Hawthorns from fairly easy to find yamadormaterial

In the winter 2007 did I dug up two hawthorn, that was planted 15 years earlier, by a forrester I know.....the year after did I collect a third, with hes blessing ...What they all have in common, is that they forked out two times on the lowest part of the 4 m. high tree...this gave the much needed taper...nothing fancy.

They are nice to work with, and give a lot of experience....The photos is from today....I want to have the lowest branches stronger compared to the rest of the crown, and I think the trees are about to get there...Today have I cut all trees back, for styling.
Next year will I from the topbranches, select new staying buds near the trunk, while the lowest branches hopefully just shoot. After that will the crowns be shaped.....I am aiming for crowns, looking like trees growing in the wild....but still bonsai....

I keep my trees in a open cold damp basement...here will the trees roots grow all winter ( I know ), and the buds will form. In early spring can I repot into small pots.

First tree in end of 6th. growingseason

first photo is from late first summer

Second tree.


Third tree in the end of 5th. growingseason.


As you can see, did I not go straight to the my new goal...it has been a learning lesson, as my taste changed...I have two bigger hawthorns.....I am hoping to go more straight to them, making them look like hawthorns

Kind regards Yvonne

No experience growing, but I very much like what I see.

Hi Khaimraj

I am happy you like my trees so far.....They are not great material, but I think they can become decent bonsaitrees, in the future....I will never stop doing my best to improve them....so lets see whats happens.

Kind regards Yvonne

hi Yvonne,

I share your love for hawthorns ;-)
Good powerful shrubs/trees with strong growth...everyone knows/says that, and many say/believe they are quite easy to form into bonsai. Well, thats true but still they can be quite difficult to style actually, because of this strong growth and all that character in trunk, bark, branching... it gives so many possibilities that you can be confused as to what final style to choose, how to wire, etc. Collecting small and very old trees can sometimes produce immediate pre-bonsai of which the styling is almost obvious, but the trees you show here are the difficult ones. Well, difficult in the way i just explained. And i hear you have that too, since you describe the not-so-straight way you followed with some, since now. Hawthorns in the stage you have em,are very tempting, and really deceive us sometimes with their strong growth and character They can be quite demanding as to creativity. They sometimes are so addictive they absorb all my energy, till i get headaches . I ony have two, rather small ones, but they have given me headaches more than my other trees. Also because i love em so much

take care of them, will you?

and by the way, you dont have some extra for me to give me more headaches?

Hi Yves

You are pretty much spot on, with your observations regarding hawthorns....I think they are best found old and very twisted, like it is possible to find them in UK....I have not seen trees like that in Denmark...so i have to go with what i can find.
Theese 3 hawthorns was my very first, of this kind of tree, and also my first bigger trees....I think this is the reason why i almost fell into the " another broadleaf, styled as a conifer" trap ( this also happened to a chinese elm...it is now undergoing a serius restyleing)
The maintrunks is probably a bit to tall for a hawthorn growing in the nature in Denmark....but some hollows will come with time, and one of the trunks has a carved twist...it can become interesting in the future.
My plan is now to let the selected branches grow upwards in a rounded" candlelight" style, and then see what happens...maybe they can with time become hawthorns, as they look like in Denmark.

Kind regards Yvonne

You are certainly achieving your goals with these beautiful trees. I really like the first one. The second tree, with the straight trunk, does look like a major challenge.
Todd

Hi Todd

You are right, it is the most challengin of the trees ....but what is nice about theese too big trunks, for hawthorns now, is that i can let them grow quit big crowns upwards, as younger trees grow, before the trunks become skinny to look at....let the crowns become, what can be called a kind of broom......grow the crown up, and cut back...again, and again. Just taking it easy...and always have in mind, to keep the lowest branches stronger, untill they finaly can be allowed to grow thinner new branches to the sides... This goal will keep me entertained for a while

Kind regards Yvonne

I have taken a second look at the two hawthorns....and is now planning to do more.....

The black line show how much I will reduse the trunk....the red line, were I dare take it to now...need to see the tree grow first.( please note the tiny branch in the top of the front of the tree, were the long hollow ends( must take very much care if this branch

This tree will be cut back to the black line....the backside is very usefull for doing this.

Kind regards Yvonne

Have some update on two of the trees

This one had the trunk cut hard back because...read previus posts.....

The tree has grown freely,( but only the buds I wanted), on the lowest part of the tree, to give fatter branches, and for maintaining the taper, or build a better.

On the top, has all the wanted buds grown out to ca. 15 cm, afterwards have I again and again removed the tips and buds, to keep the growth calm.

Yesterday did I cut back the lowest part...as soon, as this parts new shots, is a couple of cm. long, will I cut the upper part back, and let the it shoot again....this will have given the lowest part a nice boost before the strong top will try to take ower as usual...Many of my bonsaitrees have been ballanced this way, and in the end will it grow with almost the same trength on both the top and the lower part 
  
I am planning to do a little dremmelwork on the top, as soon as the topbranches is cut back.

The next tree has had the same treatment...only do it not need dremmelwork on the top 

before

after
The last and third tree does give me some problems...a natural top is not really easy to find here, but the rest of the tree is being treated like the two already shown. I am looking for a design in the tree, suddenly will it be found

Kind regards Yvonne

On the one of the trees do I have a Little update...the summer went very well, and tree was growing nicely, after it had been reduced in the hight

I am satisfied with the frame, and can't wait to see the Crown grow bigger and fuller next year, still with the goal to keep the lowest branches the strongest.

Late summer could I cut back the large desturbing roots, by working only from the surface...the cut roots are still in the pot, they will be removed next time I repot....I knew roots had formed under the roots, and I cut back to the last small new roots, one in each side of the big root....expecting they were strong enough to feed the tree during the rest of the year.
This action would give a stronger even owerall growth of the roots for the future.  

I did this to all the hawthorns ...this Photo show a root cutback I made some time ago, as you can see does it look like a part of the trunk, and as the small root grow, does the big old add to the nebari.

Kind regards Yvonne  

Lucky you. We have hawthorns around here, but they come with all sorts of bugs and diseases.
Iris

Hi Iris

More or less Lucky  , they have also all kinds of bugs and deseases here...I have 6 hawthorns, and I do not really want more, as they cost me a small fortune every year...I have to give many "provadosticks" in early spring, before buds burst, but this will keep them safe from leafcurl and so on for the rest of the summer.

When saying that...I just found a another handfull of hawthorns I want to dig up during the Winter... 

Kind regards Yvonne

A little update



This one was even strong in all shots untill yesterday. ..then I took out the tips on the strongest, to keep the growth even....if the strongest tips takes ower again, will I again remove the tips, to make sure the lower branches stay strong....how I will end up styling this tree, am I not sure, I must wait and see 

This hawthorn has a nice even growth, the arrow show were there are a hole through the trunk...the dot show were I will drill a new hole later this year...this will give a nice curve and twist to the tree...my future wish for this tree is to have it tall and slenter....the growth are still ballanced



This tree was cut hard back...I gave it a big pot to grow in, the apex need to grow a lot, to make it treelike again, it will probably ending up being the most natural tree of them.

Kind regards Yvonne

For those of you who follow my struggle with making theese 3 plain hawthorns look like they do in the nature in Denmark, are there a little update

This on is standing 43 cm tall...I have removed the lowest branches, and done a little more carving in the top...fertilizer all summer will do good.


This one is 40 cm. tall, and too dense for my taste...hopefully will a usefull idea show up during summer...please feel free to give me a good idea.


This tree is basicly finished, and  please me now...is 49 cm tall, and doing well...the large cut back surfaceroots is doing what I hoped for, and promisse nice smaller visible surfaceroots in a year or two.

I have finaly dared to drill the second and last hole in the trunk during winter, hoping age will do a good job in the future by giving the trunk a nice twist, as the apex is build up



So far, so good

Kind regards Yvonne

From this...


To this


I like the tree better now...the tree is ofcourse still in the making.

What do you think of the change of style

The roots are very slow to callus, and the cut big roots only rot back slow...it will take a while before the small new surfaceroots look nice....but I  may have a an idea how to speed up the prosses....see you later.

Kind regards Yvonne

I like the change of style much better, it looks more like a deciduous tree now with the shorter wider crown. thats a good height for the tree, the root base is coming along well...could maybe try and get some more detail into the carving/hollow, atm it looks a little basic and could do with a little variation, ridges, levels, shadows etc

Ok looking at it again, i think the edges of the hollow are too straight...

an example

Hi Bobbylane
You are right, the sides are quit straight....And I have looked with artiseyes on it several times...also have I thought about taking the tree to one of the brilliant english carvers, and let him do a good job...

What I did was basicly to follow an old scar the tree had before I dug it up...following the the natural healing up, of the tree...further up did I carve the hollow with a twist, so that the future growlines would be with a twist....also have I opened up the trunk 2 times to create "see through holes", this will give the inside of the scar shadows during the future winterdisplay...I have hollowed the scar on the trunk in 2 sides...together with the callus already formed now, do they give  contrasting shaddows....also does the trunk have a bend halfway up to the first branch.
When I look at your photo of the wonderful old tree, can I see the scar is also quit straight after all, and the callus give a nice shaddow effect, there is nothing of interesting carving effect to follow up on, on my tree when compared.
My plan was to let the age do the job on the plain tree, even if it takes forever......Thanks for the input, I will need to think again.
Some virtuals would be welcome

Kind regards Yvonne

Hi Yvonne, this is a better description of the ridges and lines you get in old hollows....ive used this myself for inspiration, im doing something similar with my own Hawthorn, the hollow ive made is starting to form cracks now, from these cracks i intend to take them slightly deeper with a sharp pointed carving tool to make them into ridges,  like the old deadwood in the tree in the link.. having some of the hollow going right through to let shadows form is a good idea too...

http://www.willowbog-bonsai.co.uk/blog/oak-for-deadwood-inspiration/

OK Bobbylane

You got me hooked...the inspiratin from the link are very useful for my tree, the lines in the old oak are stunning, something I would want for my tree...Thanks

kind regards Yvonne