AusBonsai

2007
2009
2010 b4
after

Looking good mate!

Antonio, I love it fantastic trunk - good movement and bark. Maybe just a little to tall, not much I would cut it back to under the last bend. Cheers Rod....

Thanks leigh and rod! Rod you are absolutely correct, next year the final leader will be picked up lower. Needs to grow a little more for now.

nice nice nice

Nice one.

looking great mate.

what did you do with the lowest branch that has gone from the last pics... cutting? layer?
I have a few ash trees which i have neglected and aim to refine them more this spring

Very nice Ant. You gotta love the bark on these guys. If they had the alternate growth like the Elms instead of opposing they would be the perfect subject.

ketutg wrote:looking great mate.

what did you do with the lowest branch that has gone from the last pics... cutting? layer?
I have a few ash trees which i have neglected and aim to refine them more this spring

thanks mate; chopped the subtrunk off and in the bin!

bodhidharma wrote:Very nice Ant. You gotta love the bark on these guys. If they had the alternate growth like the Elms instead of opposing they would be the perfect subject.

Yeah well ya cant have everything! thanks bodhi...

Looking good Ant, I reckon the foliage is not such an obstacle you just need to work it hard. I have quite a few similar to yours in the ground I dug them last year and slaughtered the roots, will be interested to dig them up and see whats happened. Did you get it from a steep bank ? when they grow in that kind of spot that sets the curves in the lower tree.
Craig

If you love wiring you can speed up the development of your Dessert ash by avoiding "clip n'grow" and doing compression wiring - the technique used by Kev Willson on a lot of collected material. It allows you to keep lots more foliage on the tree without getting too leggy but the added strength allows quicker healing of the chop off scars. a few wiring marks will inevitably happen but with the rough - bark developing they soon dissapear. Of course when the tree gets too messy and twisted in the branches some re- shaping may need to happen but the major work of building a compact structure will have been done and you can concentrate on having a nice twiggy crown like you want for winter display.

craigw60 wrote:Looking good Ant, I reckon the foliage is not such an obstacle you just need to work it hard. I have quite a few similar to yours in the ground I dug them last year and slaughtered the roots, will be interested to dig them up and see whats happened. Did you get it from a steep bank ? when they grow in that kind of spot that sets the curves in the lower tree.
Craig

That is it mate! workm hard! I got this out of a dense group of them. Flat old land though. thanks mate!

ric wrote:If you love wiring you can speed up the development of your Dessert ash by avoiding "clip n'grow" and doing compression wiring - the technique used by Kev Willson on a lot of collected material. It allows you to keep lots more foliage on the tree without getting too leggy but the added strength allows quicker healing of the chop off scars. a few wiring marks will inevitably happen but with the rough - bark developing they soon dissapear. Of course when the tree gets too messy and twisted in the branches some re- shaping may need to happen but the major work of building a compact structure will have been done and you can concentrate on having a nice twiggy crown like you want for winter display.

Hi Ric, i love wiring, just hate cutting it off! I personally believe that a combination of both clip&grow + good detailed wiring is what it takes to make great Bonsai. As far as compression wiring? yes its a usefull tool as long as it sits with the styling of the tree, hoever i dont believe its something that should be done on every tree. Kevin Wilson is a CAT!!!

anttal63 wrote:

ric wrote:If you love wiring you can speed up the development of your Dessert ash by avoiding "clip n'grow" and doing compression wiring - the technique used by Kev Willson on a lot of collected material. It allows you to keep lots more foliage on the tree without getting too leggy but the added strength allows quicker healing of the chop off scars. a few wiring marks will inevitably happen but with the rough - bark developing they soon dissapear. Of course when the tree gets too messy and twisted in the branches some re- shaping may need to happen but the major work of building a compact structure will have been done and you can concentrate on having a nice twiggy crown like you want for winter display.

Hi Ric, i love wiring, just hate cutting it off! I personally believe that a combination of both clip&grow + good detailed wiring is what it takes to make great Bonsai. As far as compression wiring? yes its a usefull tool as long as it sits with the styling of the tree, hoever i dont believe its something that should be done on every tree. Kevin Wilson is a CAT!!!

Thanks mate!