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THIS IS an adaptation of a fairly
common technique, but used for a different purpose. I'll admit
at the outset that, although it worked, I learned a few lessons
in the process and would approach the problem slightly differently
in future.
When I collected this Scots pine
(Pinus sylvestris) from the New Forest, in southern England,
I was both delighted and confounded by the strange trunk configuration.
One upward-growing trunk with good mature bark and nice movement;
one trunk which had been broken many years before and now presented
an angular, semi-cascading line; and a long, thin (10mm) trunk
growing right in the middle.
The tree had been growing in
long coarse bog grass and the central trunk had clearly had to
race toward the light. It was so thin that it couldn't support
its own weight. In the forest it had been supported by the surrounding
grasses but, once in a pot, it collapsed. In the photograph it
is lodged on top of the semi-cascade trunk to keep it in view.
First thoughts? Cut it off! This
was my immediate reaction and one that was shared by everyone
else who saw the tree. But, maybe because I'm a rebel, or maybe
because I enjoy a good challenge, I resolved to try to incorporate
all three trunks in the design. If successful, this would turn
out to be a memorable bonsai. If unsuccessful .... well, I still
have the cutters sharp!
Before I could even think about
a design, I had to solve the problem of the flaccid trunk which,
remember, was only 10mm thick! I used the little flat saw-like
cutting bit on my Dremel to cut a groove the entire length of
the trunk, on what I anticipated would be the rear. I cut right
through to the heart - over halfway through the trunk.
I made the opening just a little
too small to accommodate a 2.5mm strand of wire, and cleaned
the edges with a surgical scalpel afterwards. This brought the
aperture to the right size for the wire.
Mistake number one: I should
have cut even deeper to bury the wire exactly in the centre of
the trunk. As it was, I was unable to push the wire in quite
that far. My nervousness prevented me from being bolder. Oh well,
"Faint heart never won fair bonsai..."
I cut the wire to length and
forced it into the groove, holding it in place with cut paste
as a temporary measure. Then I bound wet raffia around the trunk,
covering the cut paste and filling in any gaps between the raffia
and wire with short wire offcuts in order to keep the strand
as deep in the groove as possible.
Mistake number two: I should
have used copper wire instead of aluminium. The aluminium wire
was/is strong enough to do the job, but copper would have done
it better. Too late now!
As soon as I had finished, the
trunk was able to support its own weight, as the bottom photograph
shows. The raffia also naturally had some effect on this, but
it was clear that the wire was doing its job. I waited two years
before removing the raffia, by which time the groove had begun
to close over the wire in places. This process is pitifully slow
- the trunk bears very little foliage, so it isn't thickening
quickly, which means it isn't healing quickly either. At this
scale (10mm thick trunk) things don't work quite as fast as they
do on a more substantial scale.
Mistake number three: I began
the groove at the very base of the trunk. What I should have
done was to drill a hole down into the woody core of the roots
and insert the wire into this hole to anchor it. Although the
trunk is now rigid and holds its shape and weight, there is a
weak point at its base, where it wobbles frighteningly.
If you want to see how this
tree has turned out, have a look at the latest photograph in
my Gallery.
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