i like my trees, this feeling might not last.

Gbhunter77

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I walked outside and actually liked my trees. But some adjustments will be nedded. On the Hynoki I will have to add movement.
 

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Thanks for sharing your trees. The hinoki looks like it has a nice base and rootspread, but the foliage looks like it's at the ends of the branches a bit too much. Don't know if these backbud, but if you do some creative wiring, it will help to minimize that.
 
Hynoki are not known for their budding. Any ideas on the wiring?
 
Hi ,GB.
When Judy brought up wiring she meant a technique of bending the branches to bring the foliage closer to the trunk. You wire the branch like you normally would. As you put bends in the branch it gets shorter. Like if you lay 2 equal lengths of string side by side. Leave one straight. Put curves or bends in the other and it is shorter now because of the length of the string the bends use. You can do this to these trees to give the illusion that the branches and foliage are close to the trunk where they need to be. Remember to put bends in the branch that go up,down,side to side.
 
Ahh anyone have pictures of said method? Real life ones would be great?
 
About the Hinoki...

Before I begin, let me say that I don't have one, never had one, and probably never will. So, please confirm what I'm about to say with someone who does have active experience with them.

When I've been at Boon's, working on my JBP, there was another student there who only wanted to work on Hinoki Cypress. So, Boon taught us about them. One of the things he told us is they don't like to be thinned out too much. That is, they don't like to have the trunk and interiors exposed to the sun. Just the opposite of most trees! They like their interiors shaded, to produce backbudding. So, when making pads, they should be very subtle, and the canopy should be full. You shouldn't be able to see "through" a Hinoki.

Now, remember, I was there and listening to what Boon was saying, but I wasn't "doing". So I might have misremembered something important.

But, I think you should research Hinoki care. The way yours looks is not the way Boon taught us do. It's not the "styling", it's for horticultural purposes.
 
I emailed Boon his message was rather cryptic but he did not say anything about exposure of the structure to the sun. The only way to get new foliage at the croch of branches (only place you get back budding) is to let the sunlight in. This is an experiment I find it too hard to find any reliable information on anything about bonsai, thus I wing it. I for some reason instinctively know what the plant needs. But I have no such ability or skill with styling, Im working on it. This Hynoki was a stick when I got it, a stick with baby soft and smooth bark! Now its starting to look like a tree. I will get another Hynoki and that one will be even better.
 
Gb, are you a Boon student? If not, you are very lucky he responded! He will respond to his students, but he gets zillions of random questions from people he does not know, there is no way he can respond to everyone.


Do you mind posting your email here? And his reply?

Perhaps I can interpret what he's saying. While his English is very good, it's not his native language, and sometimes he gets misunderstood.
 
Gb why dont you try supplemental lighting to force back budding? E.g have a light pointing where you want backbudding.
 
Ahh anyone have pictures of said method? Real life ones would be great?
This is a Grewia that sprouts its flower at the end of the new growth. The first pic is letting it grow rank (fright wig). Second is taming those long branches by putting curves into them with wire which shortens their proximity to the trunk. I leave the wires long to continue using them as the branch extends.
 

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With this tree it appears to have 4 trunks. Considered bad form generally in Bonsai. Reduce to 3 at least you should do. Understand I do not why this "rule" is part of the Japanese psyche but have seen in print. Perhaps it was in Bonsai Techniques?:confused:
 
Boon just wrote one sentence ,it was to the point. The 4 trunks on the juniper will be reduced and some turned into dead wood.
 
That's Boon! But you said it was cryptic? What did he say?
 
He said " Hynoki no bud on old wood but bud where branch meet trunk"
 
Yes, he's saying that hinoki back buds in the ctotches of branches. If you cut the branches off, no backbudding.
 
I like it the way it is. I just have to wire it up and trim some of the fans. Point of inquest where do you buy small lava stone for bonsai. I found places on amazon but the prices are outrageous.
 
look on ebay. lots of options there, I'd post a link, but pricing changes and sometimes better deals with different vendors. Let me know if you can't find anything there, and I'll get you some links.
 
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