Hinoki Cypress

The Hinoki Cypress is becoming one of my favorite trees for bonsai.  I am going to share a bit of a chronology of one of mine I have come to name the Dancing Lady.  Not because I believe the tree is worthy of a name greater than another POS, but because I have found myself looking of photos of trees due to the fact I have not found a way till not to keep track of them any other way.  I started this bonsai as a demo in 1994 at one of my first club meetings.  

This is the way the tree looked in 2008.  It's an average club level bonsai, healthy and marginally acceptable.  

This is the way the tree looked as it went through some major restyles and potting in a Sara Pot.  2013

This is the final permutation of the tree as it was shown this last summer.

I think you have a wonderful example of what can be accomplished with the Hinoki Cypress, did it start life as a Pre Bonsai, Nursery stock, Seedling...???

It has the Classic Informal Upright look, Nice Triangle, Nice Branching, Nice pads, Nice Trunk...however I would get rid of the Jin, it does not add anything to the composition...other than acting as a Wire hook...
Nice work Vance...

Bolero wrote:I think you have a wonderful example of what can be accomplished with the Hinoki Cypress, did it start life as a Pre Bonsai, Nursery stock, Seedling...???

It has the Classic Informal Upright look, Nice Triangle, Nice Branching, Nice pads, Nice Trunk...however I would get rid of the Jin, it does not add anything to the composition...other than acting as a Wire hook...
Nice work Vance...

It started out as a one gallon nursery plant that I paid $6.00 for and Wiegend's Nursery in Clainton TWP Michigan in 1994.

I agree with the Jin it does make a good wire hook----for now.

Thanks for the comments.

Here is the Hinoki that I purchased in New York.  I did some initial work and placed the tree into a pond basket this fall.  It is not the dwarf variety but the species version.  It is my understanding he the tree will back bud on old wood.  We shall see.  I really like the tree.  I was not quite as aggressive with the styling as I would have liked to have been but I wish to see where it will go.

I left a good deal of upper growth on this tree understanding that if I lost some of it there is a lot of room for some pretty decent dead wood, which will change the nature of the design a lot but not unexpected.



I am really looking forward to the development on this tree.

hey vance - i am going to move this from contemplations to members trees...

kevin stoeveken wrote:hey vance - i am going to move this from contemplations to members trees...

OK

ok... here comes the ignoramus question:

can you explain the chops shown ?

i dont see that anything was chopped and i didnt think this type of species would tolerate a trunk chop anyways, so i am wondering what the chops signify...

(feel free to laugh if the answer is so obvious that my sick and medicine addled state is causing cerebellum flatulence   )

The tree in the beginning was grown by the clip and grow method. I cut/chopped the then top of the tree wired up a side branch allowed it to develop for a few years and chopped that one back and repeated the process. It does work as long as you are doing it to young wood not old well lignified growth.

yes, i understand how that process works, but i guess i didnt really understand the chronology of the photos...

i thought the first picture was "as obtained" in '94...

damned medicine head

thanks vance

Nice tree Vance, (actually both are very nice and perhaps in time the newest one might be even better than the first!)

What's most interesting to me though is to see how a relatively simple re-styling has transformed the character of the tree. By removing the lowest branches and pulling down the higher ones you've made the tree look both more dramatic and quite a lot older.

I know there are quite a few years between the first image and the last (although arguably not that many years in bonsai terms) but the intermediate image suggests that it is the re-styling more than merely time passed that is responsible for this. 

Very nice tree and a useful demonstration of how to take a piece of material from being "good" to being quantifiably "better".

Mind you, I'm not sure I agree with Bolero about the jin/s. They are small and subtle but personally I think they add both interest and help tell the trees story.

But what do I know ehh,

Regards

Richard

Richard S wrote:Nice tree Vance, (actually both are very nice and perhaps in time the newest one might be even better than the first!)

What's most interesting to me though is to see how a relatively simple re-styling has transformed the character of the tree. By removing the lowest branches and pulling down the higher ones you've made the tree look both more dramatic and quite a lot older.

I know there are quite a few years between the first image and the last (although arguably not that many years in bonsai terms) but the intermediate image suggests that it is the re-styling more than merely time passed that is responsible for this. 

Very nice tree and a useful demonstration of how to take a piece of material from being "good" to being quantifiably "better".

Mind you, I'm not sure I agree with Bolero about the jin/s. They are small and subtle but personally I think they add both interest and help tell the trees story.

But what do I know ehh,

Regards

Richard

Very kind words Richards, and most appreciated. As to the Jins; I am not sure myself except that I have always found it better to wait to remove anything because once it's gone you can't get it back.

Vance Wood wrote:one of mine I have come to name the Dancing Lady.  Not because I believe the tree is worthy of a name greater than another POS, but because I have found myself looking of photos of trees due to the fact I have not found a way till not to keep track of them any other way.  

vance - see the thread i started under contemplations: bonsai tracking

Great work Vance....wonderful tree. I wish you and Leigh the best in2017.

Tom Simonyi wrote:Great work Vance....wonderful tree. I wish you and Leigh the best in2017.

You as well. Hope to see you again one of these days. I made it to the Nationals last year, if that was to happen again maybe we could me there?