Texas Ebony Styling Help

gilbycantu

This is a Texas Ebony I originally bought when I first got into bonsai over two years ago. It was a nursery tree about 5 feet tall that I cut down to about 12 inches. This is one of those trees that I've stared at for too long and can't seem to make up my mind on what direction to go in. One idea would be to tilt the tree into the direction it's growing and develop into a windswept but I'm still unsure. I think I need a fresh set of eyes.

If anyone can help I'd appreciate it.

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Gilbert Cantu

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gilbycantu

the back

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Gilbert Cantu

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gilbycantu

And a overhead shot. Why I took it at this angle I don't know.

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agraham

Gilbert.........

A texas ebony was the first tree i ever tried to bonsai.I dug a little seedling up out of my backyard...planted it,and had a fan blowing on it trying to create a "windswept" style ....believe it or not....ofcourse that was over 30 years ago....and it didn't work.

i'd use your "back" for the front...chop it and try to induce some branching.It's just my opinion but unless you have the time to wait for the rough dark bark to develop,ebonies are sort of a feminine looking tree.....for some reason i think of windswept as rugged masculin(sp?) trees(personal preferance i guess).

anyway,....here's a rough virtual of what i had in mind.




andy

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bnsaijim

Gilby,

A windswept might be the glorious path of least resistance.

It would never be a "great" windswept", but might be decent. Other than some classical flaws, one specific problem being the tropical-ish complex leaves would never give an effective feel of "wind".

I would analyse the tree in this manner- your rootage need some work- the tree appears potted too high. You have some character in the trunk base- the bark is still young and there is not great movement. But there is also nothing to be hidden...

So the really best frontal view IMO is the first you've offered up. This is really only because the first branch is in the right place.

Your trunk kind of rises up and then turns in to a "postie"- a long straight taperless section. You may give serious thought to simply cutting it off and developing a modified broom style or informal upright using the 2nd branch as a new apex. This would set the tree back a bit but it would give much better taper to the piece.

Barring that you may be able to tilt it somewhat 45 degrees counterclock-wise (if someone could virt this I'd appreciate it!) bending the 2nd branch down into a more horizontal position or cut back to a pop at the base (preferable, which I'll explain). This might end up giving you a "bow", something to be avoided... but perhaps a bit of rotating and what not might minimize this.

Lastly what I alluded to earlier- you'll need to straighten out the differing branch thicknesses- let your first grow long for a few seasons- or cut off the others and re-grow them to maintain proportions.

If it were mine, I'd make the cut and do some serious root work, repotting into a larger training pot.

BTW: do you know about defoliating these buggers?


Sincerely,

Jim Stone
TX

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Jim Stone
Seki Bonsai Studio
sekibonsai.com
Santa Fe, TX

Adam_MA

Maybe something like this?

Adam

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gilbycantu

I'm glad it's not just me that feels this tree has problems.

Adam, that was another idea I had. I could fill the canopy out pretty fast but the branches would still not be correct.

As for the roots, when I first bought this tree the surface roots were even worse and had to be removed.

Regarding the texture of the bark issue, I'm trying that technique where you score the trunk and tap with a hammer. I don't know what it's called but some of my other club members have done this to Texas Ebonys and have been successful in developing an aged crackling bark in just a few years.

I really don't see myself doing anything really drastic and having to wait years just to have something mediocre. I know it takes time to develop something nice but in my opinion this tree doesn't have a a whole lot going for it.

This is a rough virt of the windswept idea.

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texasebony2virt.jpg (34.1 KB, 65 views)

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