The christmas tree effect.... a weeping willow

[bodhidharma]

This is the story of a weeping willow(salix) and what it has to look like to achieve a weeping effect. Its top outgrows its trunk and needs to be attended to by grafting on cuttings to create a more substantial trunk. It needs its own gravity fed irrigation system during summer to keep it alive and well. It also needs constant feeding to keep it healthy. Stuff that i have learned while wondering why i so rarely see a willow bonsai. Why is it we Bonsai people are always wanting the one thing that eludes us constantly, a killer bonsai that know one else has. We will wait and see this one in another ten years.

[anttal63]

very nice work bodhi. the plastasine looks alot easier than fishing sinkers. like i say where there is a will to learn it there is a way. this will be a rippa in time and this thread goes a long way to helping all the people out there that desire the willow bonsai. you must take us through the grafting process at some time. thanks for sharing.

[Jordy]

i'm currently attempting to grow such a bonsai in fact, being the insane beginner i am

I have a cutting from the HUGE willow in my backyard sitting in a bucket of water (Apparently its that easy to grow roots for a willow, who knew!)

looking forward to ground planting it, although not sure how we'll it'll go, i think i might've cut it too late.

ah well! we'll see!

[Asus101]

Looking through some very old bonsai books (1956) I see a few weeping willows..

[Petra]

Looking through some very old bonsai books (1956) I see a few weeping willows..

Well share. Show us the pics, ive never seen one either.
Can the willow be sat in a tray of water once potted,wouldnt that make sence.Along the river banks their roots below ground are in water. Our farm once had a willow outside the fence and after it died we were going to sink a bore in its place.The engineer said there was no water below ground were it sat. He was baffled that it even lasted the 15 years it was there.We also have tortured willows growing every where,yet they survived the droughts. I recon if watered twice daily over the hottest months and sat in a tray of water theyll survive as long as their in semi shade. But depending on location that is.
i will be experimenting this any way.

[tr3nt29]

The thing about growing Willow bonsai that you need to know is they grow roots so well that they will become pot bound around mid summer and need to be repotted, which is a dangerous time to undergo such a process. I would recommend repotting into a larger pot at this time of year; then a heavy root prune and back into the original pot in the winter.

Hope this helps
Trent

[PeterH]

This is one I have had for about 19 years.

[bodhidharma]

the problem i have encountered with sitting them in a pot or tray of water. is the roots grow so fast into the water they move away from the trunk and when you have to cut them of the tree reacts by losing a limb or two. With a gravity fed bucket (20 litre is good) and a dripper system it waters the tree evenly over the day. It will drink that much in a day. It achieves the result of keeping the finer feeder roots closer to the main trunk and no stressed tree. with this method i have grown this tree in five years. the tree is 900mm tall. I also feed once a week heavily.

[FlyBri]

Nice work Bodhi and Peter!

There's an article about Willow Bonsai in issue 113 of Bonsai Focus, and the author (Simon Temblett) utilizes many of the styling and care techniques mentioned here. The results are quite striking!

Thanks for sharing, and please keep us posted on your progress!

Fly.

[paddles]

i tried several times to keep a weeping willow, never suceeded. I ended up getting (well finding one being thrown out) and acacia cognata. whilst not a willow, easier to keep alive (Till dad killed it, but that is another story)

[Bajiru]

EDIT: I used the power of search, found: viewtopic.php?f=102&t=1298 whereupon all my questions were answered.

Apologies for useless post.

MODS: Please delete.

Cheers - Bajiru.

[bodhidharma]

Opening a can of worms here. Sick and tired of working with this tree, which was more of a dream than a reality, i layered the top off (still have the base which is huge) and have been developing it instead of the taller idea. A lot of the lower branching had to go but It has barked up beautifully and i think i now have a basis of a tree. The new top, to get some taper, has come along well, although the scar from the cutoff heals slowly . I have wanted to bin the project many times but the tree that won the Noelanders is stunning so persist i will. Sticking with the modelling clay as it seems to work but some wire needs to be used.

[treeman]

I like it.

[treeman]

I've been inspired. I just went out and took about 20 large cuttings off the tree out the front.

Here's a nice one........

ww.JPG

[bodhidharma]

I've been inspired. I just went out and took about 20 large cuttings off the tree out the front.

Here's a nice one........

Damn...if i knew it was that easy i would have done the same