Big dawn redwood

[eliass]

Hi all thought I would ask for some opinions

Basically at this point in time I am only concentrating on the branches.. Cleared it up a bit moved some branches around and put it back out side... The issue I face as you can see I have left a couple of branches because I was not sure which to remove.

1. I am not sure if the first branch should be the one on the bottom right or bottom left.(I have crossed it over from behind)

2. Assuming I use the first branch on the bottom left...There is 2 second branches on the left hand side and I am not sure which to remove.






Your thoughts please..

I am partial to starting the branches from the right hand side

[Handy Mick]

hi mate, if you have not had this tree long I would not be in such a hurry.
This is a nice tree and I would sit on it till you can feel something for your self, if after a year or so you have nothing yourself then we can give you some direction, don't be in a hurry especially to get rid of a low branch.

sorry
Mick

[kcpoole]

Very impressive trunk But as I have not see any of this size before ( and never worked on one myself) I would be investigating trees on the internet for guidance on where to go.

I do think that the branch on the left might be unnecessary and use the right one as the first branch.

Ken

[eliass]

Cheers Ken and Mick.

I have seen some that start from higher up and they don't look to bad I don't think that bottom left one looks natural, but with the branches being as thick as they are I wouldn't want to be regrowing them unless I absolutely needed to.. So might wait a bit more and give it the chop and start the branching from the right hand side.

Cheers

[anttal63]

Bring it around some time and have a cuppa. sort it out no prob!

[Bretts]

I think Grant had one like this for a recent Demo.

With a formal upright I think sticking as close to the basic rules as possible is a good plan. So nothing wrong with the right, left back arrangement for the branches here.

The branches would be horizontal to sloping downwards but as you head towards the top they will gradually head more up and also be closer together. The branches will be mostly straight as the trunk is. So I would get rid of the bend you created in the branches or cut them back before the bend if it doesn't come out.
I have marked the obvious branches to remove at the moment but you must come up with a plan for a new leader before any final decision is made.
You might get away with the branch at the top left or it may move out just a little to much. There may be another branch to use or you may need to start a new leader from scratch.

Leave the tree alone for now except for taking that wire back off or bending them back to straight. After all the leaves have dropped take a few more pictures if you like to see where we can create a new leader.

[Bretts]

Hmm missed that last pic.
This might work as well. But it may need some thread grafts to create branches where they may not come.

af4315d0.jpg

Viewing angle from arrow which also seems to have a nice nebari maybe even better. This will give a much lower first branch which will tell the story of a tree that has never faced any difficulty and has had plenty of the good life, sun water and nutrients. It would be fuller than a tree that had branches that start higher up.
I like this style but it is a matter of personal choice.

[craigw60]

I reckon you should take your time developing this one and grow a whole new set of branches. Red wood shoot back very easily and you will get buds at the juncture of branch and trunk.
By growing new branches you will be able to get them all to leave the trunk at the same angle, control the positioning of the sub branches and develop a very formal structure which is what your tree needs.
Lovely material if you are prepared to spend 10 years growing the branches, you will have a very fine bonsai.
Craigw

[anttal63]

I reckon you should take your time developing this one and grow a whole new set of branches. Red wood shoot back very easily and you will get buds at the juncture of branch and trunk.
By growing new branches you will be able to get them all to leave the trunk at the same angle, control the positioning of the sub branches and develop a very formal structure which is what your tree needs.
Lovely material if you are prepared to spend 10 years growing the branches, you will have a very fine bonsai.
Craigw

i agree Craig i did it / am still doing it with my swampy after spending $500 on a trunk, viewtopic.php?f=131&t=3536&hilit=swamp+cypress best thing i could have done. It will be a far better tree .

[Bretts]

Here is the tree Grant worked on. Not sure if he ended up posting the full work he did. ?
viewtopic.php?f=25&t=8174&p=94191
My first thought with this tree was that we could take all the branches off and grow new ones Craig, but it seems to me that the ones to be used low and fat would be close enough to the same flat angle and not in bad spots either (if they where not twisted in the wrong direction with wire). Any slight difference I would be happy with balancing out in the design and this may be better than every branch exactly perfect. Plus having a head start with the lower branches will help with the desired taper of low branches to higher branches.

Then again I have a much fuller impression for the swampy than I think most others do?

[GavinG]

Would you consider spending some time growing a top on it? It's a great, powerful trunk, and then it suddenly disappears....

Get a long, strong, thick leader, cut it back, then do the same a few more times so there's a logical tapering of the trunk from solid to fine, right at the top. It would take a bit longer, but the tree would taper smoothly, all the way up.

Just my 2c. It's a fine trunk to make whatever you want.

Gavin

[eliass]

Thank you all for the feedback.

Gavin I think you make a good point, might make the tree taller but that doesn't bother me.

Antonio, I will take you up on that I will most likely bring it along next Monday and let you have a look at it.

Will have a few more experienced people have a look at it before I do anything..

I think this tree will be a cracka but it will take time and a lot of advice.

Thank you once again all, I really appreciate everyone's advice and opinions.

[Grant Bowie]

Hi,

This Taxodium of mine is closer in character to the redwood.

The branches can be bent dramatically if you choose to.

Grant

Taxodium on 31st October 2011.JPG

[Bretts]

Hi Grant,
That is a great example of where this tree could go.
I asked you at the collection one day about whether these will send out buds on the trunk where there have not been previous inter nodes. The answer at that time was unsure. So I wonder if I could rephrase that in asking have you ever had trouble getting a bud in a certain area and had to resort to a thread graft or such.
Although mine throws buds out a plenty they are not where I want and I have and will need to continue to use thread grafts.

Thanks
Brett

[NBPCA]

Hi Grant,
That is a great example of where this tree could go.
I asked you at the collection one day about whether these will send out buds on the trunk where there have not been previous inter nodes. The answer at that time was unsure. So I wonder if I could rephrase that in asking have you ever had trouble getting a bud in a certain area and had to resort to a thread graft or such.
Although mine throws buds out a plenty they are not where I want and I have and will need to continue to use thread grafts.

Thanks
Brett

Hi Brett,

The Taxodium and Metasequoia do seem to throw out buds on old wood quite freely(Whether at previous internodes or not I don't know).

In the picture you can see that the small lowest right hand branch for instance popped out by itself a few years ago.

I will probably have to resort to a thread graft of the Taxodium mucronatum group at the collection to get a branch where I want it as it has steadfastly refused to bud where I want.

Grant.