Skippy's Radiata Pine

[Chris Di Nola]

Hi everyone

Here is my entry, its going to be an extreme task with this tree so I will go into detail during the tree transition which I plan to start in December.

I purchased this Radiata Pine from the bargain section of a nursery for $30.00 about 3 years ago . It was quite neglected when I saved it from a certain fate, the only work it has received has been to remove all the dead branches & pot it up into a bonsai pot so it would stop falling over in the wind. Getting it back to health has been my aim so far, as you can see, it is now fighting fit & hopefully ready for its makeover. It is just under 2 metres tall from the roots to the apex & 100mm wide at the base.

Hope you all enjoy

Thanks
Chris

[Jamie]

i got some 1/2 , 3/4 and 1 inch round bar at work if you need to bend the trunk...


sorry judges... couldnt help myself

[JayP]

nice stock mate!! i think it definately needs some movement in the trunk but with a bit of hardcore bending it could make a showpiece literati!!

[MelaQuin]

Get out the raffia, branch splitters, heavy wire and go for it. Could make some very interesting tight bends in that tree with the proper equipment. Is that a crack/damage midway up the trunk??? If so bend around it.... nice to get a tree that presents challenges with a positive outcome in sight. Will be interested in seeing in once the initial work is done.

[Chris Di Nola]

Hi All

MelaQuin, you know me way way too well & stop reading my mind.

There are a few areas of the trunk that has previous damage, I hope to overcome this problem with the methods that I plan to use.

Cheers
Chris

[Chris Di Nola]

Hi All

During the week I finally had time to start my main entry into the comp, so here is the progression of the day with help from my good mate Jamo & 6 hours.

I prepped the raffia by putting it a tub full of hot water so when applying it will shrink a little when drying. I also used 2 bandages that I also soaked in the water.
Before starting any major work on the tree I needed to find out how much of the cambium had died back exposing natural Shari. This was very important as the plan I had in mind for the tree would not have worked if I had missed these Shari’s.

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The next thing was to remove the dead wood which will help facilitate the big bends that are going to be done using a Samurai carving tool on a Die Grinder. I had to be careful not to damage the live cambium tissue during this process.

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Next I marked the remainder of the tree with chalk so to give me the line to follow while I split the tree in two. After the tree had been split sealing past was applied to all the live tissue that was exposed to eliminate any transpiration.

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2 Lengths of 9mm aluminum wire (rod) was then cut & cable tied to the inside areas where I had removed the dead wood, to give extra support to the separated areas.

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This next method I implemented because I was fearful of the live tissue drying out. I have not seen this used before & I don’t know if it will work, but it will help with holding the wire into place. I applied a soaked bandage to the areas that had been split as this was applied I removed the cable ties.

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[Chris Di Nola]

Then raffia was wrapped around both split trunks, very tight & making sure that it was completely covering all areas that needed bending just like the bandages. 6mm wire was then used on the tree for even further strength.

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Now the part that I had been waiting for, the bending, I had a good idea of what I wanted to achieve with the style, so it was just a matter of hoping that the tree would comply.
I used bending bars as well as my hands, taking my time with the bends trying not to disrupt the live veins anymore than was necessary & resting the bends as I went.

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I did not remove any branches until I had the tree in the position that I wanted as I was not sure which would be kept & which ones removed.
After removal of all unneeded branched & needle pruning, I wired every branch even those that I had decided to keep as Jins.
After styling the tree was placed under 30% shade cloth & will stay there until signs of new growth.

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Once I see the tree is ok I will start my next step which will be to bend the main trunk between the start of the split & the base.

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I hope this explains everything clearly & now let hope that the tree survives.

Cheers
Chris

[jamo]

What an experience it was to assist Skippy with the styling of this tree. I was keen to help out and use the techniques he had in store. Amazed that he could get his hands on 9mm aluminium wire, which we had to bolt cutters to cut! Thanks for the opportunity mate.

[simonm]

WOW... i wouldn't even have though it was possible to do something like that...

[Jamie]

What an experience it was to assist Skippy with the styling of this tree. I was keen to help out and use the techniques he had in store. Amazed that he could get his hands on 9mm aluminium wire, which we had to bolt cutters to cut! Thanks for the opportunity mate.

i beleive that you should be able to get 9mm alloy rod from any local metal fabrication shop, moreso an aluminium workshop but they should carry it.


jamie

[bonsaiboy87]

Wow what a fantastic transformation!

I really shows how some material that a beginner may pass up can become something quite unexpected when in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing!!

Great job and I will join in prayer for the tree to survive, after all I wanna see how it all turns out

Great inspiration and thanks for sharing it step by step with us

[Chris Di Nola]

Sorry to say the tree has gone to be in that big bonsai garden in the sky, now back to the drawing board.

better luck next time

Cheers
Chris

[Grant Bowie]

Sorry to say the tree has gone to be in that big bonsai garden in the sky, now back to the drawing board.

better luck next time

Cheers
Chris

Hi Skip,

Sorry to hear about the tree. Max Candy and I tried it a number of times and not everyone was successfull but enough were to keep us interested.

Keep trying and good luck with the next one.

Grant

[Joel]

Damn. Nice to see this technique used anyway. Better luck next time!

Joel

[bodhidharma]

Sorry to say the tree has gone to be in that big bonsai garden in the sky, now back to the drawing board.

better luck next time

Cheers
Chris

Really sorry to hear that Skippy. I was hoping for a good outcome Well, if at first, and all that. Lets see round two hey.