BIG CHALLENCE - WANNA TRY ?

Today, I found one of my very old Pemphis was severely rotten on the lower part of the trunk, most of the wooden trunk was gone and only small vein alive. God, no hope ?



Wondering around to repot in new style..but what to do on the tiny part with the heavy invert-tapering ?
There is always solution, as I always believe. What do you think ?...I am challenging your imagination...before I post what I did...
(But sorry, no reward this time... )

hi Robert, - for me 3 options

I'd coil up the live vein (wrapped and wired if needed) so the roots and upper trunk get closer together. Then the tree can be replanted with the piece you are holding at soil level. And I'd properly treat the remaining dead wood so the rotting is stopped (or at least slowed down) and the same thing doesnt happen again in a few years.

For a quick easy option the tree can be attached to a rock with the lower trunk (now a 'root') flowing down, or through the rock. The roots will then be under the rock, in some soil. Again I would properly treat the wood with a modern wood hardener like B72 to slow the rotting.

final solution is to replant the tree in the wild, or your garden, as it has given you plenty of pleasure in the past. Then you have more time to work with a better tree

cheers Marcus

Thanks Marcus...

Option 1 will certainly not work because it's very brittle, a little bend will break...
Option 3.. It's not a challence...
Option 2...Sound interesting, any other thought ?

Well..almost midnight now and should go to bed. Hope to see more option tomorrow. Have fun and wonderful weekends...Good night

hi robert

I would find a beautiful piece of pemphis deadwood, and attach the tree. make something more beautiful by joining 2 lesser parts.

best wishes, sam

hi Robert,
shame about the brittle wood is it was a powerfull little tree like that


option 3 has no challenge but they are very interesting in the wild too


I thought of the rock as this one is a hollow rock i made from 4 pieces so the center has a hole with soil to plant the trees in. I have 2 junipers - needle and scale in it, but the idea works well with your tree.


cheers Marcus

Emphasizing it? Best, Dorothy

Considering that the tree is still alive, cant it be rooted just above the rotten part using an airlayering-like treatment?

Sakaki wrote:Considering that the tree is still alive, cant it be rooted just above the rotten part using an airlayering-like treatment?

I was just thinking that. That would be my vote.

Sam, Tanuki ? No way..you know me... But thanks any way, ofcourse we can do it this way...

Sakaki, Craig. Air-layering is another option, but I don't think it will solve the invert-tapering issue if that's what you thought. The upper part of the deadwood will continue rootening as it is touching the ground, and the same problem will occure again very soon..then we will have problem with the heavy foliation.

I like what Dorothy said " Emphasizing it..." (she knows me well..). Most of the time, I don't try to hide an "ugly" part of my bonsai materials because I always believe, if I can explore the "ugly" part in a good way, it will become a unique point of interest that make the bonsai outstanding; and I believe there is always a way of solution for any material.
So any idea to emphasize it, Dorothy ?

Wanna try something out of the box ? I will post of what I did tomorrow...
Have a sunny Sunday then...

option 4)
to make it look really old use a splitter on the thin section and cut it in half all the way down so you have 2 halves with roots on each. ease them apart so you have a wider but hollow trunk. The top foliage is all much too young and dense and rounded for a old battered hollow tree though, so time to cut lots off so the whole tree becomes balancedd. (Even with the trunk as it is the foliage is not matching the aged trunk appearance, I feel it needs to be 'older and battered'.......Jun needs to blow on it !

haha, its a fantastic sunny sunday here - not a cloud in the sky...

have a good day Robert

cheers Marcus

One more suggestion--do a root over rock planting, so that the weak part of the trunk is not in the soil but against a bare rock.

Perhaps like the suggestion above.

Thanks Craig,

Let's wait to see what Dorothy's idea as she said "Emphasizing it" before I post what I did.
BTW, looks like Jun drops this challence...

Hi Robert
I guess I also tried to plant a tree on a suitable stone. Or a little differently. I tried virtual. I do not know if it is possible in reality.


Greetings Pavel

Dorothy did show what she meant - look more closely at her picture. I missed it at first glance too.

- bob

cbobgo wrote:Dorothy did show what she meant - look more closely at her picture. I missed it at first glance too.

- bob

Thanks, Bob :

Thanks Bob.
Dorothy and Pavel, it's impossible to re-plant it that way because the lower part has no more wood, so it will not strong enough to support the standing...

Well, as Marcus and Craig's suggestion to plant on rock, that seem to be the only way out..and that's what I did here...

I had a massive rock....



Fortunately, the size, the shape and the curves just fit perfectly to the tree...



Here it started...



The rock's curves just perfectly fitted the flow of the trunk, the upper part deadwood perfectly hooked to the rock and the roots just about to reach the soil surface...



Now I trimmed the foliage so it was not so densed and heavy...



OK..then I tilted a little bit to the right to get better visual balance...



Then, the last thing to do was to wrap the lower part and filled with soil to let the roots growing down; then gradually take out the soil, exposing the roots...



and this is my simulated future....
The main problem is solved.The invert-tapering is no more an issue, in the contrary, this becomes a point of interest..and a unique design.
The figurines are just to enhance the thematic messsage and play another composition role.



Hope you enjoy it...

Very nice development Robert.!!!!!
Thank you for sharing and inspiration.
Greetings Pavel

Good rock & combination.
Your rock also looks like a skull (with hat)

Thanks Pavel and Sakaki...

Looks great, Robert! Thanks for the learning opportunity.

Best,
Dorothy

Thanks Dorothy...

dorothy7774 wrote:Looks great, Robert! Thanks for the learning opportunity.

Best,
Dorothy

My gosh Robert, you amaze me yet again. To see where you took this material is incredible.

I second what Dorothy said. Thank you so much for the learning opportunity.
Have a great week!!!!
Sam

Thanks Sam. This was one of my oldest pemphis in raft style, then one of the trunk was rotten out this way...
I will post the other part later.

Robert Steven wrote:Thanks Bob.
Dorothy and Pavel, it's impossible to re-plant it that way because the lower part has no more wood, so it will not strong enough to support the standing...

Well, as Marcus and Craig's suggestion to plant on rock, that seem to be the only way out..and that's what I did here...

I had a massive rock....



Fortunately, the size, the shape and the curves just fit perfectly to the tree...



Here it started...



The rock's curves just perfectly fitted the flow of the trunk, the upper part deadwood perfectly hooked to the rock and the roots just about to reach the soil surface...



Now I trimmed the foliage so it was not so densed and heavy...



OK..then I tilted a little bit to the right to get better visual balance...



Then, the last thing to do was to wrap the lower part and filled with soil to let the roots growing down; then gradually take out the soil, exposing the roots...



and this is my simulated future....
The main problem is solved.The invert-tapering is no more an issue, in the contrary, this becomes a point of interest..and a unique design.
The figurines are just to enhance the thematic messsage and play another composition role.



Hope you enjoy it...

A no hope tree met a massive rock became a wonderful piece of art.... Master Steven cheers...

Very nice vision excellent!!