Chamaecypress bonsai > progression pictures

Chamaecyparis pisifera Progression Series

This Chamaecyparis was found in a friends' garden nearly 3 years ago in the early Spring of 2001. Apparently it had grown quite slowly for the first ten years it had been in her garden but was now very vigorous and had outgrown is allotted space, its height reaching over 12 feet. Having decided to collect it, I dug around the rootball to find that it consisted entirely of fine roots which I would be able to keep; their presence probably as a result of the wet ground it was found growing in. Once home, I removed all but the two thickest trunks/suckers that had developed (as is usual for Chamaecyparis). I was fortunate to have many low branches to use in the future as Chamaecyparis rarely back bud at all, let alone from the trunk. At this point I was able to count off the growth rings from the area of trunk that I had chopped, this left me with the reasonably accurate age of 30 years. The tree at this point was around 2ft tall. The tree was potted up into a mixture of sphagnum moss and grit and allowed to recover for a year
	A year later and the tree had responded very strongly; the mass of fine root collected with the tree had obviously helped it through any transplanting shock. I decided that the tree was more than strong enough to withstand the initial stages of styling. I decided that the trunks would be difficult to style together as one bonsai and split them into two trees. The two trunks were literally sawn in half, ensuring each had sufficient roots and foliage to stay alive. (The other trunk is still alive and undergoing styling).
	I initially intended to leave the tree for a further year after this work but after more vigorous growth through the Spring, I decided that styling could continue as originally planned.
	In June 2002, I started removing branches, leaving those that I would be able to use for the final design.
The branches were then wired into preliminary positions whilst I started shaping the top of the trunk. The trunk was very straight and taper needed to be carved into the deadwood as well as some movement. There was also some reverse taper near the top that needed removing.
	September 2002, the foliage had filled out well. The top of the trunk had movement and taper carved into it; the beginnings of a shari down the right hand side of the trunk had also been started. Carving had been carried out by pulling away the fibres of wood with jin pliers and with the use of various carving bits. After carving, the the deadwood was treated with lime sulphur and a coat of wood hardener. Despite the tree still growing vigorously, I left it to rest and regain any strength lost before the onset of Winter and repotting in the Spring.
Here is the tree now in September 2003, 3 growing seasons after collection and a year after the picture above was taken. This year the tree was repotted into a tokoname pot. The right hand branch is now removed; the remaining foliage grows from just 3 primary branches. The shari has been extended to the base of the trunk and will be widened in future years as the live portions of the trunk strengthen and thicken. Finally, the long jin at the top of the trunk had to go! Chamaecyparis are a very thirsty species compared to most other coniferous species, and this tree benefits from frequent misting and needs regular watering. Regular pinching and thinning of the foliage masses will be needed to keep the overall shape neat and refined.
		I wasn't entirely happy with the look of the bonsai by the Winter of 2004, the foliage had become too heavy for the design and white of the deadwood was too bright. In the early Spring of 2005 the tree was heavily pruned back and then allowed to recover for the rest of the year. This last picture shows the tree in June of 2006, the deadwood has mellowed and the foliage mass has been considerably lightened.