This dramatic Mountain Hemlock was recently restyled (reimagined) by Michael Hagedorn and friends. Here's part of a quote by Michael... "Very old Hemlock .... often have idiosyncratic branching, and in the restyling ... we tried to feature the lines of these unusual branches that were created in the wild, without influence or manipulation in the studio..." The whole quote is below
Michael Hagedorn (Crataegus Bonsai) continues to amaze. With an abiding respect for the tree and an approach that is so uniquely his that you might recognize his trees in an instant. Which in this case is a remarkable old Mountain Hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana). Rather than say more, we’ll let Michael do the talking…
Continued below…
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Before. The only things missing are a little imagination and and a whole lot of experience and skill
In Michael’s own words, from his Crataegus blog…
“The completed composition, 36″/ 91 cm. We patched in some moss to jumpstart the desired result of full eventual coverage. The environs of Mountain Hemlock often have great views, high up on rounded terrain with vistas. The cascading drop branch does remind me of being in high country, brushing the clouds, where I’ve often see them. Very old Hemlock in this zone often have idiosyncratic branching, and in the restyling a few years back we tried to feature the lines of these unusual branches that were created in the wild, without influence or manipulation in the studio, simply by choosing an inclination and front that showed off the branches to the best advantage — the decision being that the branches were more interesting than the trunk. In the potting this spring it seemed advantageous to make a high mound to show off the lowest branch, leaving the container with a very minor supporting role.”
A little perspective... assuming these are more or less average size humans
The base of the trunk. It's a little unusual to see major branching so low on a trunk.
The top half of the tree
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