Huge Willow cutting

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Huge Willow cutting

Postby Nils Arne Haagensen » Fri Apr 24, 2009 1:34 pm

Back in 2005 I cut of a big branch from a weeping willow tree. As you can see it's as thick as a mans arm. I stuck it in a bucket with water and after 2-3 days it started to shoot branches and roots!
org-cutting.jpg

This is after about one week in the bucket! After a short time I planted the cutting in the bucket using traditional bonsai soil. The cutting continued to shoot and grew happy for another year.
willow-front.jpg

In spring 2007 it repotted in a large mica pot. It needed some extra support because it had no big roots. It was planted in pure Leca 1-3 mm size. I have cut the branches back heavily every year and this is how it looked before styling and repotting.
roots.jpg

This is how the roots looks now after two years in pure Leca. Only fine feeder roots.
roots-in-pot.jpg

After a trim it fit perfect in its new pot. It's a Chinese pot.
willow-branches.jpg

This is how the branches look.
front-new.jpg

This is the front, but it could might as well be the back. Most of the branches was wired and brought down to get the weeping effect. It didn't cut them much. Over the years much of the bark has died of and there is now only two live vains on the tree so it needs a dead wood work.
bark-detail.jpg

Under and over the trunk the bark is gone but it is callousing over pretty fast.
front-new-2.jpg

The tree is obviously quite two dimensional so it is probably better viewed from a 30 degree angle. It is leafing out very fast and seams happy in its new pot. It is planted in pure Moler.
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Re: Huge Willow cutting

Postby RichLewis » Sat Apr 25, 2009 7:37 pm

Molar clay? Is this the stuff that is sold as cats litter?
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Re: Huge Willow cutting

Postby Nils Arne Haagensen » Mon Apr 27, 2009 6:40 am

Yes, that's right. You can get it here: Kaizen Bonsai
Akadama is no good up here. The frost will crush it during winter and come spring it's only expensive Japanese mud in the pot.

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Re: Huge Willow cutting

Postby Will Heath » Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:59 am

What is Leca?


Nice start on the willow, please keep us updated.



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Re: Huge Willow cutting

Postby Nils Arne Haagensen » Mon Apr 27, 2009 12:24 pm

Thanks

From Wikipedia:
"Expanded clay pellets, most commonly known under the brand name LECA (acronym of light expanded clay aggregate), also known as Hydroton and under the non-proprietary terms fired clay pebble, grow rocks, expanded clay (pellets) or hydrocorns, are small globes of burnt and puffed clay, used in construction and farming, and especially in hydroponics.

They are available in different sizes such as 4/8 ("4 to 8 mm in diameter"), 8/16, 10/20, 1/4 or 2/4. The dry density of lightweight expanded clay aggregates is 300 to 500 kg/m3.

Originally a Danish innovation, LECA is now manufactured in Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Iran, Italy, Norway, Portugal and Sweden."

And their  internatinal website:
"Leca  is  an  aggregate  made  of  expanded  clay  which  is  produced  in  rotary  kiln  at  the  temperature  about  1200  degree  centigrade . Yeilding  gases  which  are  expanded , form  thousands  of  small  bable – like spaces  inside the  clay  and  when  materials  become  cold , these  bables  remain  and  make  a  coarse  surface."

It dries out faster than Moler that's why I have switched to Moler. I use leca for pines. Akadama is no good up here as the frost will crush it.

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Re: Huge Willow cutting

Postby Goran Čajko » Mon Apr 27, 2009 1:56 pm

I like this elegant tree.
It's shame that you made shari so flat along the trunk. I think it would look better if you would carve it some more "like a spiral" in the future.

Do you intend to remote part of the deadwood on the top to gain more taper.!?
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Re: Huge Willow cutting

Postby RichLewis » Tue Apr 28, 2009 1:16 am

Nils Arne Haagensen wrote:Yes, that's right. You can get it here: Kaizen Bonsai
Akadama is no good up here. The frost will crush it during winter and come spring it's only expensive Japanese mud in the pot.

Nils


Awesome, thanks for the link. I use the same stuff! It's readily available and cheap in the UK, and frost proof!  ;)
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Re: Huge Willow cutting

Postby Nils Arne Haagensen » Tue Apr 28, 2009 6:29 am

Goran:

I haven't done anything to the deadwood yet, but I am going to carve the top to get more taper. The shari is natural, the bark just died back and was peeled of. I am not sure my carving would improve it. Anyway, I'll do it in steps so there is no reason to rush it.
I think one should be careful not to make to fancy deadwood on deciduous trees. From what I have seen in nature that belongs to pines and evergreens.

RichLewis:
Spot on! And you can reuse it.

Thanks for feed back!

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Re: Huge Willow cutting

Postby Goran Čajko » Tue Apr 28, 2009 8:33 am

It's clear to me now!
Of course that deadwood belongs to conifers and some deciduous trees.
I thought a channel that has emerged you try in the future to carve it so it would not be so straight...
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Re: Huge Willow cutting

Postby Rhonda Elfvin » Mon Jul 20, 2009 12:28 am

Hi Nils,

I wondered if you have any recent pictures. You had mentioned it was leafing out, and I'm eager to see how it looks.

I have always loved Willows, and I have 2 varieties I want to train - a Weeping and a Cork Screw.  I have several small cuttings of each started, and now have 3 very large Weeping that are potted. I went to a nursery the other day, and they had 3 that had been broken at the top, and are now only about 2-4 feet tall. I asked about them, and they let me have them. So, I am going to try to work with these also, but at the moment, I'm not sure what direction to go. I need to get them healthier before I do too much.

Hope to see some new pictures!

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Re: Huge Willow cutting

Postby mehrdad chavosh » Tue Oct 13, 2009 8:10 pm

Nils Arne Haagensen wrote:Back in 2005 I cut of a big branch from a weeping willow tree. As you can see it's as thick as a mans arm. I stuck it in a bucket with water and after 2-3 days it started to shoot branches and roots!
[img width=375 height=500]http://www.bonsaibutikken.no/images/uploads/bilder/org-cutting.jpg[/img]
This is after about one week in the bucket! After a short time I planted the cutting in the bucket using traditional bonsai soil. The cutting continued to shoot and grew happy for another year.
[img width=500 height=295]http://www.bonsaibutikken.no/images/uploads/bilder/willow-front.jpg[/img]
In spring 2007 it repotted in a large mica pot. It needed some extra support because it had no big roots. It was planted in pure Leca 1-3 mm size. I have cut the branches back heavily every year and this is how it looked before styling and repotting.
[img width=500 height=375]http://www.bonsaibutikken.no/images/uploads/bilder/roots.jpg[/img]
This is how the roots looks now after two years in pure Leca. Only fine feeder roots.
[img width=500 height=337]http://www.bonsaibutikken.no/images/uploads/bilder/roots-in-pot.jpg[/img]
After a trim it fit perfect in its new pot. It's a Chinese pot.
[img width=500 height=333]http://www.bonsaibutikken.no/images/uploads/bilder/willow-branches.jpg[/img]
This is how the branches look.
[img width=500 height=332]http://www.bonsaibutikken.no/images/uploads/bilder/front-new.jpg[/img]
This is the front, but it could might as well be the back. Most of the branches was wired and brought down to get the weeping effect. It didn't cut them much. Over the years much of the bark has died of and there is now only two live vains on the tree so it needs a dead wood work.
[img width=333 height=500]http://www.bonsaibutikken.no/images/uploads/bilder/bark-detail.jpg[/img]
Under and over the trunk the bark is gone but it is callousing over pretty fast.
[img width=500 height=380]http://www.bonsaibutikken.no/images/uploads/bilder/front-new-2.jpg[/img]
The tree is obviously quite two dimensional so it is probably better viewed from a 30 degree angle. It is leafing out very fast and seams happy in its new pot. It is planted in pure Moler.
Substrate rules!
Hi Nils,
I like your tree a lot , it looks so nice & so natural , I have several wepping willos , they were cut last year & still in very first stage , one thing : how do you develop the branches ?I know we have to cut them back hard to keep them in shape , but how can you push them to have multiple branches?
Thank you & keep on good work. :smile:
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Re: Huge Willow cutting

Postby GreenGnome » Tue Jan 26, 2010 3:21 am

Very nice job. I am inspired, thank you.
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