Appears to be some kind of holly.
7 Likes
Curbadori??! As in you found it at a curb 
2 Likes
This seems familiar… where have I seen it… aaaah, Reddit! It’s always fun to recognise someone from another forum.
Now the question is, can you identify me on reddit?
Haha, yup. I usually only post something on one or the other so it doesn’t feel like double posting. I like this one a lot though. 
Felt like sharing in both places. It’s super easy to spot me on Bonsai Nut since I have the same username there lol.
1 Like
Yup, a literal curb. I cruise around my neighborhood the evening before or morning of trash day. 
This was one of four that were left on the street. Two had thick trunks that were very straight and uninteresting. A smaller one had more movement, but the trunk was small and lacked taper. Often times there’s more than one for me to choose from. Summer dormancy is about to hit, so idk if I’ll be cruising much until the fall.
1 Like
Looks more likke a rhododendron 
What kind of dark wood did you use for the pot? It’s looks amazing!!
Just plain old pine lumber, but I torch it with hot fire. 
Here’s a video. It probably added close to an hour to the overall process, but it’s worth it. I haven’t applied a finish yet. I may try olive oil since it’s for a plant. I use a cheapo torch setup from Lowe’s. A $3 propane tank with like a $15 nozzle attached to it.
On this stand I used polyurethane because it’s just the stand.
These are for my nandina forest box. My kiddos did the torching. Piece on the far right is before taking a brush to it.
I use these brushes in my drill because doing it by hand with a steel brush was horrible lol. Just be sure to wet the wood first or you’ll end up with fine charcoal dust EVERYWHERE. I swear that I’m still coughing it up. 
2 Likes
This tree is doing well. One thing I noticed about holly; they’ll take an entire year off to recover from root work. This tree, and my other holly, pushed just enough growth to live for the year. This year they’re flushing all over the place.
What an awesome way to treat wood! Time to put away the stain and polyurethane and get out my torch and linseed oil.
1 Like
It’s fun man. I have a huge torch now. It sounds like a jet lol. This last batch I left untouched after I burned it. I’m letting the elements naturally scrape away the charred wood. It’s pretty interesting to see how the patina develops differently from piece to piece.
1 Like
@Bonsai_Bentley It does look fun for sure. I remember being in wy first woodshop class in about 7th grade, making my grandparents a magazine rack and using a torch to put burn marks on it. I didn’t torch the whole thing or treat it with any kind of oil. I’m surprised I forgot about this technique. I like to build a lot of different things with wood and I am looking forward to trying this out!
Thanks for sharing! (and the memory!..lol)
Bryan
1 Like
Again I say doesn’t look like a holly to me. It sure looks like a rhododendron.
I know this from deadheading almost 30 of them every year when I was a kid. 
It’s also the flower of my state of Washington
I can take a close up pic for you. Definitely not a rhodie. Rhodies don’t try to annihilate your hands with super pokey leaves. 
Looks like Burford Holley to me. Burfordii Nana. Just a guess tho.
1 Like
It might be a caressa holly.
There are so many varieties Regardless, they all seem to act about the same way. Pout for a year and then gets back to it.
My mistake
From afar looks like a rhododendron.
I am used to seeing the classic holly we have here in the PNW.
1 Like