AusBonsai

You may have seen the John Naka drawing of progressional tree growths up a vertical plain. As my Avatar would suggest I often ponder its completion to an over hanging cliff. It seems somewhat unfinished as John left it. I wonder if there was any intent in this, or if the drawing is bound by the necessities of potting at that angle.

Can a seed be deposited under an over hanging ledge? By wind and possibly by bird droppings at the edge.

Could a plant germinate under an over hanging ledge? I would imagine yes, given some type of thick moss or organic material.

Would it be able to survive without falling at some stage? If suitable cracks were present for roots to lock into.

How else could a plant end up hanging? Blown over the edge and still grasping on.

Given that, it does seem possible a plant could end up in a completly upside down position, would definatley be a struggle to surivive, receiving only the nutrients which get flushed over and under the ledge.

Would it grow?
Would it turn itself upright?
What style would this present itself as?
How the heck do you display it?

I don't believe full cascade totally encapsulates a plant hanging upside down, more a vertical surface like John's top plant.

I would like to hear your thoughts, especially as to how such a "hanging" bonsai could be potted adequatley.
Have I got it wrong? Is it still full cascade?


Here's a Radiata I planted in a small pot then strapped upside down under the board, with only sunlight from one side to simulate and over hanging cliff. It recieves water from a drip which hits the board and runs underneath.
I placed it there 2 weeks ago. It shows no signs so far of dis-agreeing with having it's roots upside down. The thin trunk now had a distinct curvature to it and the tip has turned itself completley upright again. It's trying very hard to turn its growth around and extend out into the sunlight.

I shall post pictures of its progression.

I would call it a reverse cascade hehe. I look forward to some more updates. Will be interesting to see what the tree does from here.

This is something I've always wanted to see in progression and I am looking forward to where this goes

I really think it would be a cascade style tree, while the weight of the trunk would force that part of the tree to hang down, the branches and foliage would face upwards towards the light. With regards to water and nutrient that would depend entirely on the environment. In high rainfall parts of the world it should thrive due to seepage in the rock. In a very arid climate who knows ?
Craig

i think that if it where successful you would have to plant it on a rock that had a ledge towards the top and hold the roots in by tying them and then placing muck. the design would have to look something like this i reckon: hugh

hugh grant wrote:i think that if it where successful you would have to plant it on a rock that had a ledge towards the top and hold the roots in by tying them and then placing muck. the design would have to look something like this i reckon:


hugh

That I believe would be the general gist of it. If you hand made it, you may be able to incorporate a pocket inside the rock to allow roots to penetrate through it to the ferts / medium.

Without a doubt, it could. I have seen plants growing on the underside of a cliff. I spend a lot of time trekking around cliffs and such both for leisure and for my Zoology studies, the latter meaning we have to take careful note of the surrounding vegetation. It's not a common thing, but I have seen it quite a few times. However, none that I have seen have been large, full blown trees. They're always on the smaller side. Perhaps gravity is an issue, or perhaps the cliffs can't support the root system of the larger species. But I think most of the time the main reason is that most of the cliffs I've been around are more on the coastal side, and you tend to get a dramatic reduction in vegetation size there anyway.

Most of the ones I've seen have a tendency to try to grow upwards towards the light, curling back up the cliff face where possible. Almost like a perfect mirror image of the top most tree in John Naka's illustration.

I'd imagine growing plants upside down would be fine practically speaking considering how much of a trend it has become in the last few years. Particularly since people are living in smaller spaces these days and don't have gardens in which to plant their herbs and veggies. There are so many brands marketing upside down planters these days. Though they wouldn't be the prettiest way to display a bonsai.

Can't wait to see how this progresses. It's a lovely idea.

Heres a pot I want to make when i get time. The water from the top trees trickles thru channels to the bottom tree(in muck probably). Any potters out there are welcome to this design, just make me one.

Intereting how the limbs do not seem to have turned upright only the tips slightly.

Hang in there, Mitch

what a great idea, cant wait to see some progress with this one. Best of luck mate.

Interestingly enough, the pine has decided not to put anymore energy into turning itself upright. It is now simply growing upside down.

Mitchell wrote:Interestingly enough, the pine has decided not to put anymore energy into turning itself upright. It is now simply growing upside down.

Must be happy doing so

So what was the outcome of this exercise. Did it get planted into position??did it live??

Josh