Hinoki cypres styles(pic heavy)

[gbhunter77]

I got a nice hinoki cypress. I tried to pick one very carefully. My problem is that half way up the trunk. There is a huge split. If i cut it of it will leave the front very flat, trunk would be visable all the way to the top. Leaving it in place is not something i want. On these plant how do you cut the branches. Is there a special way to to get buddig

[TomM]

Post pictures from eye-level, different angles, if you can. Then leave it alone til spring.

Sounds like you don't want to remove the 'split' and you don't want to keep it either. Did you think about this before you bought it? While studying the tree this fall/winter/spring you might find that at a certain angle a portion of the split can be cut back, ripped off, jinned. It could become a nice feature if done properly. Hard for us to say without seeing it - from different viewpoints.

Hinoki cypress are considered slow growing, and not the easiest bonsai material to work with. But they can be very beautiful. Pruning out the straggly older growth is very helpful. That's about all I can say - not seeing your tree.

What you need are some bonsai buddies close by - a study group. Still buying new material? Filling up the yard?

[gbhunter77]

I do want to remove the split. As for the selection of plant I am following a list in a book which stated that these are good starter trees. I will post pictures soon. I really like the way these trees look. The back yard is got its share of trees that are "in process".

[TomM]

A while back you had "too many" and your wife was was going to get rid of them - or you!!???!

[gbhunter77]

I softened her up. Plus only plants I can get are out door. The spruce I planted and trunk cut is sprouting new growth all over...Will the cut eventually heal or will it jus stay flar. The next question after that is how do you reduce the height of a pine without choping it.


the image above is the plant with cant see the second trunk.

this crappy pic is me moving the second trunk to the side.

the above is the opisite side then the second pic...
I could try using this side...All that has been done is the dead branches and tiny branches have been removed.

On a side note I went to see a pro cut a bonsai. He then had us(about 8 of us) cut the same type of tree. Then i made an err mistake. 2 actualy. He asked if I could show him an image of one of my plants(I mentioned that i had one before hand). He then picked up the tree i just cut and asked " do you truly like this tree?". I stated i did not. He also asked the same of the tree i showed him in a photo. I also said no. He asked why did I cut the tree this way if i did not like it and why i made the tree in the photo this way
As well. I told him the picture in the image was an idea i saw in a book. But no one likes it, so Im not happy with it because of that. Also I told him I only cut this tree today in a fashion that would make him and the others like it. At that point this gentleman got pissed tossed the tree(that i stated i did not want) and stated coldly "if you make bonsai for others and no for yourself then you have already failed before you started. You will always fail and never improve. Look at real trees an try to make yours true to them if no one likes them but you, then who gives a &##&! But if the whole world loves it but you don't then you failed". $75 for that. Sheesh! I asked him if he ever seen a tree like the one in the image...he said yes but told me the things i would need to do to capture it the way I was thinking. But he added if i feel a need to please others i should have a vote from the public before I change everything....I hate sarcasm. He really showed no intrest in talking to me after that. Except at the end I packed all my stuff up said my goodbyes he came up and said. "Do it for you and stop caring about others and you will be very happy...the skill will grow and improve. Others will come around and if they don't then who cares..Its about you. If you cant grasp this then I suggest you give up bonsai you will be endlessly disapointed, plus you may discourage others that don't have to people please"...That kind of hurt

[JTred]

"Do it for you and stop caring about others and you will be very happy...the skill will grow and improve. Others will come around and if they don't then who cares..Its about you. If you cant grasp this then I suggest you give up bonsai you will be endlessly disapointed, plus you may discourage others that don't have to people please"...That kind of hurt

While it may have hurt at the time, I really do believe this is good advice that you should think about. He didn't mean that you should give up bonsai, he meant that you won't find much joy in it unless you do it for yourself and not for others. This is true of any endeavor in life. Try not to see it as criticism, but rather a concern for your happiness.

Work with your trees and do what you can to make them beautiful to you. At first you will have trouble, and your vision may not match reality. With time you will learn how to make reality closer to your vision. Hang out here, keep going to demonstrations, learn as much as you can. If you have questions ask here, and we'll do what we can to help out, but don't take anything said on here as gospel. In the end all that matters is what the tree looks like to you, and whether or not you enjoyed yourself in the process.

[TomM]

Hey guys,

I'm reading (and re-reading) this at, like 3:50 AM and I'm floored with the wisdom here. A whole lot of brain food. Wow - I need my green tea and I want to absorb this stuff. No sarcasm at all. Seriously.
You have awakened some thoughts that I rarely see expressed in these forums. Thank you. That's all I can say right now.
Thank you for stirring me.

PS - I will say this. Each time I take one of these workshops - or if I sit in as an observer (and I highly reccommend doing that from time to time) I realize how little I really know about this stuff. Yet I want to learn more, more, more. From each of the 8 students you pick up 1 or 2 little things that you never would have known before.

[luigonz]

this reminds me of the sphagnum moss guy on youtube.
he lives in Florida and exclusively uses sphagnum moss as a planting medium.
there are a few hundred vids of him styling his bonsai!

His styles break from the conventional japanese or chinese bonsai style.
But he is inspirational because he very enthusiastic and doesn't consider the people comment critically of his method!

and at the end of every vid he says 'Have fun with your bonsai!'

so i say yes, HAVE FUN WITH YOUR BONSAI! haha