Twisted shimpaku progress

[Gerard]

At the BSV sale day a few lucky buyers picked up some wonderful twisted shimpaku junipers. They were not cheap but the quality was excellent and I came home thinking perhaps I should have grabbed one.
This prompted me to bring out a shimpaku which I have been tying and twisting for a couple of years. There was no real plan except to hope for some fusing of branches. Today I was surprised and pleased to see that fusing had begun. I removed all the old cable ties and wire which was threatening to cut in and re tied .Then used heavy wire to try to achieve a basic shape.
Now it goes back into the corner for more growing.

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[Jamie]

lookin good gerard!

have you used whips to wrap around a larger tree? or are these all whips that have fused together? i have a few of these that have gone into the ground at my new place, i used some deadwood of an old juniper to wrap one around, and the rest have just been twisted and bent like crazy and see what happens. all mine will be 3-5 year ground growing projects then pot development for another 10 years + most likely. they are all shohin sized.

J.

[Gerard]

No whips at all Jamie, simply wrapped shoots from the parent tree against the trunk and intertwined the branches

[Jamie]

ahhh ok mate, i seen now, how is the nebari on this? have you got it buried to where it is to try and encourage root growth from around there?

i was doing similar things with a few of mine and found reverse taper an issue. im sure it will work out in the end but it could be an issue later down the track on mine. it was one thing that i wasnt sure about when using the branches off the main trunk.

J.

[Rhiannon]

That's really cool. How long typically would you think a process like this should take?

Also, have you got a picture handy of what the twisting looks like when completed on a tree for teh newb (me)?

[Gerard]

Hi Rhiannon, this technique is new to me I am really just experimenting. The tree in my avatar has been created using a similar technique but many years ago and not my work

[Jamie]

rhinannon, from what i have studied with them and going on what others have said, for a shohin sized tree is anywhere from 3-5 years to develop the trunk then more time to develop the foliage after that. the japanese make these yamadori=esque style trees by growing in the ground for a couple of years but sometimes in pots there whole life. they do it by creating a shari on either side of the trunk spiralling it a little, then each year extend it more. the shari starts off one complete turn around the trunk, about an inch or 2 high, then extended further each year until they are happy with it. wiring in twists and turns can help speed the process up some but from what i have learnt is it is better to do one at a time, i start with wiring then i am going to be doing shari on them this summer, i found doing it at the same time was to much for them.

J.

[Gerard]

ahhh ok mate, i seen now, how is the nebari on this? have you got it buried to where it is to try and encourage root growth from around there?

i was doing similar things with a few of mine and found reverse taper an issue. im sure it will work out in the end but it could be an issue later down the track on mine. it was one thing that i wasnt sure about when using the branches off the main trunk.

J.

Early on there were some issues with the taper which have been rectified, the trunk thickened and now the nebari and the trunk flow nicely.
I employed the "DL" technique

[hugh grant]

that looks awsome mate, its really coming on well. its got great shape and great branching

hugh

[Rhiannon]

Cheers for the info, Gerard and Jamie. I kept hearing this style spoken about but hadn't come across much about how it's done anywhere.

Looking forward to watching this one develop.