Fun with some Tall, Thin Dwarf Hinoki...

[johng]

Not long ago I found an old nursery that had a bunch of Dwarf Hinoki Cypress in 1 gallon pots that had been placed close together and left for a decade or longer. The result was a bunch of very tall thin trees with minimal foliage and branching.

Having always had an affection for tall thin trees I couldn't help myself...I bought 40 of them

After having wired out 15 into literati-esque forms, I was inspired to try something different...here are the results

Before:

After:

The tallest in this group is nearly 4'....the shortest about 30".

 

[Cypress187]

It's very., different.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Your plans later to make a grouping I am imagining...I can see it!

 

[johng]

Since these have been in these pots so long there are only roots in the container...little to no soil. I'm going to take a couple of years to sort out the roots and develop a thin flat root ball that will allow these trees to be in a shallow container...


In the mean time I have been playing with potential containers...in these pics I didn't worry about tree placement at all...just wanted to get a feel for how they might look...I also plan to develop a few more in this style so that I have plenty to choose from when I finally get around to putting them together...

Here is a possible slab that could be used...

Here is a more traditional oval container...

and a very shallow rectangle Chinese container...

I think all the options have some pros and cons...my favorite is the stone slab.

John

 

[Cadillactaste]

I'm a sucker for a stone slab...just bought one myself with a raft thuja in it. So yeah...that would be KILLER!

 

[GrimLore]

After having wired out 15 into literati-esque forms, I was inspired to try something different...here are the results

Like it a lot! I recently trimmed and wired a thin 32 inch tall Red Eastern Cedar in the same fashion and plan to do the other 4 smaller ones in the near future. I choose the Red Eastern as they are not often used and they display that curly bark like a Crape Myrtle early on. Thank you for sharing and I will post a picture when my new camera gets here(soon).

Grimmy

 

[augustine]

John,

Very good idea, the group will look very nice.

 

[sorce]

...my favorite is the stone slab.

My first thought was it's gonna be hard to find a rock for these!

Then you proved again you are the rock master!

Slick!

Sorce

 

[barrosinc]

Stone slab most definitely

 

[barrosinc]

did you ever plant repot these in a group?

 

[johng]

No yet.... It is going to take a couple years to get the roots right....too long in 1 gallon pots with no soil!

 

[markyscott]

Here's a similar style planting in a very unusual container.



It really worked for me when I saw it - what do you think?

Scott

 

[0soyoung]

It really worked for me when I saw it - what do you think?

Works for me too.

Reminds me of a pot in a Peter Tea blog post. Lang is making a 'down set' planter that is in this same vein.
Ten-cent trees, thousand dollar pot. A dash of artistry and it looks like a million.

 

[Eric Group]

Here's a similar style planting in a very unusual container.

View attachment 117076

It really worked for me when I saw it - what do you think?

Scott

Doesn't really do much for me. Just MY opinion.

If I was to try to explain why- which I hesitate to do because I am sure in person it is better looking, the person who did it is a great artist... The Trees look unfinished and the sparse growth makes them SEEM unhealthy- I am sure they are not and I know someone would say it was intentional, looks like they are battling the elements... Just not my style I guess.

Do they look natural? Kind of yes, but the top 1/3 or so of the tree in the left could be improved just a bit and make the whole thing work better. Right now it looks like... A young red Cedar someone dug out the ground and stuck in a bonsai pot.. Something about the distribution of branches and their angles doesn't make it look old to me, and it would be a whole lot cooler if it did IMO.

BUT, I am not that into the tall, whispy styles like this personally. I think it is so hard to get them right... You need dramatic movement, a certain kind of container and with that limited canopy, the branches have to be PERFECT!

I am sure to people who love a good tall/ slim job like this, they are quite beautiful! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder of course...

 

[Chris Swink]

Since these have been in these pots so long there are only roots in the container...little to no soil. I'm going to take a couple of years to sort out the roots and develop a thin flat root ball that will allow these trees to be in a shallow container...


In the mean time I have been playing with potential containers...in these pics I didn't worry about tree placement at all...just wanted to get a feel for how they might look...I also plan to develop a few more in this style so that I have plenty to choose from when I finally get around to putting them together...

Here is a possible slab that could be used...

Here is a more traditional oval container...

and a very shallow rectangle Chinese container...

I think all the options have some pros and cons...my favorite is the stone slab.

John

Rock Slab all the way. This is going to be awesome.

Chris

 

[Chris Swink]

Since these have been in these pots so long there are only roots in the container...little to no soil. I'm going to take a couple of years to sort out the roots and develop a thin flat root ball that will allow these trees to be in a shallow container...


In the mean time I have been playing with potential containers...in these pics I didn't worry about tree placement at all...just wanted to get a feel for how they might look...I also plan to develop a few more in this style so that I have plenty to choose from when I finally get around to putting them together...

Here is a possible slab that could be used...

Here is a more traditional oval container...

and a very shallow rectangle Chinese container...

I think all the options have some pros and cons...my favorite is the stone slab.

John

The pines and spruce on the PNW coastline grow in this fasion naturaly. Even though these are hinoki they can still make an impressionable scenery of coastal weathered trees.

Chris

 

[just.wing.it]

Here's a similar style planting in a very unusual container.

View attachment 117076

It really worked for me when I saw it - what do you think?

Scott

I dig it, very natural looking tree, and cool pot.
It will be cool to see what you end up with johng.

 

[Adair M]

Since these have been in these pots so long there are only roots in the container...little to no soil. I'm going to take a couple of years to sort out the roots and develop a thin flat root ball that will allow these trees to be in a shallow container...


In the mean time I have been playing with potential containers...in these pics I didn't worry about tree placement at all...just wanted to get a feel for how they might look...I also plan to develop a few more in this style so that I have plenty to choose from when I finally get around to putting them together...

Here is a possible slab that could be used...

Here is a more traditional oval container...

and a very shallow rectangle Chinese container...

I think all the options have some pros and cons...my favorite is the stone slab.

John

Oh, my!

John, how many of these do you have? 40? You will make spectacular forests out of these!

For what it's worth, I saw another pot similiar to the one Scott posted when I was at the Nationals. I believe it was on Bjorn's table. I don't know if he still had it at the end of the show.

I'm looking forward to see what you come up with!

 

[johng]

Here's a similar style planting in a very unusual container.

View attachment 117076

It really worked for me when I saw it - what do you think?

Scott

Hey Scott! I have always loved long tall thin trees...this one is ok, I've seen better. I am not really a fan of the container...feels much too formal for such an informal tree... Tall and thin trees...wide and shallow pots is my typical preference or a slab!

 

[johng]

John, how many of these do you have? 40? You will make spectacular forests out of these!

Thanks...eventually...probably going to airlayer all of them just to get workable roots before any forest work can start...but that is the plan...just going to take a couple years.

I experimented this year on a couple with just how drastic I could be to the roots...not nearly as much as I need to be...so airlayering looks to be my best choice.