So, I got this the other day. The movement of the trunk really grabbed me, so I bought it. After getting it home and some clean up, I’ve been looking at it some more. And realized that the taper is really, really gradual. It’s there, I know because I measured it.
So how bad is it? And what would you folks do?
In the meantime, I’ve learned another lesson about picking out material at a nursery.
Just going to say that you chose this tree for many of the right reasons. This is an old nursery tree. It has been in the pot a long time. You will not find a tree with this age and character at a Home Depot or other mass garden center (and I don't even know where you bought it).
Get rid of the stub at the soil that looks like a part of male anatomy
And no, definitely don't jin it
This has a nice graceful weeping growth habit because it was staked up a long time ago - since it is naturally a creeping form. It isn't a
J. communis "Montana". It is a
J. communis var. montana. In other words it isn't a cultivar, it is a naturally occurring variety of J. communis that comes from Montana - with the chunky needles instead of the spiky needles you normally expect from
J. communis (which look similar to
J. rigida).
Strangely, I was just at a nursery yesterday looking at several
J. communis cultivars (though not this variety). I saw a couple that looked similar to this - with the rounded needles - and at first I thought (like
@Forsoothe! ) that they might be cryptomeria. At the same nursery, I saw an upright
J. communis with extremely spiky needles that looked (to me) like the spitting image of a
J. rigida. Right next to it was a
J. rigida in a weeping form that I had never seen before. You won't see these "less usual" cultivars or varieties in the big box stores... which is why I love visiting all the local nurseries!
At any rate, back to the tree in question. I love the grace in the trunk. Do not get distracted by the apex that currently projects to the right. Imagine if you reduced it (or wired it to down) and styled the entire tree in a willow or weeping style. Very feminine. Very cool. Feminine trees don't need (and don't want) dramatic taper. Beauty over strength
The reason why it doesn't have a chunky trunk or dramatic taper is because, as a creeper, it is used to running long growth. I had a
J. conferta "Blue Pacific" above my koi pond that ran for 15'... but the trunk at the nebari was perhaps 1" thick. Take the same tree and stake it vertically, and the trunk will thicken dramatically. But the second you remove vertical support, it will weep/droop back to the ground.
Last thought... that little branch on the bottom right I would not remove. I would wire it up like a mini twin trunk to provide balance to the rest of the design.