Not sure where to go with this Mountain Ash (Rowan). Very little info online except 1 walter paul tree. Thinking almost broom style with all the upward branches already available or carve a taper and keep the one leader as pictured. I got this tree as is recently. It’s about 25 years old and was field grown i believe then potted for a few years. Will do the post leaf drop prune soon and repot in the spring. Above nebari 6" D about 36" tall now.
2 Likes
Welcome!
This will be a very interesting tree! Rowan is one I have often dreamed about trying to bonsai but have never tried. Broom may work ok.
For some reason I look at yours and think flame style. If you don’t know flame style, it is very similar to broom. But the crown is more pointed, and the image is narrower than a broom. You often see ginkgo styled as flames.
This caught my attention so I wanted to jump in. I never understood where the flame shape came from as the only tree that does the flame shape naturally is one of the poplar variates, I believe it’s the Populus nigra ‘Italica’. Otherwise old Ginkgo just look like giant dinosaur broadleaf deciduous trees, I’ve never seen them shaped like the bonsai Ginkgo form.
Otherwise, Mountain Ash is a cool variety, I’ve not seen an ancient form but I’ve seen a few various Sorbus trees. Here’s a bad resolution example I found where they claim it’s 500 years old.
Here’s another
Yeah I’m leaning towards just an upright triangular deciduous look. It’s not bad as is except all the branches are very long, thick, and straight. Also the trunk cut is flat with 2 new leaders starting to heal that. They are off the right side of the trunk chop from my desired front so i think it would be hard to hide that scar if I carve from those 2 leaders down.
I have a clump one in a bonsai pot which has been in the forum Q&A a couple of times and another I am field growing in a growbag. This one is going to be, another clump style as it keep sending up suckers. I find that they respond well to really hard cutbacks of the branches which have been left to thicken without movement. The one in the growbag I cut back each each trunk/ branch to two buds from that years growth and the following year it responds really well with a couple of feet of growth on the ones which have been cut back, putting movement into each trunk without the need for wiring.
