Looking for ideas and inspiration - future design for Large Tamarack

[Tofi_Bonsai]

Hey all,

I want to eventually turn this tree into a fancy / unique display piece for the front of my house.

What features, design style etc... Would make your stop and say "wow that's cool" haha.

I plan on leaving it in this planter box indefinitely, as it stands.

I bought this lovely tree in early summer. When I finally moved it from it's tiny nursery pot into this giant planter box - it's growth took off at an unexpected rate.

I have a basic understanding of Larch and their growing habits and know starting a design plan sooner then later will be beneficial.

Thank you!

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

If it's located near a road, as soon as it'll look cool it will become invisible within a week.
People tend to steal cool looking things.

Other than that, a formal upright always works well with this kind of material.
If you see a bar branch, so two branches from the same position on the trunk, cut one off.
Get a, from bottom to top, left, right, front, back (or any of those combinations) pattern in there by working your way up.
This is to avoid two consecutive branches being on the same side.
Then satisfied, look into cut backs of branches, so they start forking at the cut site. Those secondary, teriary etc. branchlets will become the pads.

That is what you can do right now. Other than that, keep it alive and healthy. But do reconsider repositioning it once it starts looking cool.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

In that planter box, I would just plan on growing it out as a formal upright. Decide how tall you want it to get, and let it grow taller than that - eventually pruning back the top and wiring up one of the top branches as the new apex. Consider letting one or two of the lowest branches grow freely before removing them in order to develop some taper in the trunk. Otherwise continue to maintain your other branches within the planned final silhouette, building up foliage pads and ramification while keeping them short. Remember - the lowest branch should be no lower than 1/3 up the trunk for your final design. It can be higher, but lower branches make the tree look young.

 

[Tofi_Bonsai]

If it's located near a road, as soon as it'll look cool it will become invisible within a week.
People tend to steal cool looking things.

Other than that, a formal upright always works well with this kind of material.
If you see a bar branch, so two branches from the same position on the trunk, cut one off.
Get a, from bottom to top, left, right, front, back (or any of those combinations) pattern in there by working your way up.
This is to avoid two consecutive branches being on the same side.
Then satisfied, look into cut backs of branches, so they start forking at the cut site. Those secondary, teriary etc. branchlets will become the pads.

That is what you can do right now. Other than that, keep it alive and healthy. But do reconsider repositioning it once it starts looking cool.

Thank you for the design tips! Some kind of formal / informal-ish was what I was thinking would be best, but I'm still very much a beginner to Bonsai and definitely lack vision.

It definitely needs some branch maintenance in spring. Nothing drastic but enough to help it on its way.

Thankfully, I live in a very safe neighborhood so theft shouldn't be a problem. I've had all kinds of cool plants and trees outside 2 years now with no issue. Also the planter box is quite large and very very heavy so it would very very obvious IF someone were to try and steal it.

 

[Tofi_Bonsai]

In that planter box, I would just plan on growing it out as a formal upright. Decide how tall you want it to get, and let it grow taller than that - eventually pruning back the top and wiring up one of the top branches as the new apex. Consider letting one or two of the lowest branches grow freely before removing them in order to develop some taper in the trunk. Otherwise continue to maintain your other branches within the planned final silhouette, building up foliage pads and ramification while keeping them short. Remember - the lowest branch should be no lower than 1/3 up the trunk for your final design. It can be higher, but lower branches make the tree look young.

Thank you for the info!

How much taller then the final height should I let it grow?

When it comes to branch and pad development how long should I let a branch grow before I cut it back and how far back should I cut it when I do?

 

[Bonsai Nut]

How much taller then the final height should I let it grow?

When it comes to branch and pad development how long should I let a branch grow before I cut it back and how far back should I cut it when I do?

You don't want to let sacrifice growth to get too large, because the wound it leaves behind becomes too big and takes too long to heal. Typically two years is the max you want to let it grow freely... and that means no pruning whatsoever.

Your finished branch length is going to depend on the height of your design, and what look you are going for. Check out photos of larch bonsai online, or better yet, look at photos of old larch in the wild. Find a photo that inspires you and use it as a guideline for your design. It doesn't have to be literal or exactly the same - just something to give you guidance. Note how at the top of the tree the branching is still young and projects upwards. In the middle of the tree the branching is horizontal, while at the bottom of the tree it weeps gracefully away from the trunk. Also old trees drop their lower branches as they get shaded out and they no longer produce for the tree.