AusBonsai

Some of you may recognize this one. Just to share some progress after one year in the grow box and initial training. All suggestions are welcome.
Cheers,
DK

And this is the pic of most current stage

i like where its heading DK, its going to make quite a nice raft. its going to have a very classical appearance which is nice to see. the largest tree i think does not have enough taper on the newly grown trunk after the trunk chop, it needs this to fit in and look more mature. Also the smaller 'back' tree is in a good spot and will add some really good depth to the tree.

I think this is going to be an awsome tree in years to come
im always into a good raft!!

Hugh

Nice! Alot of progress in a year.

DK

love it mate, awesome tree coming out of this one. I wouldnt be to stressed bout the taper, it will eventually fill out and you may need to cut into it again, the rate this one is growing you wont have to wait long for a section to regrow

Hi DK,
Verry impressive growth in one year,looking good .Have you repotted at any stage or planning to do so at some stage? Regards John.

Are you getting buds on your Hawthorn? Mine seems to have started pushing them out for a few weeks now and I'm sure its too early for them to already be showing signs of growth..

Lovely

Great development in just one year

ken

That does seem like great progress Kvan

Thanks for the thump-ups and encouragement guys. I was quite surprised myself how quick the branches developed. I actually did cut off quite a few bar branches to thin them out after the last trimming/branch selection.
This raft is actually very 3-dimensional. I am growing 2 more suckers and hope to form a 5 element raft out of them.
The lowest right branch of the big trunk is actually the youngest/newest. I manage to get it thicken to catch up with others but still quite not happy with the overall branching. I may cut off the lowest left branch of the big trunk. What would you think guys?

It is getting a bit warmer here in Brisy but there isn't a lot of grow on this yet. I checked this arvo and saw some more swelling on the buds but that's about it. I wish it flower this year but I don't think it's gonna happen.

gday DK

mate, I actually think it looked better with the shorter main trunk, in the first pic you have the right main trunk fairly tall. maybe drop that down to where it is in the older pics in leaf might balance what you are after..

It's a lovely three-dimensional raft base, with a good feeling between the trunks. These aren't quibbles so much as ideas to go on with-

I would definitely consider some fairly heavy-duty sacrifice branches above the trunk chops on both trunks. Hawthorns don't thicken all that easily.

And the left side branches on the left trunk, while all a bit bit bendy, end up bending in parallel - they might need to get a bit crankier, and nastier, down the track.

I'm looking forward to seeing more of this each year. And when it flowers!

Gavin

Gavin, sacrificial branches - I like the idea so thanks mate. Definitely consider that.
Jamie, if it doesn't look more balance with the leaves when they come out, I will definitely reduce the height as suggested.
I have not done any repotting since last year. Is it necessary to repot this every year? If it is then this is the best time for this guy, I guess.

hi mate,

Im not sure if this one will require a repot every year, best bet play it how it comes, inspect the roots and see how tight they are. I reckon you could get away with it every second year though. I havent known hawthorn to grow as rapidly as this so you might run into a little prob with repotting, but cant be sure.

Hi Jamie, it looks like they like the climate here mate. You know what, one of the two hawthorn cuttings you gave me last year also shoot up quite well - triple the size it was. This one was offered to me a couple months after I posted the "Hawthorn wanted" in this forum. All I gave it was just chicken pellet (heaps of them) and occasionally ST and it shoots up like anything.
I checked the soil and found a lot of fine roots but it does not appear too tight. I think I'll let it grow in one more season and will repot it next winter.
DK