root over rock trident

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Pearcy001
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Re: root over rock trident

Post by Pearcy001 »

What option did you end up choosing Neil? A photo would be great.

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Pearcy001
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Re: root over rock trident

Post by Pearcy001 »

What did you end up doing with this one in the end Neil? Looking forward to an update this winter.

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Re: root over rock trident

Post by shibui »

I believe this one still has both sides on. I've been letting it grow a bit but trimming the new shoots regularly to make sure they don't get too heavy as this is quite a small tree and I cannot afford to let any parts get overly thick.

The more I look at it the more I like side 1. There is some subtle movement in the trunk that you cannot see in the photos but I also think I like the roots slightly better on that side as well. It is a bit hard to see what's going on under all the leaves at the moment so I'll probably leave the pruning until winter when I can see where everything is in relation to the trunk and rock and how each of those leaders have developed. Sometimes a season of growth can change the look dramatically and plans need to be revised.
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Re: root over rock trident

Post by shibui »

I was wrong :oops: :oops: I did prune this one - used the first front and retained the rear trunk to enhance the trunk movement.
P1190052.JPG
Nice to see that the scar from removing the redundant trunk has almost closed over. That's about 12 mm in just 18 months.
P1190050.JPG
P1190051.JPG
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Re: root over rock trident

Post by isimiyaki »

Hi Pic 2 to me has better potential but have you considered placing the rock around 25 degrees from soil surface on left hand side to give a more convincing perspective. Trees normally grow upright unless some exceptional weather condition has changed the upright growth. Since the trunk doesn't show any signs of that, the tree trunk would look more natural in an upright position and still showing the roots over the rocks. Easy solution, tilt the pot to an angle and stand back and observe.
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Re: root over rock trident

Post by shibui »

Thanks for your input. Always worth thinking about other perspectives.
Trees normally grow upright unless some exceptional weather condition has changed the upright growth
I think your qualifier is the key here. This tree has germinated in a crack in a cliff face or has been subject to severe erosion. I reckon either of those things would well and truly amount to exceptional conditions. When you observe trees growing on cliffs and exposed mountain sides you'll see a good proportion of them stick out from the rock. I think there are a number of possible factors influencing this untreelike behaviour:
1. Light: on a cliff all light comes from one side so trees grow out toward the lighter area. You will notice the same thing where trees are planted against a fence or near another tree. Light is a powerful influence on most plants.
2. Gravity: trees growing on rocks have a tenuous hold. Unlike trees on flat, deep soils roots can only grow along the cracks so there is less root spread to hold the tree upright, especially on the cliff side of the trunk. As the tree grows it can get too heavy for the roots to hold and starts to tilt over, usually away from the cliff.
In some places gravity also works in another way - regular snow and ice collect on the tree branches and weigh them down, eventually causing permanent downward adjustment to the shape of the tree. Something we don't see here in Australia but I believe it is a factor in some other parts of the world.
3. Wind: In mountain areas it is common to have regular catabatic winds. Cold air from higher is more dense and starts to flow down the mountain causing a downslope wind. Regular wind from one direction sculpts the plants that grow there. We see it along coasts where regular onshore wind causes windswept trees. High mountains also have windswept trees influenced by downslope catabatic winds. We don't often see this in Australia either because we don't have the high mountains or severe weather but you may have noticed that this is not an Aussie native.

While some trees can grow vertically on cliffs :imo: the slanted, twisted trunks of Cliffside trees have far more interest and appeal. Thanks for the ideas. I've tried looking at your alternative but I'll keep going with the current angles for now.
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