Dwarf Hemlock tips

[Manbris]

Hi,

Recently got a dwarf Hemlock - originally from Kaizan bonsai- totally new to this species.

What type of dwarf hemlock is this- Canadian? How not to kill it? Keep it like a Yew? Last two pics showed browning leaves not sure if it is normal this time of year or it is a shock?

Do they back bud well? take air layering well? plan is to keep it alive for the first year ...

thanks!

 

[Manbris]

@Shibui , Hi Shibui, any advice on the tree please?

 

[Shibui]

I do not know hemlock as a tree. Can't even remember seeing a dwarf hemlock so it's a bit difficult for me to give advice or judge your bonsai hemlock.
Just purely on aesthetics:
The lower trunk looks mature and solid but not a lot of taper to give the impression of old age. Solid nebari.
The tree may be in danger of developing the poodle cut look so please be careful how you trim and style over the next few years. Aim for natural tree/branch shapes rather than rounded topiary balls of foliage unless that's a feature of the species.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Hemlock do not back bud on wood old enough to have bark. It might not be absolute, if you do get a back bud, cherish the back bud.

This means the only way to make your tall and leggy tree look full is to allow it to grow much larger. Or you could make the entire tree out of the lowest branch, and turn the rest to deadwood. But I think that would look awkward for decades too.

This is a difficult piece to start with. I'm not sure what I'd do with it.

 

[Manbris]

Hemlock do not back bud on wood old enough to have bark. It might not be absolute, if you do get a back bud, cherish the back bud.

This means the only way to make your tall and leggy tree look full is to allow it to grow much larger. Or you could make the entire tree out of the lowest branch, and turn the rest to deadwood. But I think that would look awkward for decades too.

This is a difficult piece to start with. I'm not sure what I'd do with it.

Thanks so much for your reply. Indeed. Not sure either on design - more of a learn curve for me. Probably will just aim to keep it alive for the next couple of years. Maybe airlayer the top branch at some point? Do they drop old leaves? like a pine

One thing I read on the interest suggested that they can be put in the shadiest part of the garden. Does that mean they are just like a Taxus/Yew in the UK climate?

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Hemlock (Tsuga) are in many ways similar to Taxus in growth habits. Fruit & Seed are quite different, but growth habits are similar. Hemlock will survive deep shade, but you will not like the growth. In shade, growth is loose and wispy, and often quite weak, fewer needles per inch of branch. In deep shade they will seem to just stop growing. They won't die, but they won't grow much at all in deep shade. Best growth is in 3/4 sun to full sun. With more than 1/2 sun growth will be tighter, more dense, more needles per inch of branch, and more rapid.

 

[rutulus]

I don't have any experience to offer, but I recently read this passage about eastern hemlock from the US Forest Service that illustrates Leo’s point about the shade being tolerable but undesirable.