Country design with exotic: the technique of creating arbosculptures from trees

Unusual things have attracted people at all times. And if living trees take amazing forms, then no one will pass by such beauty indifferent. One of the jewelry trends in landscape art can be called arbosculpture – the cultivation of trees in the form of chairs, geometric shapes, ornate ornaments and even people. But do not confuse arbosculpture with topiary and bonsai. These are three different techniques, and what is the difference between them – let’s look at specific examples. In addition, the simplest forms of arbosculpture can be created by any summer resident who has enough endurance and patience to shape, graft and care for their sculpted trees.

Arbosculpture is not a new direction. It was invented in the second half of the 19th century in America. But until that time, trees grown using the arbosculpture technique are rare in Europe, and even in the territory of the countries of the former Soviet Union, they are considered exotic at all. So if you want to surprise all your friends and acquaintances, try to create at least one tree using this technique.

Wood in the technique of arbosculpture

Such an original armchair will please not only guests, but also their own children, who will make it the main object for games.

The essence of arbosculpture is in the process of growing a plant to give it bizarre shapes by curving the trunk, molding branches and, if necessary, grafting. At first glance, the technique looks like a bonsai, where there are also twisted trunks. But bonsai is the art of growing miniature trees with full preservation of the characteristics of a large one. And in arbotechnics, the plant is specially bent, giving it an unnatural shape.

Different forms can be given to crops using the topiary technique. But in this case, the original shapes and figures are obtained thanks to the constant shearing of foliage and thin twigs. And in arbosculpture leaves are not touched. The gardener’s task is to transform the shape of the trunk, to bend the skeleton until it has time to become woody. Moreover, you can experiment not with one seedling, but combine into one ensemble of 3,4 or more trees. Their trunks are connected by grafting, and the trees themselves heal the wounds, tightly adhering to each other and forming scars-growths at the junction.

Sculptural composition of several trees

Grafts are used when a sculptural composition is created from several trees, and the shape of one plant is changed by bending the trunk and branches

In order for a tree to endure all the troubles to which the owner will expose it, it must initially be adapted to the climate of the area. So, it is easiest to create sculptural masterpieces from the most common birches, mountain ash, maple and bird cherry. Fruits also tolerate molding well, but yields will begin to give a little later than usual: not after 4-5 years (apple tree), but by 7 years.

It is better to start mastering a new technique with a willow or plum tree. Both of them grow quickly, take root well and do not require special care. If you buy a tree in a nursery, then you immediately need to find out from which parts it was brought. It is better that it be grown on domestic lands.

A complete list of trees that are easy to bend can be found in bonsai encyclopedias, as this technique has become much more popular and, accordingly, is more broadcasted on the Internet. True, pay attention to the fact that trees are needed for arbosculpture, while low-growing shrubs also subject bonsai.

Arbosculpture table

You can create such a table from any large tree, such as linden, maple, or even fruit crops grafted onto dwarf rootstocks.

The simplest version of arbosculpture is considered to be a tree with a zigzag curved trunk. In order to get such a miracle, you need:

  1. Buy a sapling with a flexible trunk. (Check when buying, slightly moving the trunk to the sides. If the trunk has time to woody, look for a younger seedling).
  2. Plant the plant not vertically, but at a certain angle (up to 30 degrees) so that it already roots with a bend.
  3. Try tilting the top of the tree and find the place where it lends itself best to bending. Most often this is the place in the upper, youngest part of the trunk.
  4. Cut all branches below the fold point into a ring (right next to the trunk, without stumps).
  5. From two sticks, knock down the cross-shaped support so that it is 10-20 cm higher than the seedling, and the intersection of the sticks falls by 1/3 of the top of the support.
  6. Dig the support into the ground so that the trunk is approximately centered between the sticks.
  7. Tie the seedling to one stick, starting from the point of the plant’s fold and halfway up the rest. Bend the rest of the top in the opposite direction and tie to the second stick, which goes at an angle to the first.
  8. If the plant is too small, bend it only in one place and wait a couple of months until it grows up in this state in order to be able to repeat the bend.

It is possible to bend the trunks only in the spring-summer, when sap flows in the tree. Up to this point, the seedling is not flexible and may crack when tilted.

Wood forming technique

The bending angle of the trunk can be varied using a cruciform support, pushing its parts further or closer until the tree is fixed

All skeletal branches that are above the place of the first fold of the trunk must also be formed. To do this, leave the strongest branches on the tree and give them an angle of inclination, hanging weights at the ends. If you need a strictly horizontal line or a precisely specified direction, horizontal slats are nailed to the main support at the points where the branch departs from the trunk, and the middle and edge of the branch are tied to them.

When you see that the trunk and branches have become hardened, hardened, you can remove the support frame. The bends of the trunk can be created in this way as much as you like, changing the supports to higher ones.

To make fruit trees fit into the landscape, you can improve their shape by creating a vase, flower, cup, spiral, etc. from the trunk. In this form, they will be decorative at any time of the year. It is not difficult to make a sculptural masterpiece, but you will have to shape the crown for several seasons.

Stage 1. Creating a wireframe

First of all, they think over what shape the tree will be. We recommend starting with a vase. To do this, a metal frame in the form of a vase is welded, no more than 2 meters high and wide, and installed in the place where the tree is to grow. The frame is a ring of a meter in diameter from below, from which metal curved pins (6-10 pieces) extend upward, imitating the shape of a vase.

From above, all the pins are welded together using another metal ring, up to 2 meters in diameter. It must be installed thoroughly so that the frame does not squint or a donkey over time.

Bowl made of wood

If the frame of the bowl is made more than 2 meters wide, then it is advisable to insert a support ring in the middle so that the structure keeps its shape well

Stage 2. Planting a seedling

Work order:

  • A tree is planted in the center of the lower ring of the frame. This should be done in the fall so that the plant takes root by the spring.
  • The seedling must be one year old and grafted onto a dwarf stock.
  • In early spring, the entire top of the seedling is cut off, leaving only 30 cm of the trunk.
  • Deprived of the central conductor, i.e. the beak, the tree will give an increase in lateral shoots. Of these, only the upper ones are left, the number of which should be equal to half the number of metal pins of the frame. If you have a vase with 10 faces, leave 5 branches, if from 6 – 3. They are allowed to grow freely.
  • The remaining branches are cut into a ring.
  • All the following summer, the growth of the main apical shoots is monitored. In order for the branches to have the same thickness, you can adjust the nutrition by tilting them in different directions. If the shoot is frail, straighten it as vertically as possible and fix it to the frame. If it stands out too thick from the rest – bend it horizontally to stop the movement of juices.

Step 3. Forming the base of the wood bowl

Deprived of the central conductor, i.e. the beak, the tree will give an increase in lateral shoots. Of these, only the upper ones are left, the number of which should be equal to half the number of metal pins of the frame. If you have a vase with 10 faces, leave 5 branches, if from 6 – 3. They are allowed to grow freely. The remaining branches are cut into a ring.

All the following summer, the growth of the main apical shoots is monitored. In order for the branches to have the same thickness, you can adjust the nutrition by tilting them in different directions. If the shoot is frail, straighten it as vertically as possible and fix it to the frame. If it stands out too thick from the rest – bend it horizontally to stop the movement of juices.

Abrosculpture

For a clear tracing of the beautiful shape of the trunk, all lateral shoots must be removed in a timely manner, leaving the stem absolutely clean, devoid of branches

Stage 4. Creation of the armature from branches

In a year, the skeletal apical branches will get stronger, so in the spring they are deeply pruned, leaving only a small part with two buds. The rest is removed.

New shoots will grow from two buds, which will become the sides of the bowl. As it grows, each shoot is fixed on the pins of the frame in order to give it a strict vertical position. It remains for you to monitor the development of the tree, cut lateral shoots on the main skeletal branches. Leave on each woody “edge” 3-4 shoots, cutting off their tops to the level of the second from the beginning of the leaf. Fruit buds will begin to form on them, and over time, your vase will be covered with juicy fruit.

When the main branches reach the top of the supporting frame and are lignified, you can remove the metal structure. From now on, the tree itself will keep the given shape, and you just have to thin out excess shoots and restrain the growth of the tops so that the sculptural effect is not lost.

Sculptural compositions from several trees are quite simply created. For example, 4 willows or birches can be used to create a spiral of stunning beauty. And this is done simply:

  • We are preparing the frame. It is necessary to weld a metal frame in the shape of a cylinder. The cylinder consists of identical rings at the bottom and top (up to 2 meters in diameter), and four pins between them. The pins should be welded at the same distance from each other. Next, a thick wire is wrapped around the pins, starting from the bottom and winding it on the frame with a spiral at an angle of 40-45 degrees. The distance between the spiral rings is 35-40 cm.
  • We plant and cut trees. Then 4 annual trees are planted on the outside of the structure at the points where the support pins go up at the frame. The trunks are fixed to the pins so that they develop strictly vertically. Skeletal branches leave only those that are at the level of the passing spiral and tie them to the wire. The rest are removed to the ring. On a trunk 2 meters tall, you should have about 5 branches. In which direction to direct them – look at the pliability of the shoot. Where he himself tends more easily, fix there. Gradually, the branches will wrap a wire spiral, and after 2-3 years they will become lignified. Remove shoots from these branches so that they do not weaken the growth of the main branches.

When the whole spiral is closed with branches, and they become thick, the wire is removed, and the frame is disassembled. The resulting tree spiral will certainly stand out in the landscape, causing the envy of others.

Arbosculpture spiral

The lower support ring of the frame can be omitted if the side pins are driven deep into the ground so that they are securely held

As you understood from the instructions, it is very simple to become a sculptor in your own garden: you just need to have the desire and a good welder at hand who will make the support frames.

Anna Evans

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