Brett's Hornbeam

[Bretts]

I lost a couple of the trees in the Forrest, but that is ok it happens to the best of us. Even the ones that don't post pictures of their trees because they don't meet up to the standard of their talk
There seemed to be a few things going and lack of light seems to have played a big role and then once they where uncovered the sun finished them off
Sit got a few around to fill the spots but that one in the front was a little unique. I have given this one trim and removed the wire but mostly it will just be left alone to be allowed to grow strong new roots.

hornbeam 002.jpg

hornbeam 003.jpg

[Bretts]

As mentioned before, this one took soooooooooo long to come out of dormancy it had me very worried. Same as the other American hornbeam it was like it did not like having it's roots out of the nice warm styrofoam box It came over that hurdle well and is a nice lush healthy green but it also is not growing as strong as it would usually so it will spend the season just growing and replenishing roots.

hornbeam 005.jpg

I had taken this to a workshop with Peter Adams several years ago and this is the drawing he did of the tree.

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[Mojo Moyogi]

Hi all.
I'm hearing an awful lot about this defoliation and ramification business lately and I just want to quickly and politely mention for the less experienced among us (and some not so inexperienced) that ideally, particularly in the case of deciduous trees, there are a lot of things that need to be taken care of in the design and building of bonsai that need to happen long before twigs and leaf size become relevant. Many people never get this into their heads, (myself included in the first couple of years) or don't do it in practice, that is a pity.

Maybe I should start a separate thread and elaborate, or maybe one of you super keen guys and or girls should ask: "Hey Mojo, what are you going on about?".

Cheers,
Mojo

Maybe you should show us some examples with your trees?

Even the ones that don't post pictures of their trees because they don't meet up to the standard of their talk

What would you like to see Brett, I have lots of little trees, that's what I'm into, lots and lots of stuff being built, rebuilt, dismantled etc. My place isn't really the place to see trees in nice pots, with hundreds of trees in development, I'd rather spend the coin on plant material, benches that are functional, infrastructure and that sort of thing. If I were planning on keeping more of what I own, it would be a different story, that hasn't been the case for a few years now. I wish I had a better idea of what you like (apart from Hornbeams), you don't seem too interested in mini-bonsai. Have you ever built a trunk from scratch? You should, then you could really invest what you know in your trees, although it's obviously a longer process, there's a lot to be said for total control, in preference to being anchored to where a lot of nursery stock leaves you as a starting point. In your case, obviously if you were Victorian or at least Metropolitan NSW, your choices of material would be better, but there are plenty of bonsai enthusiasts who are horticulturally and geographically isolated that do seem to do well.

Anyway, keep on keeping on.

Cheers,
Mojo

[Meagi]

Hi Brett
Mate those are ripper trees
Pic 1+2 on page 3 what type are they

The last is great as well love the Peter Adams photo
In years to come you'll have some amazing trees

Any idea of age of these ?

Cheers thanks for posting

[Bretts]

Mojo you have previously stated that you will not show your trees because they are not yet at a standard that you want to show. Nuff said

[Bretts]

Hey Meagi The first one is European hornbeam or Carpinus betulus.
The second is Korean hornbeam Carpinus turczaninowii, There is also a Korean hornbeam called Carpinus coreana but these two have now officially become the same tree although they do have some slight differences. The Forrest is a mix of Carpinus turczaninowii and coreana but I can't tell whic is which any more
The other species I have shown here the one drawn by Peter Adams is American hornbeam or Carpinus caroliniana.

Oh and I would love to see yours if you can Meagi

[Meagi]

Hi Brett
Here it is American hornbeam
Bit bare at front as I Defoliated it a bit to see what it likes and dislikes


Cheers

[Bretts]

That's a very elegant tree I like the gradual taper and the branching looks good from what I can see. I would love to get my hands on that. Do you know any history, how long since last repot?
The soil looks OK for a hornbeam but I would be tempted to go for a little more open mix next spring. Get good strong roots over the next couple of years and we could get the leaf size down with good pruning technique.
If you have recently purchased the tree I would do only light maintenance until you get to know it better.

[Meagi]

Yes Brett just bought tree from a person from here
Last of his big trees . I think he told me it is due for a repot but will do this winter .
1981 I think he told me its age seed sowen he is to post me a pic of it in 1980"s
When he finds it
Thanks again brett love the trees

Going to maybe go to monbulk this holiday break they tell me they have
Carpinus betulus and C. b. Fastigiata.
Also some C. b. Pendula

Can you tell me what they are in English !

[Mojo Moyogi]

Mojo you have previously stated that you will not show your trees because they are not yet at a standard that you want to show. Nuff said

Brett, I don't remember having said that. And it's not relevant, since you have answered my earlier question.

Hi Chris,
That looks to be a 'beam with potential and from the looks of it, with nothing of consequence to eliminate or undo. That makes it a worthwhile purchase.

Carpinus betulus is European Hornbeam. "fastigiata" is a cultivar of EuroBeam with a narrow, upright habit. "Pendula" is the weeping form. Of the 3, the Species C.betulus is the preferred in bonsai culture.

Cheers,
Mojo

[Bretts]

Got Big Bugs out for it's trim. It is Carpinus betulus or European hornbeam This is probably the hardest trim it has had this season. As well as taking all new shoots back to two inter nodes (leaves) I also did a little branch selection/removal.

hornbeam 007.jpg

Instead of defoliating which i think there is no need for with hornbeam I will often cut the largest leaves in half. It is not a good idea to remove them totally because that encourages rapid growth and long inter nodes. Here you can see the large leaves that I cut in half previously. (you may also notice how large the leaves could be at the start of the year) I removed most of these this time and was quite aggressive in trimming many more to open the tree up and let the light into the inner buds again.

hornbeam 009.jpg

The tree will be very susceptible to leaf sunburn now. Where leaves where shaded by leaves above the uncovered leaves will now quickly burn. You can tell the difference in this to leaf scorch or burn by the sunburn shows up in defined patterns on the leaf where it was before shaded from above. Hard to explain but once you see it, it is a very obvious difference. I should re-arrange the bench to put it in a shady area but I still haven't unpacked my benches yet just in case I decide to go away for a bit over this weekend

hornbeam 016.jpg

[bodhidharma]

That is coming along nicely Bretts, actually, looking great. You will have to bite the bullet one day and defoliate it so you can get at it to give it a good wiring job. i defoliate mine and it comes back beautifully. Oh, by the way, nice piece of gyprock. Your backdrops are getting better, dont leave it in the rain though.

[Matthew]

Brett
looks like they have faired well with the summer scorcher we had a fortnight or so ago. better than last year? some of them are coming along nicely , branching seems to have ramified quite well from what i can see . My garden tree is about 6 feet tall now and will be a very nice garden tree in years to come. Keep up the good work

[Meagi]

Really like this tree Brett looking better everytime I see it .
Very solid little guy ... I to have cut my leaves in half on my
Hornbeam did that yesterday hoping to get smaller leaves .
And open it up like you said

[Meagi]

Hopefully I've done the right thing was so thick I could not see what she really had . Some branches are drooping out of place and some are crossed will wire into place