Bonsai Deadwood (Will freezing age it faster?)

[@MartijnSinkeler]

I like it that you show both successes and failures. It’s nothing to be sorry about. It makes it (again) only more interesting and shows that everyone can learn bonsai and new things. Even the most experienced. If you don’t try, you’ll never know anyway. As “we” Dutch say; “Wie niet waagt, wie niet wint” (nothing ventured, nothing gained). I bet you know that saying.. 😂 Great video Jelle! Keep it coming!

[@laddieokelley6095]

It sounds better in Dutch.

[@SteveAllotment]

Like other people I love the fact that you are showing real life with success and failure ... May be interesting to see if your technique actually accelerates the natural process in a week or two but may be difficult to be certain. Keep experimenting and sharing :-)

[@JaniLaaksonen91]

You truly are a mad scientist with these techniques! At least you potentially saved up similar amount of time for dozens of people that you lost conducting this experiment. Plus it's always good to show the reality of hobbies. Everything doesn't always go like in American movies.

[@jpiccari]

As a woodworker, it should be noted that green wood (high moisture content) is great for bending, twisting, etc. This may cause less cracking as the fibers are soaked and flexible. I would dry out the deadwood first, keep it dry, and try freezing. With less water in the wood you won’t have the same office of heat transfer, but the fibers will be far less resilient and may crack more.

[@peacefulGHILLIE]

a worthwhile effort, so we don't have to. Thanks Jelle. Enjoy the understanding your experiments yield in our bonsai knowledge.

[@Hollylivengood]

See what I mean? We read about things and wonder if it's a good idea, but for a lot of us doing a disaster on purpose to see what happens would harm what we are creating with a tree we love. Then here, you try it, like before we do something stupid, you try it so we don't have to. This is why we love this channel.

[@memberphil]

Well I love Jelles channel because he delivers decent background information, explains well and he is on a level of knowledge and skill, where I trust his advice. And personally I like the scientific approach.

[@oachkatzlsmum]

Spirit of research live and vivid 👍😘Thanks for sharing Jelle 🙋‍♀️

[@kubawojciechowski6212]

Quality content right there, mr Engineer - not a dramatic change, but i would say the deadwood looked a little more weathered at the end. Loving deadwood on deciduous trees! Thanks for documenting such experiments for us.

[@memberphil]

Hi Jelle :) I have a small hot air pistol (from proxon to shrink wire coating etc.), I use it for bending dead wood branches. Maybe try heating and ice shortly after another for a stronger effect 😊 I remember a video from harry harrington on that. He applies several interesting technics. To me he does dead wood quite well, the guy from "Michelangelo Bonsai" too :) Cheers, Phil

[@memberphil]

I have an idea, soak the dead wood with a wet towal over night or so, then apply heat (hot air, or better the wet heating device like you used to bend dead branches), then ice. See, if physics work, or I didn't think right 😅

[@Bonsaifly]

Great deadwood technique Jelle! Do you think that the freezing might actually have a more substantial effect after first treating it with fire and then wetting it with water to then freeze? Maybe even use fire to heat it up rapidly afterwards? I‘m no expert on expansion and contraction of deadwood but it might do the trick

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

That was interesting to see - I had never heeard of this theory before...but it looked like fun. maybe in really hot countries where the temperature differential can be utilised through the process?

[@sueb1317]

Awesome experiment! Great information to know which techniques are successful and which ones are just hype. Perhaps crackling also depends on the species of wood this process is used on.

[@rebeccahunter725]

You are right, though. If nothing else it is "cool" to watch the water freezing! I wonder if the problem is that it was just superficial freezing. Would work better if it was full thickness freezing of the deadwood - although that is much harder to control!

[@g.i.t.i.]

Thanks for the precious video. I think that there are few mistakes, anyway. First the deadwood must be completely "dead", dried and aged, so it is not flexible anymore. Second, the deadwood must be completely soaked with water and then freezed so the water inside the fibers can freeze and expand, not only the surface as it seems in your experiment. In this way, expanding, the water can create cracks.

[@jeef16]

I can understand why this makes sense in theory - you can use ice crystals forming in between the dead cellulose layers to wedge those layers apart, thus making it look more "aged." I dont think this process can be replicated with some computer duster spray however. the wood itself may be too dry, and you probably need sub-freezing air temperatures to make sure you get a thorough freeze. hitting the surface with some computer duster just wont be enough I imagine. I'm sure freezing "speeds up" the aging process, but this is probably true in regards to the overall climate of the area. TBH I dont know if deadwood in the desert "ages" faster than climates that see many freeze-thaw cycles. I dont think dipping it into liquid nitrogen is a smart idea either haha but hey maybe that might actually work if you soak the deadwood enough? or maybe it'll just cause it to shatter completely.

[@abydosianchulac2]

Agreed on the thoroughness commentary. Wood is a decent insulator, and the water inside will need to be stripped of a _lot_ of thermal energy to freeze it through and through (more than I suspect the compressed spray can absorb as it expands). Liquid nitrogen wouldn't be practical, but I wonder if creating an insulated container around it, a la an air layering setup, to hold dry ice (frozen CO2 if the vernacular English isn't clear to anyone) against the deadwood might provide the prolonged, extreme cold needed to penetrate fully.

[@bejkee]

Not aging deadwood with freezing cracked me up!

[@jadrakteofurupa7729]

You should see the difference once the frozen bit dries

[@pesoverwatch9324]

Maybe heat it up first (or do it on a hot summer day), then freeze it 1x but freeze it like you mean it, that whole stump must make a bell sound if you softly hit it. To get those cracks that nature creates over years and years, you probably must go extreme.

[@deepanjanbanerjee3491]

Failure or not, I had no idea of something called an ice spray! Have to check it out now. Thanks.

[@robertscarborough68]

Thanks Jelle, Maybe it needs heating up in between freezing? just a thought

[@beniboyer2]

I've seen you use torches to remove the fibres on freshly made deadwood. Have you ever tried torching it more to get the effect that you tried to get here? I tried it with a juniper this summer. I bought it from someone who did not do the best job at carving, and it was covered in toolmarks. With a small torch I kept burning the deadwood until the toolmarks were gone. It also introduced some cracking of the wood and the natural grain was more obvious. At first it looked very burned/dark (obviously). Afterwards I wirebrushed it, cleaned it and lastly limesulfered it. The black stains disappeared and you can't tell it was burned.

[@TheOnlyKrazykat]

I bought some trees in December and they are in the worst possible soil. I really want to get them out of that soil because I'm afraid they won't make it through the winter. Daytime temperatures right now are usually 45-60 Fahrenheit and nights are 20-40 Fahrenheit. I know trees don't grow and heal over the winter although I'm seeing some of my landscape shrubs with green buds. My question is, do you think I could get away with a repot (complete root cleaning) and pruning if I bring the trees in at night?

[@stuartbaines2843]

I have been using kitchen cooker cleaner on a garden tree with Fungus. It is very strong so used full PPE But it stopped fungus developing further and bleached the area of dead wood well. Might be worth trying in a localised area on Bonsai ?

[@Indiekid-1976]

Not so easy to do at home but if you inverted the Jin into a flask of liquid nitrogen?

[@wimvvl]

Thought of the same thing. A bag around the deadwood and then pour in liquid nitrogen. Nice experiment sad it doesn't give a results.

[@zimartiste1]

🤔je ne connaissait cette technique, à suivre...

[@Tricumulairdesigns]

Maybe if the temperature difference would be bigger there would be a bigger difference, next up LN2?

[@Rojin_Bonsai_Studio]

I feel your going to need more cans 😅 interesting video though

[@areebus4226]

excellent tutorial of an believable theory. But I don't think it will have a good effect in the short term. Looking forward to see the effect in the long run, though.

[@MultiZNB]

🔥🔥🔥

[@brucedeacon28]

👍👌🙂

[@tasanastasi7799]

Nice Try . Always thinking outside the box ..Bravo !

[@zen-da-bonsai-ko]

What a "cool" experiment 👍

[@judlpd]

“Experiment failed”. Who cares, looks like fun, I’m going to try!

[@laddieokelley6095]

Glad you don't work with animals in a laboratory. Haha. Wonder what those who think bonsai in whatever form is torture are saying.

[@GrowingBonsai]

Oddly, I find this a very rude comment to make. You have absoutely no clue how I am with living beings.

[@laddieokelley6095]

@@GrowingBonsai Very sorry. I have the wit of an Irishman. Things are said that are not intended to be serious and taken at face value. This was a mistake in judgement on my part and it won't happen again.

[@johnholloway691]

Jelle - First, I think it's cool that you actually try out new ideas. Second, the freezing may still hasten deadwood cracking over time. Third, what's that "blunt steel tool" you're using? Thanks.

[@debit2315]

Am I the only one thinking thats not good for the tree

[@GrowingBonsai]

@@debit2315 why would this not be good for the tree?