Winter 2014 tried to do in this Hornbeam. I have a reconstruction project :(

[fourteener]

Winter 2014 proved to be tough on this tree. All of the branches are dead. Some new life sprang out from about 3-4 useful places, but they are all very close to each other. Do I build a new apex and make this the mother of all sumo hornbeams? Do I keep the dead apex and wire out the branches to replace the ones that died?

I let this thing grow out as much branch as it wanted to this year just to get it healthy. I wonder how much of that should I cut back and how much should I let it do the same thing next year to really get it back on track health wise.

This is one of those reasons for building my indoor unit. I can't lose material like this.

It still has a serious trunk, a few roots and a few shoots. C'mon baby, you can do this!!

 

[sorce]

F that winter!

I would let it grow.

That base is amazing..

Sorce

 

[coh]

Geez, that's a shame! But it did survive, at least. If it was my tree, I'd be inclined to just let it run for another year without any pruning to build up some new reserves. It's possible the roots suffered as did the top...

Chris

 

[M. Frary]

What kind of hornbeam? American?

 

[fourteener]

What kind of hornbeam? American?

It was sold as a Korean Hornbeam. True or not, I don't know.

 

[Martin Sweeney]

It was sold as a Korean Hornbeam. True or not, I don't know.

14'er,

True, I think.

Regards,
Martin

 

[edprocoat]

Fourteener, about that Hornbeam in the words of Billy Joel " I love you just the way you are ... "

That looks like an old tree living despite the ravages of weather.

ewd

 

[JudyB]

I would let this run another year as well. If you have good solid growth, then maybe in another year, you can cut back and see if you get any buds anywhere else before you decide what the shape of the tree will become. I would be patient, and see what you have before you take anything off.

 

[KennedyMarx]

That really sucks. It has such a great shape and taper. I wonder if the wood is tough enough to last as a deadwood feature? It is called ironwood after all.

 

[Dav4]

Ouch! That base/trunk screams "import". Those are pretty uncommon now and becoming scarcer all the time. I agree with the others that this one needs to grow uninhibited for at least another year and maybe more to build up some momentum before any styling is inflicted on it. Good luck with it.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

That stinks Terry. I have a KH that looks JUST like it, now in the ground and likely dead. It got weak after I defoliated it in '12, repotted it in spring '13, and was surprised by a 27 degree frost after repotting. All the other trees were fine, the hornbeam just kind of petered out, top-down, and alive only on one side. I put it in the ground around last September. It leafed out this spring, but dropped branches throughout this growing season. Leafless now (far too early), and I suspect it won't leaf out next spring. I'm going to leave it and hope for the best; I'll take anything that grows. Good luck with yours...it's a bummer.

 

[fourteener]

That stinks Terry. I have a KH that looks JUST like it, now in the ground and likely dead. It got weak after I defoliated it in '12, repotted it in spring '13, and was surprised by a 27 degree frost after repotting. All the other trees were fine, the hornbeam just kind of petered out, top-down, and alive only on one side. I put it in the ground around last September. It leafed out this spring, but dropped branches throughout this growing season. Leafless now (far too early), and I suspect it won't leaf out next spring. I'm going to leave it and hope for the best; I'll take anything that grows. Good luck with yours...it's a bummer.

So maybe I'm not out of the woods yet? A good reminder that I should just let it do its thing another year and gain more health. Sorry for the untimely demise of your tree.

I did repot this tree this spring. I didn't think anything of it and the buds looked great. Looks=deceiving!

 

[Cadillactaste]

Well...I am sorry old man winter was so hard on many...though...that this one seems to have survived will look just that...a survivor and will have much added character that ones only dreams of when seeing them in nature.

 

[Nomiyama]

I would not give up on the project yet, unless you feel you don't want to start over and invest the 10+ years it's going to take to get the branch structure established. My buddy has saved a couple of KH in his collection from certain death on two different occasions. Many branches were lost in the process, but he is in the process of reworking the design. They are very strong trees and can be brought back from bare stumps like this over time. Myself, I have a old import that I've noticed over time gets very twiggy with training, so all is not lost when starting at square one with these KH. For yours I would take the it out of the bonsai pot, and put it directly into a large concrete tub filled with good bonsai soil. Make sure you protect it over the winter and minimize freezing in a garage or a frost free area. Then in spring 2015 an onward for several years I would let it grow freely and fertilize heavily to regain strength. In time you will be able to style and build the tree back up. The positive side of things is the tree lived, that was the biggest hurdle. Now it's just time. I'll attach a picture of my KH in the garage this last winter, as you can see they get twiggy. I have been training this tree for over 15 years to achieve this. The tree itself is estimated at over 150 years old.

Best
Chris

 

[bonsaiBlake]

Though not accepted in the Japanese Bonsai culture. And unless your planning on entering this tree in a japanese bonsi competition I dont see why you shouldn't add some deadwood to this tree. I see decidous trees with dead wood all over where I live. I correlate this to constant wind and sun with hot a## summers and cold as witches tit(in a copper bra) winters. You'll see tons of trees with dead branches and apexs in particular. They look anchient evewn though the town is a nuke town that was built in the 40's and 50's so non of these trees are older than a few decades. (i know this because sage and tumbleweed are pretty much the only native species here) I think you tree could look really cool with a hollow or deadwood feature. My .02

 

[vaibatron]

I'm in agreeance with many here... Let it sit for another year, protect well in the winter, then pull out the dremel!

 

[mcpesq817]

With that craggy bark I actually like it with the dead top. You can make a very unique tree out of it now.

A friend of mine that's been doing bonsai for many years said he thinks that KH lose steam after being in a pot over the course of a number of years. He thought they could use a stint in the ground every now and again to regain vigor.