Atlas Cedar setting trunk movement

[alpineart]

Hi guys , this s typical of a small wire scar on a young cedar . Its now 20 yo and has increased from about 8mm long to 45mm in length around the trunk and about 30mm wide

P1070336.JPG

No hope of concealing it .

This was the result of a few shade cloth slings and a few hook and hold wires

P1070333.JPG

.I removed the stake and reused it during the compression . I have over done the compression

P1070338.JPG

, but will release this in 1 season .

P1070340.JPG

Its height is currently 230mm down from around 600mm .I expect it to bounce back to around 350mm after being released in 12 months .

P1070343.JPG

Only 2 shoots were removed in order to set the slings ,

P1070342.JPG

however i did remove 2 branches which restricted the compression .Not to everyone's liking but i have 50 odd cedars to shape so they will be extreme and uniquely different during the bending process giving uniqueness to the material to be styled in years to come .

Cheers Alpine

[dansai]

Thanks a heap Mojo and Alpine. Some great info and excellent positive feedback. Again Thankyou both.

Well I have removed the wire. I have had family here for a few days so don't have a photo. It has held some of its shape.

Mojo, It was originally over a 1m tall and now stands about 0.5 m. The pots is about 250mm. The trunk is 2 cm just above the soil.

My thought is now to do a repot come spring as its soil is pretty lousy, let it get some strength back and reshape later. What time of year would be best?

I do have access to about 30 of these at $15 each so would love to know if they can be made into something decent.

[alpineart]

Hi dansai , some say Spring others summer, i personally re-pot mine in late winter . If you can score Atlas Cedars at that price most certainly grab them as long as they will suit your purpose and different styles . They are reluctant to back bud on the older wood and a 20mm trunk if its pot grown has a bit of age to it .

All mine or at least 90 % of them have shoots or branches from the lower base up hence it would be difficult to wrap them with even raffia without first removing way to many shoots and would be too time consuming .

Good luck with your endeavors .

Cheers Alpine

[alpineart]

This compressed trunk is still alive and kicking

DSCN4329.JPG

. The movement is definitely set in time

DSCN4330.JPG

DSCN4331.JPG

DSCN4332.JPG

and a bonus to add to the tree is a cone forming

DSCN4333.JPG

Definately in need of a bit of work .

Cheers Ian

[Promethius]

What a difference a decade makes! It’s nice to see what tight bending looks like in the long run. Appreciate the update.