Western Hemlock progression

At the end of 2016 I got an inexpensive Western Hemlock from a BSOP auction. The tree was in a 1-gallon nursery can. It was fairly tall and straight and I’m going with that as the design, envisioning this as a mountain tree on top of a rocky outcropping or at the edge of a break in the woods.

I gave it a box in early 2017 and it grew really well.


So in September 2017 I knocked its growth back to the minimum and removed an unnecessary bottom branch


It continued to grow really well in full sun (with afternoon shade); here it is September 2018


In late summer 2019 I wired it out, continuing with the plan of a mountainous tree style with branches weighed down by snow


Here it is today in its first ceramic pot


I’ll let it rest and recover a bit this year, but there’s still some wire to remove from its branches. I need to be careful to control its growth so it doesn’t blow out too much and get too leggy.

I’ll give it another full wiring and moderate pruning a year from now. Updates to come!

This tree doesn’t look so bad in the photo, but it was a rough year. The weekend of all-time record high temps in June had burnt away a fair bit of foliage and buds.


Right before the record temps I had tried to do some seasonally appropriate work by removing wire. I stopped work once I saw the severe weather warnings. The two branches where I had removed wire were the first to fully die. Sheesh.

I need a shade structure.

Here are some black and white studies that seem to confirm the tree is at an ideal position in the pot

that looks like awesome material.

what are your plans for the Apex ? going to let it go to maybe thicken up the trunk some? also that lowest right branch kinda makes me feel that the tree is going to fall over any minute now..

just a suggestion:

this material really suits the slanting style you are going for!

will watch this thread for updates

best regards
Herman

@YukiShiro respectfully, you’re wrong on all fronts

These trees typically exceed 200 feet in height but never more than 10 feet in diameter. A ratio of 1:20 or even 1:25 fits the species. I don’t plan to do any focused trunk thickening.

They’re also a shade-tolerant species that competes for light in wet, middling elevation ranges with a ton of precipitation. Landslides and funky trees are common in their range.

Since it’s so available to me as a design element and it fits the species, I think I’ll continue to play up the tension in the tree. Without that, it’s likely a lot more quiet and calm; maybe even unremarkable and insignificant?

No worries @parhamr ,

this will be interesting, will follow along.

did not know what you wanted to go for, this is why I asked questions....fail to see why I am wrong for asking questions? and the fact that design is subjective, mostly...guess what you are trying to say is, that is not the design you want to go for...that's more than fine...it's your tree after all

ps. quiet and calm is never unremarkable nor insignificant if well done, but then again this statement is very subjective as well

best regards
Herman

@YukiShiro I appreciate your curiosity. My complaint here is nothing personal about you; there is an underlying theme to bonsai enthusiasts of “every discussion or presentation of every tree is fair game for critique and analysis” and I’m fighting an uphill battle to not participate. I hope to point out those interactions are often unsolicited advice that miss the point. Asking about the plan in general or what my goal is for specific branches are interesting, approachable questions on their own.

I posted this tree to share my work and never asked “what would you change?” or “what needs adjustment and correction?” You provided that advice, which doesn’t help me so it’s not very welcomed, but I understand why it’s a common behavior.

I posted a tree that is native and endemic to my region and it’s one that can out compete a ton of other species. Our climates are quite different and our native flora and fauna have almost zero commonality. You offered the idea of thickening the trunk and reducing its height, which just doesn’t do anything for the plan I wrote in the third sentence of the first post of this thread. It also doesn’t fit this species at all, which is clearly listed in this post for your own edification.

My frustrations aren’t about specifically you, but about these (unsolicited, off base advice) exchanges that repeat ad nauseam and where both parties are repeatedly unable to meet in the middle.

Thanks for reading. I don’t want to send you away, but please know I’ll gladly prefer to discuss ideas and goals rather than receiving advice where the social expectation is I accept it, consider it, and provide you with a meaningful response to that advice.

I think you had trouble to interpret my post?....<---see the question mark????

anyhow then I'll not comment anymore...

have fun

Did some reduction, fine pruning, and a full wiring.

The tree was growing way too strongly in that rectangle pot.


So I’ve cut it way back to fit this nice 12" round by Denise Soultanian.


It’s a bit top heavy so I have it strapped down. After it adjusts to the work I plan to clean it up a lot. I hope to get it back to that fine inner foliage as seen in the Feb 2023 styling.

I like the pot change