Styling Advice

[quodlibet_ens]

I picked up this young Wollemi Pine today with the hope of training it as a bonsai. In the wild, Willemi's tend to be of formal upright style which is quite appealing to style it as a bonsai, though I'm more drawn to the aesthetics of Literati and Shari styles.

That being said, it is still a very young plant that I hope to grow out to Omono size (60 - 90cm). From the pictures below, you can see a slight reverse taper forming just about the first branch on the right (red circle) -- this is when I had intended on chopping the trunk and front branch (blue) and putting some shape into the new lead branch on the right and the lower branch on the left (yellow). The care guide that comes with the plant suggests that June is the best time to prune, but would that include a trunk chop?

Would love to hear your thoughts on this and any advice you might have.

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[quodlibet_ens]

Here are some styling inspirations I've found for the Wollemi, though my concern is with the type of leaves a Wollemi has (which are something similar to Tamarind).

Again, any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

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[Andrew Legg]

My advice to you would be to pop it in the ground and enjoy it as a normal size tree. This is not appropriate bonsai material as the leaf structure is way to course. If you want to grow it as a curiosity, then by all means, go for it.

[Kunzea]

Good to see you trying wollemi as bonsai, quodl.... They can be grown as bonsai, though you may need to give some more thought about styling them. Try to go with what the species offers best, rather than starting with an idea of a shape and trying to fit the species into it.

Here is pic from the VNBC AABC Conference in May this year. It is of a wollemi and is well done. No special 'style' was in mind of the artist, but just some successful experimenting.

The wollemis are really very different from other conifers. The side branches have the leaves, but the tree naturally drops the whole side branch, rather than individual leaves, when the branch becomes too old. Tip pruning the side branches can stimulate ramification, with one or two new branches from just behind the cut. This does not always happen.... It occurs naturally with a very small proportion of branches in trees in the ground and over 10 years old. It also has been achieved with bonsai in pots.

The trees are known to produce new trunks when the leader is cut back, as well as before the leader is cut back. This happens in the wild quite regularly, as well as in pots. It produces multi-trunked individuals, so that can be built into your thinking about styling.

I wouldn't worry too much about the minor reverse taper you've seen. The tree is very young and the trunks thicken quite well with a few years behind them. The bark becomes 'bubbly' and helps mask the apparent issue.

I'd like to see where you have got to with your tree so far .

Cheers
Roger

[Starfox]

I have one of these too, they are a cool tree.
My main goal is to keep it alive which for the time being it seems quite happy so half way there. The one from the AABC should be all the inspiration one needs.
If I could get some cuttings to strike I'd feel happier in styling it as a bonsai.

I'd be keen to see an update too if possible.

[Kunzea]

Hi Quodlibet_ens
I'm wondering how you are getting on with your wollie? It would be great to hear from you with an update.