AusBonsai

Well as all Southern Sydney residents will know we had a freakish storm this afternoon... Think it was WSWesterly which is quite unusual. We had an absolute down pouring of rain & busts of small hail... That all seemed to be fine until the wind came up... It was blowing our big Ash trees side to side in the back yard. Any way a Trident of mine that I've been working on for the last year hit the deck. Blown straight off my bench and snapped off my first bottom branch & middle back branch. Time to start again... In two minds about how to proceed... May go the long term project & do the chop in a couple of weeks (with a full redesign) or wait till next season and apply thread grafts. Time for me to go back and re- think of ways that I can prevent this from happening in the future.

You are not the only one to have a tree blown off the bench This happens regularly in many places.
I used to have a cascade juniper that regularly blew over. Fortunately no significant damage to it. I eventually tied it down to the bench to hold it in place.

Hope you can redesign your maple into something even better.

good thing i cant afford to make a bench for my trees

shibui wrote:You are not the only one to have a tree blown off the bench This happens regularly in many places.
I used to have a cascade juniper that regularly blew over. Fortunately no significant damage to it. I eventually tied it down to the bench to hold it in place.

Hope you can redesign your maple into something even better.

Well tying down will probably be the best option... A much safer bet especially when we've got such unpredictable weather in the months of Spring up here. Will probably go with the chop & start over, have a few ideas already & think I'll stick to re-creating my TM with a more natural feel.

Naimul wrote:good thing i cant afford to make a bench for my trees

So your trees are safe...Nothing to worry about...Only reason that I have benches was for viewing... & slightly more comfortable when working on my trees, + better air circulation... & of course not so hard on the back. The first bench that I ever made was out of unwanted timber pallets that I picked up from a local tile supplier. Stripped them back, nails removed, got the belt sander out. Put them together with galvanised self tapers then finished with left over decking stain. Doesn't need to be expensive. Definitely a fun project, & a great way to display your trees.

Bonsaiforest wrote:

shibui wrote:You are not the only one to have a tree blown off the bench This happens regularly in many places.
I used to have a cascade juniper that regularly blew over. Fortunately no significant damage to it. I eventually tied it down to the bench to hold it in place.

Hope you can redesign your maple into something even better.

Well tying down will probably be the best option... A much safer bet especially when we've got such unpredictable weather in the months of Spring up here. Will probably go with the chop & start over, have a few ideas already & think I'll stick to re-creating my TM with a more natural feel.

Naimul wrote:good thing i cant afford to make a bench for my trees

So your trees are safe...Nothing to worry about...Only reason that I have benches was for viewing... & slightly more comfortable when working on my trees, + better air circulation... & of course not so hard on the back. The first bench that I ever made was out of unwanted timber pallets that I picked up from a local tile supplier. Stripped them back, nails removed, got the belt sander out. Put them together with galvanised self tapers then finished with left over decking stain. Doesn't need to be expensive. Definitely a fun project, & a great way to display your trees.

I'm on a ridge in the New England tablelands which provides good air and light but is a serious challenge to make work. I wasn't expecting visitors but this photo shows what i found to help. I built up some colourbond benches based on raised garden beds. They have a few stacks of bricks inside to support weight of potted plants. Behind the shelves is a screen attached to star pickets. The shot is looking to the south-east where most weather comes from. I oriented the screen at a angle to the weather so the wind is deflected and morning light is maximised. Having no wind coming through underneath bench really makes a difference. It works well for me and as I'm renting at present being able to be easily removed is also a plus. When an incident like this occurs it is bound to happen again so my advice would be to sort it. Sorry about the tree you lost.


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fossil finder wrote: I'm on a ridge in the New England tablelands which provides good air and light but is a serious challenge to make work. I wasn't expecting visitors but this photo shows what i found to help. I built up some colourbond benches based on raised garden beds. They have a few stacks of bricks inside to support weight of potted plants. Behind the shelves is a screen attached to star pickets. The shot is looking to the south-east where most weather comes from. I oriented the screen at a angle to the weather so the wind is deflected and morning light is maximised. Having no wind coming through underneath bench really makes a difference. It works well for me and as I'm renting at present being able to be easily removed is also a plus. When an incident like this occurs it is bound to happen again so my advice would be to sort it. Sorry about the tree you lost.


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Hey... Fossil Finder...thanks for the support...I still have the opportunity to do a chop lower down where I can see dormant buds. So will follow through & hopefully a new leader will appear and I can do a full re-design...It's now a much longer term project than expected but that's OK with me. (Bonsai - Slow & Steady Wins the Race....) Love your idea of having screens attached to pickets. All of my yard is pretty much pavers so I'll have to work with what I've got... Come up with something where I can bolt posts in. Maybe even make some sort of pergola away from the house and attach trellis to it as a wind break.

Bye the way just wanted to say ... Your ROR Elm looks fantastic...love it...!!!

Bonsaiforest wrote:

fossil finder wrote: I'm on a ridge in the New England tablelands which provides good air and light but is a serious challenge to make work. I wasn't expecting visitors but this photo shows what i found to help. I built up some colourbond benches based on raised garden beds. They have a few stacks of bricks inside to support weight of potted plants. Behind the shelves is a screen attached to star pickets. The shot is looking to the south-east where most weather comes from. I oriented the screen at a angle to the weather so the wind is deflected and morning light is maximised. Having no wind coming through underneath bench really makes a difference. It works well for me and as I'm renting at present being able to be easily removed is also a plus. When an incident like this occurs it is bound to happen again so my advice would be to sort it. Sorry about the tree you lost.


Sent from my SM-T530 using Tapatalk

Hey... Fossil Finder...thanks for the support...I still have the opportunity to do a chop lower down where I can see dormant buds. So will follow through & hopefully a new leader will appear and I can do a full re-design...It's now a much longer term project than expected but that's OK with me. (Bonsai - Slow & Steady Wins the Race....) Love your idea of having screens attached to pickets. All of my yard is pretty much pavers so I'll have to work with what I've got... Come up with something where I can bolt posts in. Maybe even make some sort of pergola away from the house and attach trellis to it as a wind break.

Bye the way just wanted to say ... Your ROR Elm looks fantastic...love it...!!!

It's my pride and joy but I can't take credit for establishing it. Ashley at Bonsai World Central Coast grew this and I've only had about 6 months. I'll take some pics to show better. Highly recommend checking out the nursery and meeting him and Dave. They have a good range and prices are very reasonable.

fossil finder wrote:

Bonsaiforest wrote:

shibui wrote:You are not the only one to have a tree blown off the bench This happens regularly in many places.
I used to have a cascade juniper that regularly blew over. Fortunately no significant damage to it. I eventually tied it down to the bench to hold it in place.

Hope you can redesign your maple into something even better.

Well tying down will probably be the best option... A much safer bet especially when we've got such unpredictable weather in the months of Spring up here. Will probably go with the chop & start over, have a few ideas already & think I'll stick to re-creating my TM with a more natural feel.

Naimul wrote:good thing i cant afford to make a bench for my trees

So your trees are safe...Nothing to worry about...Only reason that I have benches was for viewing... & slightly more comfortable when working on my trees, + better air circulation... & of course not so hard on the back. The first bench that I ever made was out of unwanted timber pallets that I picked up from a local tile supplier. Stripped them back, nails removed, got the belt sander out. Put them together with galvanised self tapers then finished with left over decking stain. Doesn't need to be expensive. Definitely a fun project, & a great way to display your trees.

I'm on a ridge in the New England tablelands which provides good air and light but is a serious challenge to make work. I wasn't expecting visitors but this photo shows what i found to help. I built up some colourbond benches based on raised garden beds. They have a few stacks of bricks inside to support weight of potted plants. Behind the shelves is a screen attached to star pickets. The shot is looking to the south-east where most weather comes from. I oriented the screen at a angle to the weather so the wind is deflected and morning light is maximised. Having no wind coming through underneath bench really makes a difference. It works well for me and as I'm renting at present being able to be easily removed is also a plus. When an incident like this occurs it is bound to happen again so my advice would be to sort it. Sorry about the tree you lost.


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Here's that Chinese Elm you mentioned. Trying to bend the big left limb down tighter.


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Fantastic looking tree...Has some really nice movement in the trunk and I can see why your trying to do the same with left side...Will provide a lot more balance for the viewer & a more natural feel. Would love to see progression of your Chinese Elm so keep the photo's coming...