As you were preparing to cut the large crossing branch in the front I was thinking, "Oh, no. Don't do it!" As is the normal it was great choice and the tree is already looking better...You are wiz at seeing what isn't there initially...Thanks for sharing Nigel...I really enjoy and learn so much from your videos that I can hopefully learn to apply to my...conifers...
Thanks Steve, I was hoping you liked it. Lots more work to go on it, I think it will take a few years to get it looking good with deadwood and branch refinement.
I do think that the trees that grow to maturity at the edge of a clearing, field, water body, cliff edge, etc might well be a place to find trees with very unusual structures for inspiration in using weird shapes. While I like the formal upright, informal upright style very much also the very unusual trees that grow in wild, weathery type areas are great for their weirdness. Thanks again Nigel, love your vids and I LOVE BONSAI
Thank you for tackling a cedar. With their weepy branches and foliage, it is hard to get started cutting one back to a pleasing design. Keeping in mind that they can stay wild looking rather than trying to tame them is a good option. Great video!
Thank you Lani, I think this tree will make good progress with the next styling, I hope to keep the wild look, but refine the structure and branch placement.
New to growing plants but I have my own indoor garden I started this year and I've always loved bonsai trees. Your channel is delightful, thank you for taking time to share your art.
When putting a jin at the top of a tree, it makes sense to cut it plenty long at first. If you decide later that it is too long, you can always shorten it later. Jinwood though is hard to grow back as it is dead.
So great to watch. When you first noted the height you wanted to cut too I couldn't see how it would work. But by the end the vision was much more clear. I really appreciate you taking the time to walk through the decision making process. One of the most important things I have learned in my first year of bonsai is to take my time and to error on the side of leaving more foliage and branching during development. You are a great teacher of that. Kind of like cooking...I can always add more seasoning but cannot take it out :) Thanks again for sharing your experience Nigel.
Thanks! A new video to relax was what I needed. Today I dug up a decades-old Forsythia that someone put on our local equivalent of Craigslist. The root ball alone is about 30" in diameter and 10" high and the whole thing weighed a ton, even with all the branches cut back... Now it's sitting in a tub waiting to be root pruned (euphemistically speaking) and potted while I try to get back some will to bonsai by watching this video. ;)
Thank you! I'll see which trunks survive the winter. At least I got the root ball down to less than half the original height with hand tools (saw, pruners) - not ideal, but all I could do yesterday - my back was killing me afterwards. When I repot it the next time I'll keep an electric saw nearby for the rough pruning...
I have a few trees that have some very odd features, it's hard to judge whether they are good or bad. There is a fine line between an interesting feature and a bad feature! To much and it ruins the tree, to little and you might have a boring tree.
So interesting how different artists may work a tree. To accentuate the unusual aspects. No height change. remove thickest branches and the one branch growing through the curled root. Working the tree to a rough conical shape with dense foliage. Jinn the lowest, thickest upward moving branches to suggest a difficult struggle(s) that while disruptive were overcome by the shear innate vigour of the tree. Great style only wishing to have as many neat trees to work as yourself Nigel. Respect, and thanks again for the inspiration and for sharing your work!!!!!!
Thanks Ben, I know the feeling. How I would style a tree can be very different to another person. Luckily, there is no absolute right or wrong, just different approaches, like you said. In the end, you create a tree that makes you happy!
looking forward to seeing that nice eastern cedar next year. I have a Gerry Oak that I kept tall thinking it might even get a bit taller(I like bigger bonsai) but found myself looking at it over and over again and then just one day did a hard trunk pruning and now am trying a drastically smaller tree. Great work Nigel keep on Bonsaiing
Watched every single of your videos in the last 2 days. Binge Style :P Anyway just wanted to thank you for sharing this. Im very happy that I found this channel. Awesome trees :)
I really like the tree and what you are going to do with it. Enjoyed every minute of the video and agreed with your dicisions, looking forward to its progress!
I've noticed you use the original cut and prune technique rather than wiring, as well as do i. is that a preference or just the only way your styles can be done?
I like to grow and shape my trees with pruning if I can, I think it brings out the natural growth patterns of the tree more and the trees end up looking more like their full size counter parts in nature. Wiring gives you the ability to make all your trees look the same., and this is often done. Many people style all their trees to look like Pine trees! Here is a video on my thoughts.... th-cam.com/video/YGhQjOma8gQ/w-d-xo.html
This is a really cool tree, I think you nailed it with the styling. That large branch had to go, it distracted the eye from the awesome base that now looks massive and gnarly with the sight lines opened up. You guys get some wonderful collected Thuja up there, they are not in the forests around the Poconos but they are ubiquitous as nursery material/ornamentals.
At what point do you intend to prune back the roots and re-pot? Is the large pot necessary for survival at this point? Or do you want it to become larger?
The large pot is just a temporary training pot. I did re pot the tree this spring. The roots are already flat and radial and could go into a bonsai pot. The training pot helps the tree become vigorous because the roots can grow down into the pot and it gets good drainage. I will need good growth to further develop the top of the tree.
Hey Nigel, I have a question about moss Question .... I try to get a moss garden ,i have collecting some moss,but not enough :-) I have a lot of open space,s ,does it fill in quickly ? Or do i have to collect more?
Moss will grow quickly if the conditions are right. Quickly means a few months. The soil surface needs to stay damp. You will need regular watering, fertilizing and weeding as the moss gets established. The soil needs to be a good draining soil also, if it stays too wet, moss will not grow. The soil does need to stay damp. I would collect as much as you can, then plant it in patches so they grow out to form a matte.
Thanks Nigel ,i try tot collectie more... The moss i collect was growing in a parking space on the stone ground .. I first added very little soil and wet it,than putted the moss on the ground en push it a little with my feet ,i watched some video,s about miss,you can put moss With some yoghurt and blend it all together and than put it where u want it ! Thanks again !!!
Hi Avery, you can bury your cedars in the ground for the winter, pot and all. You may need some protection from rabbits and mice, they will chew at the Cedar and may kill the tree. A cold garage or garden shed works also, you do need to keep them watered on warmer days. Some people keep them underneath their bonsai benches. They drape plastic over the bench to the ground, creating a mini cold frame to protect the tree from the wind. I keep mine in an unheated room in the basement. The trees don't need light in the winter.
Hi Nigel, I'm just wondering; I never see you make a cut in an angel. I was thinking; is that just a personal taste, or is it better for the tree and/or scars? I think it could look good if it's possible to cut in an angle along with the line of the branch or taper of the trunk?
All the cuts will be refined as deadwood in a future video. They are just cut off roughly to length for now. The tips of the deadwood will be carved to look like dead branches from nature. I'll be back to work on the tree this summer.
Yes, the cuttings are actually doing well. It takes about two years before they get a good root system, but most of the cuttings taken in early summer root and survive through winter! I'll be sure to update the cuttings with the tree.
Yes, they are variations of the same species. Is it possible to make a note on the instagram account that all questions should be asked via TH-cam? I just don't think I'd have time for any other format. I'm getting close to 20 questions a day on TH-cam, I like answering them. Hong from our club answers the Facebook page, that keeps him busy too! Thanks again!
It is best to wait until spring. You can do all the prep work now, but the tree will remain dormant all winter. Your roots won't start to grow until spring anyway.
Nice video :) did you know cedar mean thuya in french ? At first i was disapointed to hear cedar and see a thuya ;) did you tried to make à bonsaï with an oak ?
Hey Nigel! I was wondering if you wanted foliage to grow more dense on the left of the front of the tree or if you wanted it to have more scarce foliage with the style you are looking for. Thanks for these videos can't stop watching them. Hope to become an environmental engineer, world needs more people connected with nature!
There is much more work to do on the tree, I'll have to re visit the design of it this spring and see what's next. I think I'll create a sketch of what I want the tree to look like.
I've never been asked before. You can check our facebook page for upcoming club activities if you are in the area, or you can email me at.... thekwbonsaisociety@gmail.com
I did have a nice ivy bonsai for many years, one year it didn't make it through the winter. I have a nice ivy growing out front that I will try as a bonsai in the up coming years.
Lots of clip and grow will get the trunk to a good thickness. I would let the vine grow all summer before clipping back at first. It takes a lot of growth to increase the thickness just a little. They can be pruned like a regular bonsai as the tree develops. Good luck.
Well, if i go to collect some trees i look for age, interesting nebari and good trunkline and i just can't see these things on this tree. This tree can still be good someday but you find much better material to start a bonsai in nature.
Thanks Massimo, there are beautiful old cedars all over Ontario, ones that would make great almost instant bonsai. I cannot collect a tree that is old and has been part of nature for so long, that's just me. I feel these wonderful old trees should be left in the ground for others to enjoy. Many of the trees I start as bonsai have nothing special about them and it is a long term project to get a decent bonsai from them. I like the challenge and I may never end up with a tree that matches the quality of an old collected one. This bothers me less than the regret I would have, collecting old trees. You are very correct, I just can't do it.
+Nigel Saunders i totally understand you. I could have said it also like this: if i would have to choose between digging up this tree or search more, I would probably search more. But as you said, its just you, and that is the reason because i'm watching youre videos to see you take on the challange, not to see world class bonsai.
Sorry, but for me it looks pretty ugly. But I've seen others of yours bonsais so I think that this one will be beautiful in the future. I'm sure that you will make it. 😉👍🏼
I love the loop root at the back of the tree. Quite a special tree. Thank you for sharing.
As you were preparing to cut the large crossing branch in the front I was thinking, "Oh, no. Don't do it!" As is the normal it was great choice and the tree is already looking better...You are wiz at seeing what isn't there initially...Thanks for sharing Nigel...I really enjoy and learn so much from your videos that I can hopefully learn to apply to my...conifers...
I love how you share your whole thinking process when making decisions! Top notch content
Thanks dongflexer!
So every time I have to make a difficult cut now I have to say to myself, "so here we go..." Seems to make the tough decisions easier :D
Ha, maybe your right, the big decisions are never easy!
I do the same, strength trough the bonsai zone
Hey, I'm that Steve! The tree looks great Nigel!
Thanks Steve, I was hoping you liked it. Lots more work to go on it, I think it will take a few years to get it looking good with deadwood and branch refinement.
good find!
Its insane to see the progression of not only the trees, but of Nigel and hid fans too!
Thanks!!!
thanks nigel, all your videos are great, gives me plenty of inspiration for my own work
Thank you, I think the heart of bonsai is more about your ideas and visions for the tree rather than the actual work you do to them.
Another good one Nigel. Your are a very good teacher. Looking forward to the updates and progression of this project.
Thank you for the lessons .
Thanks Tom, I think it will be a nice tree to work on in future, I'm looking forward to it!
I love this tree! twisted ugly, natural. that root is too cool.
Thanks Frank, it will be a fun project with lots of work coming up to it in future videos.
I do think that the trees that grow to maturity at the edge of a clearing, field, water body, cliff edge, etc might well be a place to find trees with very unusual structures for inspiration in using weird shapes. While I like the formal upright, informal upright style very much also the very unusual trees that grow in wild, weathery type areas are great for their weirdness. Thanks again Nigel, love your vids and I LOVE BONSAI
Thank you for tackling a cedar. With their weepy branches and foliage, it is hard to get started cutting one back to a pleasing design. Keeping in mind that they can stay wild looking rather than trying to tame them is a good option. Great video!
Thank you Lani, I think this tree will make good progress with the next styling, I hope to keep the wild look, but refine the structure and branch placement.
New to growing plants but I have my own indoor garden I started this year and I've always loved bonsai trees. Your channel is delightful, thank you for taking time to share your art.
Thank you Skye, good luck on your indoor garden, I'm imagining fresh fresh food in the middle of winter, Yummm!
When putting a jin at the top of a tree, it makes sense to cut it plenty long at first. If you decide later that it is too long, you can always shorten it later. Jinwood though is hard to grow back as it is dead.
Thanks Paul, very true!
So great to watch. When you first noted the height you wanted to cut too I couldn't see how it would work. But by the end the vision was much more clear. I really appreciate you taking the time to walk through the decision making process. One of the most important things I have learned in my first year of bonsai is to take my time and to error on the side of leaving more foliage and branching during development. You are a great teacher of that. Kind of like cooking...I can always add more seasoning but cannot take it out :) Thanks again for sharing your experience Nigel.
Thank Jim, I like your bit of wisdom! Lots more work will be coming on the tree in future videos.
Thanks! A new video to relax was what I needed. Today I dug up a decades-old Forsythia that someone put on our local equivalent of Craigslist. The root ball alone is about 30" in diameter and 10" high and the whole thing weighed a ton, even with all the branches cut back... Now it's sitting in a tub waiting to be root pruned (euphemistically speaking) and potted while I try to get back some will to bonsai by watching this video. ;)
Sounds like you have a beast on your hands! Good luck, they make nice bonsai.
Thank you! I'll see which trunks survive the winter. At least I got the root ball down to less than half the original height with hand tools (saw, pruners) - not ideal, but all I could do yesterday - my back was killing me afterwards. When I repot it the next time I'll keep an electric saw nearby for the rough pruning...
we have swamp cedars that uproot and then regrow. they have gnarled roots like yours and they are mighty
Very cool, I bet they look really good!
Haha love that saying "however unique features aren't always good features " 😂
I have a few trees that have some very odd features, it's hard to judge whether they are good or bad. There is a fine line between an interesting feature and a bad feature! To much and it ruins the tree, to little and you might have a boring tree.
Was there ever an update video for this tree?
So interesting how different artists may work a tree. To accentuate the unusual aspects. No height change. remove thickest branches and the one branch growing through the curled root. Working the tree to a rough conical shape with dense foliage. Jinn the lowest, thickest upward moving branches to suggest a difficult struggle(s) that while disruptive were overcome by the shear innate vigour of the tree. Great style only wishing to have as many neat trees to work as yourself Nigel. Respect, and thanks again for the inspiration and for sharing your work!!!!!!
Thanks Ben, I know the feeling. How I would style a tree can be very different to another person. Luckily, there is no absolute right or wrong, just different approaches, like you said. In the end, you create a tree that makes you happy!
Truly said sir!!
looking forward to seeing that nice eastern cedar next year. I have a Gerry Oak that I kept tall thinking it might even get a bit taller(I like bigger bonsai) but found myself looking at it over and over again and then just one day did a hard trunk pruning and now am trying a drastically smaller tree. Great work Nigel keep on Bonsaiing
Ben Parkinson Thanks again Ben, your Oak sounds like a nice tree to work on.
It is a lovely tree to work on and care for, I hope it will have a nice appearance in time as well. Cheers
Watched every single of your videos in the last 2 days. Binge Style :P Anyway just wanted to thank you for sharing this. Im very happy that I found this channel. Awesome trees :)
Wow and welcome!
I really like the tree and what you are going to do with it. Enjoyed every minute of the video and agreed with your dicisions, looking forward to its progress!
Thank you Robin.
what a bizarrely interesting tree you have there
I think it will look more natural in the coming years as I continue to work on it. (I hope!)
Got a cedar like that growing and I'll leave it outside the for winter and style it next spring. Came here to get some inspiration.
Hope you got some and good luck with your Cedar.
David Y well, how'd the cedar go?
I've noticed you use the original cut and prune technique rather than wiring, as well as do i. is that a preference or just the only way your styles can be done?
I like to grow and shape my trees with pruning if I can, I think it brings out the natural growth patterns of the tree more and the trees end up looking more like their full size counter parts in nature. Wiring gives you the ability to make all your trees look the same., and this is often done. Many people style all their trees to look like Pine trees! Here is a video on my thoughts....
th-cam.com/video/YGhQjOma8gQ/w-d-xo.html
Hey nigel what's an important tip you would give to a begginer?
Pick an easy to grow tree like a dwarf Schefflera, a tree that grows well indoors and can become very beautiful in the future!
This is a really cool tree, I think you nailed it with the styling. That large branch had to go, it distracted the eye from the awesome base that now looks massive and gnarly with the sight lines opened up. You guys get some wonderful collected Thuja up there, they are not in the forests around the Poconos but they are ubiquitous as nursery material/ornamentals.
Thanks Mark, I hated to stop work on it, but I have to same some work for another video of it next year!
At what point do you intend to prune back the roots and re-pot?
Is the large pot necessary for survival at this point? Or do you want it to become larger?
The large pot is just a temporary training pot. I did re pot the tree this spring. The roots are already flat and radial and could go into a bonsai pot. The training pot helps the tree become vigorous because the roots can grow down into the pot and it gets good drainage. I will need good growth to further develop the top of the tree.
Interesting, as it is a divergence from your regular style. Nice job, are there any follow ups to this?
A video will be coming soon! The tree has done really well.
@@TheBonsaiZone Fantastic.
Let us know next year if that cutting has grown :)
Will do, they are planted in a plastic tub outside. The tub has high sides that protect the trees from the wind.
How'd it do?
lenny Madrid that's what I came here for
would love to see an update on this guy!
Hey Nigel,
I have a question about moss
Question ....
I try to get a moss garden ,i have collecting some moss,but not enough :-)
I have a lot of open space,s ,does it fill in quickly ? Or do i have to collect more?
Moss will grow quickly if the conditions are right. Quickly means a few months. The soil surface needs to stay damp. You will need regular watering, fertilizing and weeding as the moss gets established. The soil needs to be a good draining soil also, if it stays too wet, moss will not grow. The soil does need to stay damp. I would collect as much as you can, then plant it in patches so they grow out to form a matte.
Thanks Nigel ,i try tot collectie more... The moss i collect was growing in a parking space on the stone ground ..
I first added very little soil and wet it,than putted the moss on the ground en push it a little with my feet ,i watched some video,s about miss,you can put moss With some yoghurt and blend it all together and than put it where u want it ! Thanks again !!!
I have some little bitty cedars.. how am going to winterize them
Hi Avery, you can bury your cedars in the ground for the winter, pot and all. You may need some protection from rabbits and mice, they will chew at the Cedar and may kill the tree. A cold garage or garden shed works also, you do need to keep them watered on warmer days. Some people keep them underneath their bonsai benches. They drape plastic over the bench to the ground, creating a mini cold frame to protect the tree from the wind. I keep mine in an unheated room in the basement. The trees don't need light in the winter.
I have a small.green house... it's been so hot humid I took the cover off... so maybe I will put the cover back on and winterize everything in it
very nice work.
great stuff. interesting specimen, will be interesting to the the progression
Hi Nigel, I'm just wondering; I never see you make a cut in an angel. I was thinking; is that just a personal taste, or is it better for the tree and/or scars? I think it could look good if it's possible to cut in an angle along with the line of the branch or taper of the trunk?
All the cuts will be refined as deadwood in a future video. They are just cut off roughly to length for now. The tips of the deadwood will be carved to look like dead branches from nature. I'll be back to work on the tree this summer.
Did you manage to make the cutting grow, Nigel? What has happened to it? Update on it?
Yes, the cuttings are actually doing well. It takes about two years before they get a good root system, but most of the cuttings taken in early summer root and survive through winter! I'll be sure to update the cuttings with the tree.
A question someone on instagram asked is do you care for tigerbark ficus the same as Microcarpa?
Yes, they are variations of the same species. Is it possible to make a note on the instagram account that all questions should be asked via TH-cam? I just don't think I'd have time for any other format. I'm getting close to 20 questions a day on TH-cam, I like answering them. Hong from our club answers the Facebook page, that keeps him busy too! Thanks again!
Hi Nigel, Good start for an ugly duckling, Look forward to seeing it transformed.
Best wishes
Iqbal
Thank Iqbal. All the best.
It's oky to do air layering during winter time ? I live in canada.....( grab apple)
It is best to wait until spring. You can do all the prep work now, but the tree will remain dormant all winter. Your roots won't start to grow until spring anyway.
What happened to this tree Nigel?
It is in the basement chilling out! I will be re potting it and working on it later this winter. The tree has grown really well since the last video.
Nice video :) did you know cedar mean thuya in french ? At first i was disapointed to hear cedar and see a thuya ;) did you tried to make à bonsaï with an oak ?
03:18 Plant must be like :"First mother nature and now Nigel... I don't think I'm ever getting tall." :D
The tree is ready for round 2 of the styling!
@@TheBonsaiZone
Looking forward to the next video and possibly a series for this tree?
A very nice video with many perspectives, Nigel. Greetings from Germany. do something green today!
Thank Lennart, stay green also!
Hey Nigel! I was wondering if you wanted foliage to grow more dense on the left of the front of the tree or if you wanted it to have more scarce foliage with the style you are looking for. Thanks for these videos can't stop watching them. Hope to become an environmental engineer, world needs more people connected with nature!
There is much more work to do on the tree, I'll have to re visit the design of it this spring and see what's next. I think I'll create a sketch of what I want the tree to look like.
Nigel Saunders
I really love the natural look your bonzais have, so yea i'm just wondering if your fine with one side being empty on the bottom
Hi Nigel, I love your work, do you offer any workshop opportunities?
I've never been asked before. You can check our facebook page for upcoming club activities if you are in the area, or you can email me at....
thekwbonsaisociety@gmail.com
How is this tree doing now?
The tree made it through the winter fine so far. I'm really looking forward to more work on it this year!
Thank you sir
At first I thought you had been a little to drastic chopping of the top. It looks rugged now definatly less is more ....
I'm hoping the design will show through more in future work to come. Thanks!
Nigel I'm consider a ivy bonsai. ever tried it
I did have a nice ivy bonsai for many years, one year it didn't make it through the winter. I have a nice ivy growing out front that I will try as a bonsai in the up coming years.
Nigel Saunders thats fantastic to hear! I'm excited to see this. Have you any advice for mine? I have boston ivy that i have germinated from seeds
Lots of clip and grow will get the trunk to a good thickness. I would let the vine grow all summer before clipping back at first. It takes a lot of growth to increase the thickness just a little. They can be pruned like a regular bonsai as the tree develops. Good luck.
Thanks Nigel, fantastic advice as always! :)
Sandev Bonsai has a magnificent old ivy bonsai on his channel.
Update please!!!
An update will be coming, the tree did really well over the summer and is in need of more work!
foliage. Fo-lee-age :)
Sorry but i think this tree was not worth collecting...
Massimo Santoro why??
Well, if i go to collect some trees i look for age, interesting nebari and good trunkline and i just can't see these things on this tree. This tree can still be good someday but you find much better material to start a bonsai in nature.
Thanks Massimo, there are beautiful old cedars all over Ontario, ones that would make great almost instant bonsai. I cannot collect a tree that is old and has been part of nature for so long, that's just me. I feel these wonderful old trees should be left in the ground for others to enjoy. Many of the trees I start as bonsai have nothing special about them and it is a long term project to get a decent bonsai from them. I like the challenge and I may never end up with a tree that matches the quality of an old collected one. This bothers me less than the regret I would have, collecting old trees.
You are very correct, I just can't do it.
+Nigel Saunders i totally understand you. I could have said it also like this: if i would have to choose between digging up this tree or search more, I would probably search more.
But as you said, its just you, and that is the reason because i'm watching youre videos to see you take on the challange, not to see world class bonsai.
Sorry, but for me it looks pretty ugly. But I've seen others of yours bonsais so I think that this one will be beautiful in the future. I'm sure that you will make it. 😉👍🏼
I think as the tree progresses it will look better and better. It has a long way to go and I can't wait to work on it again. Thanks!
I'm already excited 👍🏼
foist yo
Wow, fast yo!
You got it! Lol. I got a cedar this spring because of you. Not exactly sure what kind it is though. The needles turn yellow in the winter
Nigel Saunders .
zeroth yo - I saw the video before Nigel even posted it
hacker!😭