some future carving and dropping it at a lower planting level could easily correct this.…….oh well, I’m just happy to have found another hinkoi....

Thoughts and opinions would be highly appreciated...

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dtree

I like your tree. What variety of hinoki is this, and how big ?

anttal63

very nice work as always rob, look forward to its next styling.

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Dav4

Nice work, Rob. You are officially the Hinoki cypress "go to" guy here at BT.

Dave

Sailor_Jerry

Very nice work!

Mind if I ask why you kept the large pot and root mass? Just wondering if it's a bad idea to reduce the roots at the same time as a major prune/style on a hinoki.

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dtree

Too late in the year for root work ?

october

Hellodtree, thank you for replying.....It is a gracillis nana..Otherwise known as a dwarf hinkoi cypress, I believe. The tree started out about 2 feet tall.. It is now about 13-14 inches.




Thanks anttal63.....I was very happy to find that tree. Usually, I have a plan before I even purchase a tree. However, with this one, I took a chance. I only saw the bottom 1/3 of the trunk and thought that it had nice texture and descent thickness for its height.




Thanks Dave..However, we may want to hold off on that "go to guy " thing...lol......If it lives for the next 4 seasons, then we'll see.......And the way these trees get die back... Come next spring......This could be a thick stick in a terra cotta pot




Hell Sailor_Jerry....I had to keep the mass becasue it is to late in the season to do any root work safely. I could have reduced it some, but it would have been a gamble. Also, I am positively sure if it is ok to style drastically and repot at the same time with this species..... However, I do, in many cases, style and then repot and have seen no ill effect with conifers. Sometimes I'll style and then repot a week or 2 later.

I have a 5 year plan for this tree. By keeping the root system untouched this year, I not only preserve the health, but it has its full capacity to grow more roots until the end of this season without stress. Also, by doing no root work trhis year, next Spring, I can begin my root work. Which will entail reduucing the root ball by 1/2 and putting it in another grow pot. Then, in 2 years, it will go in its, first , probably over sized bonsai pot. Then in 2 more years, it will either be root pruned again and put back into that pot or put in a more proportionate bonsai pot, if needed. All in all, it will be about a 5 year plan before the tree is really ready for viewing.




Yes, dtree...Too late in the season for conifers to be repotted....with the exception of Mugho pines

Thanks everyone for replying

Rob

october

ops..Thats a typo.......... I meant that I am NOT sure if it is okay to drastically style and repot at the same time.

dtree

Here is a pic of the one I just bought that looks similar - 'obtusa nana gracilis'. Can you tell me about your die back problems ?

dtree

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