Uncommon Practice? (Wound Concealing) (56kb Warning)

Black

Bonhe;
I hope you are right.

Kcpoole;
I plan on doing so... not much to see now... but I shall try update you on it.

Jennifyr;
I don't exactly know what you may refer to... but in all you have to appreciate that an older tree has developed "habits"... if nothing the bending would be more delicate a process.

Shall the tree be over 10 years old and has grown without restrictions you would most commonly need to cut a notch to access such extreme bends on most species.
I often find wrapping with water soaked raffia very useful. In fact I mostly wrap branches in wet paper towels for a few hours if I have the protection of a raffia wrap (The bark gets soggy and very vulnerable to damage with wiring shall there not be raffia for the wires to slide on).

But for trees older than 50 years you would have to be very patient and allow it to firstly get used to being tamed in a pot and then take it easy on what you choose to style it into. Stressing aged trees is not a wise practice.

Unfortunately I have had little practice with such trees to be of guidance to you through experience. The ones I have are still in their “untouchable” stage of getting used to captivity and my gathering the courage to do something more than remove them from their home

Is there a specific tree you are mentioning of?

Black

__________________
"I refuse to allow a disability to determine how I live my life.
I don't mean to be reckless, but setting a goal that seems a bit daunting actually is very helpful toward recovery,... "

Christopher Reeve
25 September 1952-10 October 2004

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Black

Lol so am I...
I sure wonder how he is going to get himself out of this one!!!

__________________
"I refuse to allow a disability to determine how I live my life.
I don't mean to be reckless, but setting a goal that seems a bit daunting actually is very helpful toward recovery,... "

Christopher Reeve
25 September 1952-10 October 2004

Black

I have some pretty good news on blink (yeah that’s what I called the tree) even though I had sort of lost hopes after an accident had occurred (it fell off it’s monkey poll. Hence reason it is in the court with the rest) and had badly damaged the modified part.

I put it in a place that I would let it live on, but not get too distracted by it to not get too upset for what it has had to go through.
But to my pleasant surprise it has bud!
This is a few photos taken a few days back:







It is not safe to pop the champain yet... but it is safe to at least say that I can stop feeling bad about it.

With a thick tapper like that I am hoping for a pretty interesting bonsai in a few years to come.


Actually...

By a few that know me in person I have been encouraged to preset a few more experiments that I have done wich would comply under the title “Uncommon Practice”
Instead of opening a new thread and spamming the lot, I thought I best upload them here…

__________________
"I refuse to allow a disability to determine how I live my life.
I don't mean to be reckless, but setting a goal that seems a bit daunting actually is very helpful toward recovery,... "

Christopher Reeve
25 September 1952-10 October 2004

Black

This is the first of the two new ones…

I really don’t know if it is method used by any one else up to date, but I go for it pretty often and call it the Poor-man’s Bender.


It is really nothing too complicated as it uses the simple rules of mechanics and works pretty primitively.
This diagram below shall sort of illustrate what it is all about:

1. You choose a branch and decide how you want it to end up like.
2. You enforce (important!!) the bark for protection.
3. Insert a screw in a cylindrical object and position it.
4. Bind the tree to the nail/screw from this side.
5. Screw and bind the next screw (You can do this part prehand… but mostly I prefer to at least mark it like this) after you lightly bend the branch taking support from the cylinder.
6. Now tighten up the bindings… to the amount you wish it to bend.

__________________
"I refuse to allow a disability to determine how I live my life.
I don't mean to be reckless, but setting a goal that seems a bit daunting actually is very helpful toward recovery,... "

Christopher Reeve
25 September 1952-10 October 2004

Black

Here you can see it in action on an about 6 year old Blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum). This would be an almost too ideal manner to practice it. I not only got my support from the trunk itself but used the sacrifice branch as well (not going to be a sacrifice branch maybe… don’t know yet)

__________________
"I refuse to allow a disability to determine how I live my life.
I don't mean to be reckless, but setting a goal that seems a bit daunting actually is very helpful toward recovery,... "

Christopher Reeve
25 September 1952-10 October 2004

Black

On this boxwood (circa 40-42 years old) I have used a series of pieces to manage the bend. It has its advantages.
Simplest of all you don’t have to search for a giant wheel or something. And more importantly you can insert pegs to the sides of the cylinders to distort the bend towards the sides as well.

__________________
"I refuse to allow a disability to determine how I live my life.
I don't mean to be reckless, but setting a goal that seems a bit daunting actually is very helpful toward recovery,... "

Christopher Reeve
25 September 1952-10 October 2004

Black

This is also a multi cylindered model (again a Buxus but this one is only 18-20 the branch itself was around 11-12 years old as I recall).
I have added a third screw even further to add to the bend in the first photo and added a screw to the side to support a reverse bend on the second photo.

__________________
"I refuse to allow a disability to determine how I live my life.
I don't mean to be reckless, but setting a goal that seems a bit daunting actually is very helpful toward recovery,... "

Christopher Reeve
25 September 1952-10 October 2004

Black

The second technique I recently am trying out (NOT something I have used for a long time. This is the FIRST and only example I have, so attempt at your own risk!)




It is a little wild because you basically take a tree (in this case a Cupressus macrocarpa "Wilma") and literally split it all the way to the roots providing that you have two (or sometimes more) split trunks.



I split mine months back to see how they would survive. Unfortunately one of my pots couldn’t make through the winter but the rest did just fine.
I covered the split with wound paste and then I enforced it with gardening tape to hurry and plant them back into the soil.



This armature is actually wire wrapped with a flexible contouring tape and filled in with foam (for needles to comfortably push into)



The rest of the steps I am just skipping through because they have been pretty often practiced by many very valuable enthusiasts. And most of the have generously shared their methods with us.
As I have seen it first done with Doug, I usually call it “Doug’s method”.


For those unfamiliar:
You basically mount each tree close to each other and allow them to grow into one another. In time they graft into a single tree.

DO care to follow the Dugz Bonsai link above... I guarantee your time to not be wasted browsing through his influencial projects...

__________________
"I refuse to allow a disability to determine how I live my life.
I don't mean to be reckless, but setting a goal that seems a bit daunting actually is very helpful toward recovery,... "

Christopher Reeve
25 September 1952-10 October 2004

Black

Here it is finished and planted… it has been a month and the final product is pretty much enjoying the spring (though some damage DID come through a nasty snap of frost right after some good weather).
I plan on getting in thee and removing some of the foliage… But I believe the trees have suffered enough for some long time to come.

__________________
"I refuse to allow a disability to determine how I live my life.
I don't mean to be reckless, but setting a goal that seems a bit daunting actually is very helpful toward recovery,... "

Christopher Reeve
25 September 1952-10 October 2004