Raft / Fallen Branch Angophora

[quodlibet_ens]

I have a few plants that I thought would look great as either raft or fallen branch style bonsai. I have 2 seedlings and 1 more advanced tree with natural growth that would make it quite easy to style in this way. Angophora can be naturally quite spindly, so styling I imagine may not necessarily require a lot of wiring depending on the style.

Below I've attached my photos of my plants as well as a collage of photos for styling inspiration that have come from other bonsai, actual fallen branches or drawings I've seen posted around the interwebs.

My question is, when would be the most suitable time, both as in season and the plants age, to begin styling for raft / fallen tree? I imagine the more advanced tree could be styled this Spring (if not now?), but the two younger plants may need to time to develop first. I figure the earlier roots can be established along the length of the raft or branch the better, right?

Cheers,
Nathan

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[Kevin]

Hello Quodibet,

I am very fond of the raft style myself.
I believe the best time to start training a plant is when it's very young, while the main stem is still pliable / malleable.
This would allow the trunk to naturally thicken with that 90 degree'ish bend in it.
Initially, I would be allowing just one branch to grow and thicken in the horizontal position and training subsequent branches to grow vertically and while the verticals are still young cage wiring some movement in them.

The techniques i have practised are essentially 'espalier'.
I am trialling this technique on a Eucalyptus myself, without much luck as the plant has only given me one branch to train for the verticals. But it's still young and presently very thin at about 700mm on the horizontal. I believe / am hoping come spring when i cut the apical growth the trunk will throw many verticals -

Like you i have seen many naturally rafted Eucalypts but cannot recall seeing many in the Bonsai style.
SammyD has obtained and trained a great little Eucalypt raft, which i have been meaning to ask him for an update on.
Attached below for your reference.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=19103

Good-luck with yours,
Kevin

[quodlibet_ens]

The techniques i have practised are essentially 'espalier'.

Hey Kevin, thanks for the feedback!

I saw a picture online showing the steps to complete a raft style which I was looking to follow.

Mine won't have as many points of contact with the soil as it does in the example shown, mine is likely only to have 2 points of contact being the main and original root source and a secondary one where the hollow of the arch touches the soil.

I will take some photos of how I go about it and progression shots, just to keep a diary of what worked and what didn't.

I love to see a photo of how you have styled yours so far.

Cheers,
Nathan


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[Kevin]

Hello Nathan,

Last Summer, just for fun and experimental reasons i was successful in using the above technique on a Jacaranda tree i had trained to grow horizontally.

Eucalypts do air layer like other species, but will rarely root from cuttings. So i do not know how successful 'patching' will go with Eucalypts and their cousins. But i don't believe it matters too much while everything is still attached to the main root ball.
Maybe others can elaborate on their experiences with rafting Eucalypts.

As for my Euc, it's just a twig lying horizontally at the moment, nothing worth photography. It seems i may have picked a bad species to practice with, it's an unusual species from WA - E. caesia ssp Magna.
In the future i will only collect indigenous natives.
If it survives or ever eventuates into anything other than a twig i will start a progression thread.

Kevin