Chamaecyparis Obtusa "Nana Gracilis"

I recently acquired this tree from nursery stock. It was chosen for a good root base and low branches. I love working with these trees although many do not. What I like about them is when good stock is found a reasonable bonsai silhouette can be established almost immediately.


This is a picture of the front of the tree after initial styling.


... the back of the tree.

I was fortunate that root work (tap root removal) was carried out on this tree some time ago. The tree has a good basal flare with some nice roots and fine feeder roots (very common in Hinokis).


I was able to pot this tree in a relatively shallow pot, because of the work done in the past. This will speed up the development process quite a bit, as I will have very little to no root work to carry out on this tree. The root base is well established around the periphery of the trunk and as time goes by the nebari on this one should be fantastic.

There is much work to do on this tree in the future. Right now the tree will rest. The apex needs to be define a little more and cleaned up. The small branch-lets will need to be wired (fall '10). I prefer wiring in the fall as the wires have a better chance to set the branches. Wires are removed towards mid to the end of summer. Although the "Nana" is a slow grower, I find that nonetheless the tree is extremely prolific in my climate. Wiring in the spring results in the wires biting before the end of the growth season. By wiring in the fall, only one wiring is required per season. I have been using more and more guy wires in tree development these days, especially when no requirement exist other than placing the branch on a new plane, moving one back or forward etc...


The lighting on this particular photo shows a strong branch growing to the left on the apex. This branch is barely noticeable in person, but there nonetheless. The apex is directly aligned with the base of the trunk and slightly forward. The foliage will be brought around and wired in position to hide this annoyance produced by the camera.


... in this lighting situation the branch is barely noticeable.

The tree was potted up an Erin pot (the only suitable one I had on hand). I kind of like the overall picture but may re-pot in an unglazed pot in the future.