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New hinoki bonsai

April 27, 2012 by Jonas Dupuich

I recently picked up a couple of large hinoki cypress with the aim of developing them as bonsai. They seemed healthy and had good sized trunks so I thought they’d warrant the effort.

Before repotting

Hinoki cypress – Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Tempelhof’

Adding new trees to my collection never seems overly burdensome. I simply remove a few branches and repot the trees. Beyond that, they typically require little more than water and fertilizer for the remainder of the year.

Of course, this changes – sometimes dramatically – a few years down the road. If I find I don’t have the time to give a tree the attention it deserves, I move it along.

Trunk detail

Trunk detail

Based on what I could see above the soil line, the tree looked like it had a nice trunk. Finding the rootbase, however, would provide more useful information. As the rootbase was large, I grabbed a large chopstick and got to work.

Giant chopstick

Key repotting tool – large chopstick

The rootbase, it turns out, started about 6″ below the soil line. When I found it, I noticed a significant graft line. I continued bare-rooting half of the rootball and potted the tree in my standard mix of akadama, pumice and lava.

Graft line

The graft line

The lower part of the trunk is likely chamaecyparis obtusa, the rest of the tree, ‘Tempelhof.’ As the graft line is striking, I’m considering ways of improving the appearance of the lower trunk. I’ve thought about burying it, creating an air-layer, or simply living with it the way it is. I have no experience air-layering hinoki, and have heard mixed stories about its feasibility, so I remain curious about this option. I don’t think I could actually bury the nebari, which means I may end up living with this line.

After repotting

After cutback and repotting

I have a year to think about it. For now, I’ll focus on watering and fertilizing the tree, and delay any more dramatic decisions until next year.

✕

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Filed Under: Bonsai Care Tagged With: Hinoki

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Matthiew Quinn says

    April 27, 2012 at 4:46 am

    When you cleaned out the Nebari where there roots striking out of the trunk in the 6 inches of soil above your new found Nebari???

    Matthiew

  2. David Chapman says

    April 27, 2012 at 5:30 am

    What do you mean by move it along?

    • Jonas Dupuich says

      April 27, 2012 at 7:10 am

      Hi David – by “move it along” I mean sell it or give it away.

      Matthiew – great question. I didn’t see a single root emerging from the trunk above the nebari – possibly a clue about what would happen if I go the air-layer route.

  3. becomingbonsai says

    April 27, 2012 at 5:37 pm

    How about doing some root grafts?

    • Jonas Dupuich says

      April 27, 2012 at 5:50 pm

      Root grafts are a good idea – I’ll add that to my list of considerations for next year. Thanks!

  4. Matthiew Quinn says

    April 28, 2012 at 6:24 am

    your right Jonas… it might have been fressly repoted… but the fact that there wear no roots, and that it’s a cupreaceae that’s grafted( this indicates that it was probably easier to graft then to do a cutting).

    Im surprised there are no roots… i have a chamaecyparis obtusa and with some sphagnum around the trunk i’m slowly making a better Nebari. Maybe it’s the cultivar that’s not easy to root (or layer).

    I guess root grafting is a good idea at the moment.

  5. Michael says

    April 30, 2012 at 5:55 am

    Anyone else with experience air layering hinoki. I just air layered one yesterday and am waiting on the results.

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