My favorite tree - if I have such - and one of the least trouble for me. I
certainly find Roger's experience the same as mine - definite on Marty's
semi-shade and a flexible branching. And whether or not it is noted by
others I notice the color of my hemlocks holds well. At least I am never
worrying about some yellowing of a rich dark green. Maybe that is due to
their liking moist soil, and I tend to keep other conifers too damp for
their liking.
I am a little cautious judging "mountain hemlock" There is eastern or
Canadian hemlock, slow-growing, (Tsuga canadensis) and then the
northwestern(Tsuga heterophylla), or Western hemlock, is called fast
growing. Among the lot of hemlocks there is a such variety of growth based
on location - at timberline the "mountain hemlock" is a "creeping shrub"
but in the high mountains is a large tree. It is a tree that grows well in
mixed forests. Here, in the northwest shares forests with the high mountain
conifers as a large tree. I am crazy about this tree in all its adaptions.
I think a lot of second-looking is needed to make judgments about what it
can do. But, the shade, moisture and flexibility seem always to be
definite.
Lynn
Lynn Boyd, Oregon, USA
---------------------
from Roger Snipes:
Mountain Hemlock make wonderful bonsai subjects. As Marty noted, semi
shade
is best, and they like to stay a little on the moist side. I don't think
you need to worry about slow growth, mine will put out 1/2" to 1" long new
shoots if I don't pinch the new growth. I avoid fertilizing early in the
year to keep the spring growth spurt in check and to keep needle size
down.
Mountain Hemlock is quite flexible, you can wire and bend branches into
most
any desired position. They typically have a profusion of small tertiary
branches, which will all need to be wired once you start, so you will have
plenty of detail wiring ahead of you. Watch for wire cutting in once you
have wired your tree. I completely wired one of mine last September, and
I
had to remove much of the wire just last week because it was already
starting to cut in.
Regards,
Roger Snipes Spokane, WA Zone 5, or maybe
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