AusBonsai

Species: Thuja Occidentalis Smaragd - Easterb White Cedar
Purchased: 19/05/2016 from Ray Nesci Bonsai Nursery
Cost: $14
Original Height; 47cm

OK, I'm throwing my hat into the ring with this Thuja Occidentalis. I was attracted to the tree by its broad, triple-trunk base, and I am hoping to reduce it down to fit into a rather lovely little Seto pot that I have been looking to fill. I think the tree and the pot will marry well together. On July 1st, my plan is to reduce the roots an the trunks by half, leaving it in a training pot to recover over the winter, before reducing again in spring to bring it into the smaller pot.
Then the fun begins!
Good luck everybody!

......AAAAAAAND THEY'RE OFF!!!!!!!!
Arrived home later than planned but hit the balcony to get cracking on phase one of my evil plan The eventual pot I have lined up for this tree is tiny, and I am sure that hacking the tree down that far in one go would probably result in firewood.
So my first move is to reduce root and trunk mass by 50% and pop it into a training pot to recover before reducing again in spring.
Out with the saw... Then in with the chopsticks...
This was one dense rootball!!! It was like trying to comb out a dreadlock....over an hour of teasing and coaxing and twisting and fraying..... Traumatic stuff for me...I can't imagine how the tree must have felt!!!
I plopped it into a Seasol Spabath for 20 minutes to give it a break before the big chop. All potted up and, hopefully, the ugliest this tree will ever be.
See you in three months!

A quick virt. Hmmm....more movement in the second trunk, methinks. Round to the left, curving right, following the line of the main trunk.
This could work!

Nothing to report - Just posting this link to an article on the management of foliage pads on thuja occidentalis for future reference.
http://www.absbonsai.org/eastern-white- ... techniques
Useful stuff!
Roll on spring....

Thymetraveller wrote:A quick virt.

cedarvirt1.jpg

Hmmm....more movement in the second trunk, methinks. Round to the left, curving right, following the line of the main trunk.
This could work!

Are you sure it was quick?

Aw...just got carried away with m'crayons....

Update:
Stage 2...The Tree Torturer Strikes.....
Time to get cracking on this one.
Armed with not-totally-convincing virt, chardonnay and sharp things, I set to with my jin pliers to lay waste to the centre and right-hand trunks... All good! Now wire.... LOTS of wire! This is deadwood now, so I'm not concerned about wire scars. I want it held tight in place while the wood hardens.
Next step? Let the remaining trunk recover with food, sunshine and TLC.
That was fun!

Thyme for an update... Very much at the "wait and see" stage with this one.
It seems to have survived the terrible things I put it through and is happily pushing new growth. I read in a learned article online that Thuja Occidentalis has strong ideas about which way up its branches should grow and, having lost the one I had selected as the new leader and attempted to tease over in a new direction, I can vouch for the truth in that theory...
So, we grow. I am not sure what I am going to be able to make of this tree in the time that remains of the competition, but I will stick with it, and perhaps slot it into the "refine" category in a future contest. We shall see!

The new growth has been going so well that I decided to venture a little wire...I'm glad I did!
I'm feeling happier about the tree now. A before and after shot.

This is amazing what you have achieved with this tree since May. I purchased a similar tree about the same time with plans to make a raft-style, but I haven't got there yet - just keeping an eye on it and seeing how it grows and how it responds to different weather and watering patterns. Thanks for the inspiration.


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Thank you KirstieWilk!
It's been keeping me on my toes...
I have found these links useful:
http://www.absbonsai.org/eastern-white- ... techniques

http://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t9511 ... zone-thuja

One thing to note; this species is very particular about which side of the foliage faces the sun. I tried to wire a branch vertically to create a new leader, and the branch was dead in days...if you are creating a raft, you might need to bear that in mind.
They're lovely trees, but can be fussy.
Keep us posted on your progress!

December to February update. The tree has responded well to pinching, with some back-budding and plenty of new growth.
In order to push this still further, I will whip off the apex and see what happens. There, now. That didn't hurt...
My plan is to jin the top of the main trunk when the wire comes off, bringing it into line with the hellish tribulations which befell it's sisters...

Here's a nightmarish shot of that deadwood. I have to say, I am really enjoying this competition. I am learning a lot about two very different species, and my confidence in taking (usually fairly informed...) risks in styling is reflected in my approach to my other bonsai.

Seizing a gap in the rain to do some work on this tree...
Most of my fellers have really enjoyed the soaking we've been going through in Sydney, as have all the weeds! So....weeds out, big wire off; it's done it's job. A bit of a pinch and some rewiring.
With the big wire gone I can jin the remaining dead trunk, with a shari down to one of the top branches. A bit of an angle change for its eventual pot...going good!
Here’s that new jin:

Starting to look good, I like it
Nice pot too

Loving the new angle

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