AusBonsai

I have to pre comment by saying I have never seen anything like this in a natural setting[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VbKcOcY ... re=related[/youtube]---the fused nebari on some of these very old trees in this link,maples etc look very unnatural to me-if I wanted to achieve the normal divided root system(not that I have anything that old) how would i go about it-would i have to ariel layer close to the ground then discard what looks like an unrealistic trunk flare.-or is this a desirable look for others.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VbKcOcY ... re=related

Not sure about maples but I do know you get that sort of fused nerabi on camphor laurel trees in nature.

This tree is ancient, though I have some camphors around my area with similar roots, albeit on a smaller scale.

Guy, appreciating bonsai in general and the nebari specifically is a personal choice. Anyone can appreciate only what they appreciate When growing trees for bonsai, if you do not specifically grow a tree for the wide nebari it will not happen in, possibly our lifetime. Regular root work will yield a nice flair and nebari over time and will not produce the wide spread.
Wood
http://thingsofwood-gary.blogspot.com/

Guy wrote:I have to pre comment by saying I have never seen anything like this in a natural setting[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VbKcOcY ... re=related[/youtube]---the fused nebari on some of these very old trees in this link,maples etc look very unnatural to me-if I wanted to achieve the normal divided root system(not that I have anything that old) how would i go about it-would i have to ariel layer close to the ground then discard what looks like an unrealistic trunk flare.-or is this a desirable look for others.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VbKcOcY ... re=related

As Gary mentioned, aesthetics comes down to the person. Personally I like it, and I am working to develop that feature on my deciduous.

If you wanted a tree without the fused nebari you wouldn't buy such an expensive old tree and discard the many many years of work that was put into it. A lot of the fusing comes from specific techniques and grafting.

I remember someone here posted a thread about this and also showed a few of very cool example pictures. I however could not find it through the search. Could someone help dig it out please?

That's da 1. Thanks Scott

For those that want to have a go at one the fused nebari...a great article from Jonas

http://bonsaitonight.com/2011/06/10/the ... -the-year/

Not sure about maples but I do know you get that sort of fused nerabi on camphor laurel trees in nature.

This tree is ancient, though I have some camphors around my area with similar roots, albeit on a smaller scale.
very-old-camphor-tree-kyoto ausbonsai.jpg[quote][/quote]

it looks to me from that picture of the camphor laurel tree that the tree has wide root flare but is nowhere near fused in the same style that I mentioned--It looks to me it would take the same time again to create the fusion -but I don't reckon the tree would last that long

I wonder if you could root graft in extra roots, to increase the chances of causing a fused nebari?

paddles wrote:I wonder if you could root graft in extra roots, to increase the chances of causing a fused nebari?

Grafting is one of the main techniques to get the fusing happening, it is also used to fill in gaps...
http://samedge.wordpress.com/2011/02/24 ... i-nursery/

This kind of fused roots base occurs naturally on english elms planted as street trees in Albury.