AusBonsai

This is not an entry to the current literati contest.
I just want to try an unsual species for literati style. The tree is about 60cm tall and has a base of about 2.5cm. The small branches are quite flexible but the thick trunk is a bit stiff. The bark would make some cracking noise when I tried to bend it by hand.

interesting DK,

your liking that trunk bender arent ya this will be interesting, its not often we see a swampy with this much movement, generally they are formal uprights or done with very subtle curves, this will be interesting to see how it comes out in the future


jamie

jamie111 wrote:interesting DK,

your liking that trunk bender arent ya this will be interesting, its not often we see a swampy with this much movement, generally they are formal uprights or done with very subtle curves, this will be interesting to see how it comes out in the future


jamie

You got me LoL. I love this bender. It works like a charm to me. I Spent nearly a hundred bucks on a few Japanese and Chinese trunk benders and they are quite useless comparing to this cheapy one.

Hmmm, very interesting. I like the concept. It's always good to try something different. Only thing with swampies is the hanging foliage, will it hang too far to suit the style? But, definately like what you've done man.
One thing I might mention though, you should really not cross wires like you have on the top section. I would suggest rewiring the smaller wire to go with the larger one, not cross it.

A more convincing literati image could be made by removing the hanging part of the top left hand branch in the last photo.. This is a courageous use of Taxodium distichum. Surprisingly good.

It amuses me those of us who are using fast growing species for literati. I have a lorapetalum in the yard that has a literati style trunk but the foliage grows and grows and my swamp cypress never stop growing.... Good luck... it will be interesting. But similar to working a callistimon into a literati.

stymie wrote:A more convincing literati image could be made by removing the hanging part of the top left hand branch in the last photo.. This is a courageous use of Taxodium distichum. Surprisingly good.

Fixed! Just found out that there are a lot of small buds on top branches. Will see how this turns out. It's just an experiment guys.

Just love it, glad you moved that left top branch. Good luck mate!
By the way ,is that branch bender a single bar.

Petra wrote:Just love it, glad you moved that left top branch. Good luck mate!
By the way ,is that branch bender a single bar.

Thanks for your comment and yes it is a single bar with two studs (bolts) that I used to bend this and also my literati contest entry plants.
Cheers,
DK

DK what i have found interesting with this is that you have been very inventive using simple ribbon as a raffia to stop the bark splitting and cracking and peeling off the cambium layer, nice work, i will have to try this some time as ribbon is a lot cheaper than raffia and vet tape etc. i have used graft tape up the trunk before to get the same resul but the issue is that where the ribbon or anything for that matter can stop the buds from swelling and popping, from what i understand anyway.

jamie

jamie111 wrote:DK what i have found interesting with this is that you have been very inventive using simple ribbon as a raffia to stop the bark splitting and cracking and peeling off the cambium layer, nice work, i will have to try this some time as ribbon is a lot cheaper than raffia and vet tape etc. i have used graft tape up the trunk before to get the same resul but the issue is that where the ribbon or anything for that matter can stop the buds from swelling and popping, from what i understand anyway.

jamie

Yes Jamie. The principle is still the same. I just use whatever works and is abundantly available. However, I found graft tape can be of some issue. It keeps the moisture in and if you leave the plant out in the sun, the greenhouse effect will cook the trunk.
Cheers,
DK

hmm interesting, i didnt think of this, i can see how it would happen though, but i guess you could say the same about other stuff like vet wrap and the sorts too, moisture is bound to get at that and heat up to some degree.

theres always other options though aswell. and i reckon i will be making up a branch/trunk bender this week, i will be welding mine though, obviously i have the ways and means of doing this too though
maybe if people are interested i will make a few up and sell them at a very reasonable price

jamie

If it's reasonable enough for price, I'll be your first customer. As to the graft tape, since it's clear like glass, the sunlight can go in but the heat can't escape. It will cause the trapped water to heat up and water can retain the heat longer than air. That's how I analyse anyway.

price will be very reasonable mate, not looking to make a fortune, just to cover cost and maybe if i sell enough a tree here or there. am even willing to do it for a stock tree or something like that

jamie

Let's put some good designing ideas to this. I'd like to give some protection for the bark. Something like a rubber or plastic sleave to cushion the bolts will be good.