A couple of collected hophornbeams

[LindaPat]

The one with the marked crook was growing on a mud bank which was gradually slipping into a creek. I think it slipped, then started growing up again. I heard you can’t make a deciduous tree into a Literati, or can you?

 

[hemmy]

I heard you can’t make a deciduous tree into a Literati, or can you?

It looks like someone forgot to tell that to mother nature! That first tree is wonderful. The greater challenge with deciduous is just keeping the growth sparse while maintaining health. I hope they eventually flower, the hanging catkins would look spectacular.

 

[Forsoothe!]

Literati are old, and they exhibit a difficult existence. It will take years to bark up and look old, but you have the building blocks to start this one. It will want to grow and your job will be to only let it grow a little and with only very short internodes which you will encourage by constantly taking out the tip leaf/bud when the internode behind it is as long as you want to keep, or shorter. Keep the roots small, too, by repotting into a small pot, and do it every year. Take it back to here now and wire it this fall when the leaves turn. Remove the wire in spring when, or before, the new buds begin to expand. Leave the stub (for now) to better resist breaking at that joint. Finally, do the bending in steps. If you want a 360° turn, do it in steps of 30 to 45° a week or two apart. Do it slowly and stop if you hear it crack or creak. Wire in the growing season for 4 weeks at a time, cut it off, and put on new. Eventually you'll get good at wiring soft green shoots for a week at a time, and along with clip & grow you'll make a highly detailed tree with maybe a dozen reduced leaves scattered in several clusters. Collect pictures online of Literati you like so you can steal their design details.

 

[Shogun610]

Did you find those in the wissahcikon?

 

[hinmo24t]

big fan of these and have a handful going/enjoying them myself

they are possible the trees used for making traditional walking sticks unless i mixed them w regular hornbeam

 

[LindaPat]

marvelous to find out How! Thank you, Forsoothe! Gonna do it, see how it goes.

No, not the Wissahickon, Shogun. My family has a camp ouside Petersburgh NY, between Albany and the Vermont border. On a slope, and a lot of the soil is slipping clay. Both hop hornbeams and hornbeams like it, and are deer nibbled, too, with interesting shapes.

Yeah, Hinmo, i think the wood is considered useful for making tools, too. Ironwood. Musclewood.

 

[Njyamadori]

I like the first tree and it would be cool if you really refined it. Yeah sure conifers are used more than deciduous for literati and bunjin style. But why not try hornbeam !

 

[LindaPat]

I like the first tree and it would be cool if you really refined it. Yeah sure conifers are used more than deciduous for literati and bunjin style. But why not try hornbeam !

I appreciate the encouragement!