AusBonsai

Guys, Ted Poynton in Melbourne has a cedar tha is the most informal upright ever. it's give or take 1.5m long, can't say high as the lean is far too much. If I can find a pic i'll post it, sorry. But I can see some of that in this tree.

BTW, Ted told me he was offered 20k for that tree and he knocked it back.

Asus101 wrote:Mr Bowie...

Great, Thanks for that. That wasn't so hard was it?

At a workshop when assessing a tree that you haven't seen before you always view the tree from all sides as often the owner is blind to other possibilities and it is the reason they have brought the tree along for advice. They are often comfortable with the one side they have allways thought of as the front.

About 10 years ago I was doing a workshop with a big cedar and asked why the owner hadn't considered the other side as the front. He said there was a huge scar that was ugly and so this was the front. I turned the tree around and showed him there was no bad scar and he realised he hadn't looked at that side of the tree as a posibble front for about 15 or 20 years and the wound had long since healed.

Hence, if you can, show the current and alternate fronts.

Both sides of this plant are awkward because of the roots and squashed down flat trunk but I prefer the alternate side as the new front. I will do some work on it and post a sketch or two.

Grant

After having had a look at the photo I believe there are any number of designs that could be made from this tree.

I would tidy up the root system by removing some of the light rubbish and the heavier root growing from the top of the trunk and rotatate the trunk slightly forward. This may allow removal of some soil under the flat trunk and lift it off the ground a little.

First possibility would be a simple semi cascade by removing the main trunk above the first heavy branches and also removal of the heaviest branch on the right, leaving a manageable apex and two main branches; one of which becomes a semi cascade branch. I don't think a full cascade would work but a windswept style could.
Second and third choices are self explanatory.

Intersesting material and it forces you to be creative. I will be interested to see which way you go and the ideas you have for the tree.

Grant

nice work grant, some definate options. amazing how the tree changes when you expose it. there you go nice one ace, i have a different opinion of it now.