Windswept Design Discussion

[MJL]

Hey Folks,

Boom64 recently posted another of his cool trees - a windswept kunzea. That thread got me thinking and rather than hijack John's thread, I wanted to discuss a question I have regarding trunk and branching in the windswept form.

I'll try to be succinct but I find it hard...

Regarding the trunk and the branching flowing in the same direction. My understanding of the general guidance, which reflects nature and reflects most windswept bonsai designs and that is that trunk and branching flow together; in the same or similar direction. Makes sense.

My question is probably horticultural ...it might even be meteorological in terms of the way prevailing winds work and their affect on trees. Is it feasible that a trunk can follow the sun but branching the prevailing wind? I have probably made this up because I certainly don't find many pictures of this when I search the google-verse. So I think my verdant imagination has run away wth me but let me give an example of what's rattling around my skull.

Let's say a Tea Tree or Moonah is growing on the leeward side of a dune facing south and a prevailing wind coming from the north west; probably north west in the morning swinging to south west in the arvo. Could the tree want to follow the sun... and thus over time ... the trunk, protected from the wind by the dune, snakes up the dune, growing towards/following the sun in the north. The prevailing wind comes over the windward side of dune and pushes the new branching in an opposing direction. Or is this just complete hogs poo.

In my mind - I have imagined the above scenario might work but buggered if I can see it online but ... I do want to rush down to the Peninsula and check out some trees - but that's 80km's away! Online I do see some (not many) creatively designed bonsai with trunks and branches opposing ... but perhaps that's just creative design ... can it happen in nature?

Any thoughts - I ask selfishly because I have a number of pre-bonsai windswept designs in play. (See below.) Most are of a logical design but some are not and I may be stuffing some of them up and it's not too late to change it. I am thinking of the Japanese elm (zelkova) below - perhaps I should just move all the branches to follow the truck lines?!!

Anyway - thoughts would be appreciated.

IMG_7157.jpeg

Below was an initial entry in the current natural competition but I removed it prior to entry because I could believe trunk thickness under the soil was above the limit.

IMG_7161.jpeg

Is there anyway Zelkova's would grow like below??? You might have to use your imagination to picture them in 10 years.

IMG_7116.jpeg

[Boics]

I think it's feasible (both directions) in nature and I've often wondered this myself.

I'll be honest that the Zelkova group would probably look best if all the branches "went with the flow" though.

I took this pic just over the weekend down the peninsula on the millionaire's walk.

Close but not quite.....

[Matt S]

I like this discussion, it shows the thinking behind design choices and that the best styles reflect something that would happen in nature.

I think it's valid that a trunk can sweep in the opposite direction of windswept branches. Not common, but possible. A few scenarios:

As you stated a trunk can follow the sun to a point where the prevailing wind takes over, for example at the top of a cliff:

windswept cliff 1.jpg

Another scenario is a single tree could be growing in an area with prevailing winds but could be subject to some force that pushes the tree in the opposite direction, e.g. a boulder or tree smashing into it, or a violent storm that comes from the opposite direction. If the tree survives the trunk and the subsequent growth will be at different angles.

The last example is when you're not trying to represent a tree that is growing in a windswept area, but rather trying to capture an instant when a tree is being blown around:

windswept 1.jpg

windswept 2.jpg

Having the trunks go one way and the branches another creates tension and drama, but there has to be a reason for the tree to grow this way. I really like this style but I reckon it's hard to pull off successfully. Worth trying though!

Matt.

[TimS]

My first distinction would be; are we presenting a tree that represents having grown to this form, and irrespective of conditions it holds this shape? Or are we representing a tree that is currently/ in this moment being blown by the wind, and once the wind subsided it will return to a more conventional shape.

There is a book ‘Australia’s Remarkable Trees’ which features a River Red Gum growing a single trunk virtually flat to the ground because of prevailing winds, but it still forms a mound of foliage growing in many directions to take advantage of the light available.

If you can imagine it; nature’s probably done it but weirder.

[Raging Bull]

Another scenario for the trunk to lean "against" the wind is that it has been sheltered behind, for example, a large boulder until it obtains a certain height. After that height is reached it's hit by the full force of the prevailing wind and the branches are windswept the other way. My worth.
Cheers, Frank.

[MJL]

Thanks everyone for the continuing discussion. I'm finding it really interesting.

The scenario seems plausible but it seems a 3rd party needs to be involved to protect the tree ... a dune, boulder, cliff etc... or storm damage. Further, I'd like to see examples in a natural local setting so I am going to keep my eye's and phone camera peeled.

Also noting Matt and Tim's distinction of capturing a point in time; a tree at the point in time when the wind is blowing and affecting the tree as opposed the the effect of a lifetime of prevailing wind. I had not considered this.

Perhaps, for the 'story' to work in bonsai form, the pot landscape/pot setting may help explain the counter-intuitive movement. So the viewer can relate the landscape to its effect on the tree. An appropriate sized rock, mounded potting mix, perhaps a crescent pot...

[Gerard]

An unprotected tree will have all new growth affected by the prevailing winds, considering all older growth was once new growth. Otherwise you need a less likely scenario to make things credible.
Protected or perhaps long periods between wind or storms.
Sometimes the tension caused by a less credible feature is what makes things interesting but you will need to be good to pull it off!

[MJL]

Hmmm - today I was lucky enough to have a round of golf on the Peninsula. I kept an eagle eye out (pardon the pun). Not one tree did I see that matched the scenario that I suggested; some were close but in truth, none as I might have imagined. I think it might be rarer than I thought ... and as Gerard notes, very hard to pull off.