Mattbonsai

Here is my Sequoiadendron giganteum 'Wellingtonia', I purchased her shortly after the demise of my much, much larger one, and haven't been brave enough to touch this one until Early this year when I decided to have a go at her and Sort her mass of branches out.

She had a mass of entangled roots around the bottom of her stem, which I removed in the re-potting process, this has however left quite an ugly swell, but I am hoping that she will thicken enough to hide this as she matures, some of the lower branches also look a bit sick, and I believe that they may have failed, there is however some small shoots sprouting from the bases of most of these branches which, if they do die will be trained to replace them. I think this is probably the size I'm going to keep her, so I've started pinching out the growing tips on the upper branches to stop them getting un-proportionately thick. I don't think she is very well suited to being a Mame, standing at exactly 1 Meter tall

What do ya think?

Cheers,

-Matt-

Attached Images

Sequoia.JPG (19.1 KB, 39 views)

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noissee

is that a fast growing tree?

Mattbonsai

Yes, they are normally a very fast growing tree, at the moment I'm pinching the top branches out almost weekly because they are throwing out loads of growth.

-Matt-

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noissee

cool, i think i might get me one, is yours from a bonsai nursery? or somewhere else

Mattbonsai

I got this one from a specialist tree and Shrub nursery, one of those places that sells species you can't find in the usual bog standard garden centre / nursery, like Sequoiadendron, Larix, Taxodium, Metasequoia etc

They are a great species to work with, Alaink, another member on this site, who lives in France, has one with a brilliant Jin / Shari (not entirely sure which one it falls under, as it's the apex of the tree)

-Matt-

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noissee

i guess it would be shari? i think i've seen that one on here.
how close are you to potting it?

Mattbonsai

Sorry I didn't reply earlier, I repotted it this spring just gone, as it was completely pot bound, and I wanted to find the Nebari, not being completely familiar with the species I'll have to wait and see if it will need repotting next year or not.

I took this tree to the society meeting tonight, a couple of members personally thought this species of tree was a waste of time, others loved the thought of bonsai-ing the widest specie of tree in the world, but it was confirmed that I'll have a lot of work ahead of me with this tree.

Which is fine with me, I've got all the time in the world, and when I'm gone it's someone else's problem

-Matt-

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AlainK

Hello Matt,

So we are at least two crackpots trying to work with that species, uh ?...

Yes, there is the probleme of lower branches dying back : pinching the new growth at the top should be drastic I think.

Have a look at this thread to see what mine went through...

I think I would cut it back to where I put a horizontal line in the picture attached, use one of the branches to make a new leader, and shorten the branches that are left at the top.

But if you repotted it this spring, maybe it would be careful to wait until next year now.

For this year, I would suggest cutiing back all the branches above the red line to 1 cm or so : it will backbud profusely anyway. You can even use the top or the end of the branches to make cuttings, they root quite easily.

I will put an updated photo of mine in the thread i mentioned, you will see it helped to cut it back, it is very healthy and it's beginning to take shape.

Best of luck with the little monster.

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Alain K.
http://www.rdb45.fr
http://ak2.apinc.org/bdB

Mattbonsai

Sounds like a good plan, with the rate this thing is growing, and I want this to be around the final height it is the better idea to remove the top. I've shortened the branches suggested, I didn't quite have the guts to go back to 1 cm, so I cut them to where the first branchlet comes off each one, which is about an inch along.

I also felt I would get away with taking the top off, not to the extent as you've suggested, that will wait until next year, just taken a couple of inches out to encourage me lower branches to shoot.

cheers,

-Matt-

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AlainK

Anyway, the way ones "feels" the tree is essential : advice is just what someone else would do, but these are just tips, not rules, we're experimenting, aren't we ? That's fun

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Alain K.
http://www.rdb45.fr
http://ak2.apinc.org/bdB