Alpineart's Blog

This is my latest project, an unknown species of Cedar that i collected from a disused farm house .It is actually a self- layered branch of an old tree planted in the 1950’s .I managed to get 2 good layers from the 1 branch and both have survived . This particular one was rather void of foliage on the lower part of the trunk so i decided to split the trunk , twist and contort it into a more compact shrub and allow it to grow on . Using the foliage growth and dead-wood to its best advantage i will free-style it at a later date .

First of all i drilled a series of pilot holes up the trunk along the natural jin , then with a jig-saw simply sliced through the trunk all the way to the apex . Excess wood was removed using branch cutters then trimming with a dremel to a smoother finish. I then wired the 2 trunks and basically twisted and shaped into a contorted shrub .This will now grow on until i find the time to style this trainer into something different

This is where my $15.95 Japanese maple is beginning to pay dividends , i set the layers just after the first flush of new growth hardened off . Instead of trying to wrap plastic sheeting around the branches i used 1.25 litre soft drink bottles for the tubes . Simply remove the tapered top and neck , slice down the side and cut a circle out of the bottom to suit the branch thickness. Its much easier to fill a solid tube than attempt to wrap in plastic sheeting .

With the layers set i simply wrap with duct tape then trimmed the foliage into a desired shape or style , to water i use a large plastic syringe all up there is around 11 layers , twin trunk , slanting , formal and informal upright . On average the trunk thickness of the layers is around 50mm , once removed i will set another dozen or so next season with trunks up to 80mm . A simple hook and hold wiring method has been used to roughly shape the branchlets

These were a cheap purchase from Jackie who saves unwanted trees from destruction .They cost me 10 bucks a throw and a have some plans for these .I have inarching {side grafted} the lower branches back down onto the lower part of the trunks and plan to do the rest of the whorls the same way.This will produce about 12 new trunks to play with . The apexes were clasped together with twist ties then support wires were added using he ties . I then wrapped the apexes together with nylon sash cord to firmly hold the trunks and to aid in the aged look to the trunks .Prior to adding the webbing i removed the cable ties and strapped together to form a larger than usual tree for a quickfire aged trunk I will set some aerial layers at each whorl to create new trunks for removal later after the tops have fused .Nothing ventured nothing gained so to speak.Cheers