Podocarpus Current/Future

[rockkcorful]

Hi all!

Picked up this podocarpus this afternoon and was wondering where I should go with its future design and what to do in the mean time with it? This is my first of the species and I have not really done much work with pines either. cheers

[xIIRevoEvoS]

Hi all!

Picked up this podocarpus this afternoon and was wondering where I should go with its future design and what to do in the mean time with it? This is my first of the species and I have not really done much work with pines either. cheers

Do you have a style in mind? ie: Formal upright, Informal upright etc...?

[shibui]

By the upright shape I assume that is P. elatus (or maybe a foreign species) so it should grow a bit quicker than P. lawrencii.

There is very little you can plan for at the moment. Just need to grow it on to get a trunk before deciding on styling although if you have a shape in mind you could work toward that.
Grow and cut is the best way to get rapid results. Wiring the trunk as it is will give movement but no taper.
My advice: feed often, water often and prune occasionally until you see something worthwhile.

[rockkcorful]

Yeah i'm thinking i might grow it and then airlayer. from then on I will try make one formal upright and other informal

[dansai]

I don't know that it is P. elatus. My vote is for a for a foreign species. If it is it might be hard to make a reasonable Bonsai. I have all but given up on my few as they tend to develop only one stem from each branch i cut back that elongates quickly without much side branching.

I would be cutting low above the first few sets of branches and wiring the trunk for movement. If you let it keep growing i doubt you'd get much action on those lower branches and the trunk will get harder to shape. It would be easier to create movement now with some wiring and choosing a new leader than later. You could wire the bottom, cut the higher branches back hard and leave the bottom ones if you want to airlayer something off it later. Also cutting should be easy to strike.