Lavender

nathan

Here is a lavender I just aquired i did some minor pruning and a little leaf removal to clean it up. I plan to select 2 branches for my first set and then 2 more for a second set after that and pick a new apex in the spring. Am i on the right track for a broom style or am I completely off base?

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lavender.psd.jpg (49.3 KB, 251 views)

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nathan

I posted this three days ago but no responses. Doesn't anyone have a suggestion or comment?

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bonsai_girl

Hi there, I think your lavender looks really wicked! (thats teenage language for really nice!) *grin* its unusural though, i've never seen a bonsai lavender before. as for styling, just go with what "you" want to do with it. to me it looks lovely the way it is.


bonsai_girl

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FredL

Nathan, I think your tree is a little difficult for most Bonsai enthusiasts to relate to. It is a species highly unusual for bonsai and at a stage of development earlier than many if not most trees go into formal training. I have a strong interest in the development of good material prior to the stage that a tree qualifies as being good pre-bonsai material and am working with alot of "pre-pre-bonsai material", but I'm in a pretty small minority on this forum. Well, perhaps not that small, but, without question, a rather quiet minority!

I'm not sure whether your interest is confined specifically to this tree, or you have an interest in Bonsai and just happened to select this tree. If the latter, you may want to extend your efforts to some trees of species more widely used. If the former, I'm a little at a loss as to what advice to give you. I'm not familiar with the growth habits of this tree and have never seen a mature specimen of it. I suppose if it were me and I had a gun to my head, I'd be thinking in terms of 5 or 6 years in a grow box or grow bed and I'd wait to see what I had that developed spontaneously before trying to select a mature form.

I suspect that alot of other members who have read your postings feel like I do: basically clueless.

Fred

Attila

Nathan,
I would do two things right away to improve your tree.

First, I would tilt it all the way to the left, the trunk forming an angle of approx 30degrees with the horizontal ground.
Then, I would chose the first branch on the right as the leader, cut off the left branch, and wire the current leader to become the first branch on the left side.

Tilting the trunk adds more movement to the design.
Cutting off the left branch will correct an obvious flaw, namely having three equally thick branches growing from one internode.
This is not a flaw if it happens towards the tip of the branches, but it doesn't look good if it involves the main branches.

Right now the crown is too symmetrical and the main branches all grow from the same point.

As soon as the lavender recovers from the initial styling, you can start drastically cutting back the tips of the branches to encourage secondary ramification.

Make sure that you don't do major restyling and root-pruning at the same time (unless you already have a lot of experience).
I've lost a few trees doing that.

Good luck,

Attila

... my apologies for not reading your initial post carefully.

For broom style I would remove the first branch on the left and slightly tilt the tree to the left. I prefer the broom to start with a V ramification instead of 3 branches from the same point, I think it looks better that way, but that's just my taste (3 branches converging will eventually cause a swelling, which will lead to reverse taper; this is not obvious now, but will happen over a longer period of time)

Regards,
Attila

TreeBay

Here's a sequence of five virtuals in a five year progression. Using mainly clip-and-grow technique. I believe an informal upright would be much better than attempting a broom, which would probably just result in a localized swelling, or knob, where those branches join.


A FIVE YEAR PLAN:

Year 1

The first year we change the planting angle by tipping 30 degrees to the right and removing the center of the bush

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lavender1.jpg (28.1 KB, 140 views)

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TreeBay

Year #2,

Cut back to developing buds. This is a shrub so you can probably cut where there aren't even distinct buds so long as you leave a couple of leaves. The important thing is to develop a new leader towards the center off the leftmost shoot.

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lavender2.jpg (19.4 KB, 140 views)

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TreeBay

Year #3

Increased ramification adds some secondary branching. More cutbacks, and just a little wiring.

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lavender3.jpg (21.8 KB, 139 views)

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