Hinoki cypress, subtle slant style

Originally Posted by dtree

What do you think it is ?

Originally Posted by october

Thanks Elgringo....I have never attempted grafting on this tree. I'm not sure how tecnhiques like grafting or air layering would work. Actually, there doesn't seem much talk about it with this species, does there? I am wondering if there is a reason for the lack of discussion about it. Maybe it doesn't work. I have thought about things like you might attempt, the grafting foliage issue. For some reason though, I have a feeling that since these trees don't back bud, not sure that grafts and things would take. However, I have no proof of this.

I will say that these trees seem to have a reputation for having reverse taper at the base. You would think that with this being such a common problem, that there would be a ton of information out there on the subject. I have read that many bonsai artists don't work with hinkoki because they are difficult and they do not back bud. Maybe this is the reason for Hinkoi info not being mainstream.

The other hinokoi that I am training has a sort of slight reverse taper, not so bad that it is distracting though. My teacher had put forth the idea, a couple of years ago, that if I was unhappy with it, an air layer would be an option. However, since the outcome was really questionable, I opted, with the next repot to just drop it down in the pot a bit. It worked ok. However, I decided that the very slight imperfection was not worth the risk of ruining my years of work for a slight improvement.

I am very curious to see how any of your grafting works on your hinoko. Please post pics through the process if you attempt it. We need all the information we can get for this species.