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Artist Peter Cook sitting on a shaped tree. The tree was planted in 1998 and grown via the Pooktre method.

An elegant stool in Sycamore, grown by Dr. Chris Cattle

Tree shaping, known under a variety of names,^[1] is the art and technique of growing and shaping trunks, branches and roots of trees and other woody plants. By grafting, shaping, and pruning the woody trunks or guiding branches, trees are made to grow into ornamental or useful shapes. Tree shaping is similar to espalier or bonsai and sometimes includes some topiary.

[edit] Method

Tree shaping relies on the ability of plants (trees) to be united together by approach grafting and the ability to retain a new shape when new layers of wood form to hold a desired shape.

Approach grafting is accomplished by wounding two or more parts of a tree or trees by cutting off the bark to or past the cambium layer and then binding the wounded parts together so good contact is secure while the wounded tree parts grow together.

Stems or branches are shaped and temporarily supported for a year or more, depending on the size of the design and the time frame the supports are need. During that time, the design swells with each additional layer of wood grown. Once the tree is able to support the shaping, the temporary supports can be removed.

Pruning may be required to remove unwanted branches and direct the growth into the desired shape. Pruning may also redirect stem growth. A pruning cut above a leaf or node can steer the plant. If a leaf points to the right, then a cut above that leaf will produce new growth that grows to the right side. Likewise, a cut above a leaf pointing to the left produces new growth that grows to the left.

Another technique is to grow trees in the air rather than in the ground. The roots then remain flexible and may be shaped as they grow to form art or functional structures. It is suggested that such techniques may develop into eco-architecture, which may allow the growing of large structures such as homes.^[2]

Using these methods (also used in arboriculture), items like benches, chairs, etc., can be formed from trees by shaping, merging and manipulating plant tissue.

[edit] Three approaches to tree shaping

• According to US Patent No. 7,328,532,^[1] trees grown aeroponically stay "soft" and so can be subsequently shaped into a desired form.
• Instant tree shaping is a form of tree shaping in which small trees 6–8 ft. (2–2.5 m) long^[3] are bent into the desired shape. The time spent shaping these trees may only take from an hour to an afternoon.^[4][5]
• Gradual tree shaping is a form of tree shaping where seedlings or saplings 3–12 in. (7.6–30.5 cm) long are shaped while the tree is growing to form the desired shape. The design and setup are fundamental to the success of the piece.^[6][7]

[edit] Styles

There are several styles contained within the art of tree shaping. These include:

• Architectural: planting and shaping trees into structures such as archways, rooms, houses, tunnels, and gazebos. There are two methods within this style: using the trees to form the structures, or using both trees and inclusions to form them.
• Living Art: shaping trees with the intention that the design will continue to grow for the duration of their lifespan. This style includes abstract, symbolic, and functional designs.
• Intentional Harvest: designs where the tree(s) are cut from the ground, dried and finished.
• Inclusion: where an item, often inert, is positioned so the growth of the tree includes and holds the item. Examples include tabletops, stained glass, and mirrors.

[edit] Tools

Pruning tools utilized by a pruning and tree-shaping specialist for cutting twigs and branches

A set of bonsai tools, from left to right: leaf trimmer; rake with spatula; root hook; coir brush; concave cutter; knob cutter; wire cutter; small, medium, and large shears. Many of these are pruning tools that may also be employed to prune and develop tree-shaping projects.

A few of the tools used in tree shaping are similar to those used by a gardener, an arborist, or a horticulturist. These tools include handpruners (secateurs) and a pruning saw.

Shears (pruning shears or a hedge trimmer) are used less commonly. Shears are used more often for topiary or a hedge.

The tools, materials and items for growing and shaping are varied. Basically, this is whatever a tree shaper chooses for creating the design and could include wood boards, pipe, rope, wire, string, tape, etc. Even an item like a metal patio bench could be used as a pattern or mold.

[edit] Choosing a tree type

Research is necessary when choosing suitable trees. Tree shapers generally look for the mature trees that grow well in the area, are less prone to insect damage, and are less susceptible to disease. Any tree species has the potential for shaping. Each type of tree has its own quirks, but they can be understood with time and experience.

Here is a list of some of the trees that have been shaped:

• Box elders (Acer negundo)
• Sycamore (Platanus)
• Fig (Ficus)
• Cherry (Prunus)
• Black cherry (Prunus serotina)
• Crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)
• Maple (Acer)
• Ash (Fraxinus)
• Guava (Psidium)
• Oak (Quercus)
• Poplar (Populus)
• Teak (Tectona grandis)
• Wild plum (Prunus myrobalan)
• Weeping willow (Salix babylonica)

[edit] Time required

The time to grow and construct a tree-shaping project varies depending on the size of the trees, the species' rate of growth, cultivation conditions, the height of the design and methods used. It is possible to perform initial grafting and bending on a project in an hour (e.g., the peace sign tree below) using arborsculpture's methods, removing tape or material that holds the grafting or shape in as little as a year, and following up with minimal pruning thereafter. With Pooktre's methods (e.g., the harvested mirror below), it can take as little as one season of guiding the tree's growth to form the design, and then longer for the tree to thicken to the desired size. Taller architectural projects (e.g., the archway by Axel Erlandson) may require 10 years or more to grow the trees tall enough to accomplish the grafting.

Different styles of tree shaping have different time requirements. When growing a tree intended for harvest and drying, there is a defined point at which the piece is finished. When growing a piece intended to stay alive, the piece is never finished until it dies.

[edit] Notable tree shapers

[edit] John Krubsack

John Krubsack, 1919

John Krubsack planted 32 box elder (Acer nugundo) seeds in 1903. He shaped and grafted the first known living chair. Dubbed The Chair that Lived, it is the only known tree shaping that John Krubsack did. He harvested and dried the chair 11 years after planting. ^{[8] [9]}

[edit] Axel Erlandson

The Needle and Thread tree by Axel Erlandson

Axel Erlandson started shaping trees as a hobby on his farm in Hilmar, California, in 1925. In 1945, he opened a horticultural attraction called the Tree Circus in Scotts Valley, California. He shaped over 70 trees during his life. Erlandson's trees appeared in the column of "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" twelve times.^[10] Erlandson's Telephone Booth Tree is on permanent display at the Baltimore, Maryland, American Visionary Art Museum. Erlandson's Birch Loop tree is on permanent display at the Museum of Art History in Santa Cruz, California. ^[11]

[edit] Extreme Nature

Dan Ladd started shaping trees in 1979. He has a current project where he has grafted eleven trees next to each other up a hillside to form a long banister. He also uses glass, metal and stone as inclusions for trees to grow around and hold in place.^{[12][13] [14]}

[edit] Grownup furniture

Dr. Christopher Cattle thought of the idea to shape trees in the late 1970s, but it was not until 1996 that he was able to start his first planting of furniture. He has grown 15 three-legged stools to completion using various species of trees. He has multiple plantings in at least four different locations in England. Besides the growing sites, he has taken part in several woodland and craft shows in England and at the Big Tent at Falkland Palace in Scotland. He also displayed his stools at the exhibit in Nagoya, Japan, for the World Expo in 2005. He uses wooden jigs for the shaping of his trees.

His stated goal is to encourage as many people as possible to grow their own furniture. He refers to his shaped trees as "grown furniture" but also calls them "grownup furniture", as he sees it as a more environmentally mature alternative to traditional furniture.^{[15][16][17][18][19] [20][21][22] [23]}

[edit] Arborsculpture

An arborsculpture by Richard Reames entitled Peace in Cherry, depicting the CND logo

Richard Reames began his work with trees in 1992.^[24] He was inspired by the tree shaping of Axel Erlandson^[25][26][27] to begin his first experiments^[28] with shaping trees into chairs in the spring of 1993.^[29] This led him to writing and publishing his first book, How to Grow a Chair: The Art of Tree Trunk Topiary, in 1995.

Reames uses the word arborsculpture to describe tree shaping in general,^[30] whereas other artists use the term to refer to a particular style of tree shaping. He coined the word in How to Grow a Chair in an attempt to give a unifying name to the practice of shaping the growth of tree trunks. The word has since been used in media around the world.^{[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]}

[edit] Pooktre

Grown by Pooktre, this tree person is to remain alive. This photo was taken in the summer of 2009 at Pooktre Garden. The tree was planted in 1998.

Pooktre is a method of tree shaping that was developed by artists Peter Cook and Becky Northey. Their first tree-shaping experiment was in 1987. In 1996, after nine years of experimentation without being aware of any other tree shapers, they called their work Pooktre. Pooktre's methods involve gently guiding a tree's growth along predetermined design pathways over long time periods. The most common tree species used is Prunus myrobalan. Pooktre artists shape trees that are harvested, dried, and finished for indoor art, as well as trees that are intended to continue growing.

This mirror was shaped by Pooktre from the roots at planting (in 1997) and shaped as it grew. Harvested in 2004 and finished in 2005, it went to the World Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan, at the Growing Village Pavilion.

Since it first debuted in public, there has been worldwide Internet and media interest in Pooktre,^{[39][40] [41]} It first gained widespread attention during the World Expo 2005 at the Growing Village Pavilion in Aichi, Japan, where Peter Cook and Becky Northey showed eight of their art pieces for six months, two of which were people trees. The international interest in these trees continues to grow.^[42][43] including being contacted by Ripley's Believe It or Not. Pooktre supplied three photos, which Ripley Entertainment Inc later published in their yearly book series.^[44]

Pooktre practitioners claim to have created the first shaped trees grown like people. Some examples of functional artwork created in the Pooktre style include a growing garden table, a harvested coffee table, hat stands, mirrors and a gemstone neck piece.

[edit] Tree chair

Mr. Wu, who lives in China, has successfully grown a harvested chair. He has six more growing in his garden. He uses elm trees, which are pliant and do not break easily.^[45] He says that it takes him about five years to grow a tree chair.^[46]

[edit] Distinction from other plant-shaping arts

[edit] Topiary

Topiary may include the manipulation of stems but is primarily the art and skill of producing shapes with leaves (foliage). By contrast, shaped trees is primarily the practice of manipulating stems and bonding trees together by grafting. Shaped trees may include some topiary effects, but topiary is not the primary feature and consideration of the practice as a whole.

Although it is possible to use grafting for topiary, its use is rare. Shaped trees include furniture and items that were constructed exclusively using plant growth and grafted plant tissue. These items can be severed from the roots or removed from the ground, no longer being living organisms, but topiary is virtually limited to live organisms (plants) with leaves.

Topiary almost always involves regular shearing and shaping of foliage, whereas shaped-tree projects can easily be formed without shearing.

[edit] Espalier

Espalier is the horticultural technique of training trees through pruning and/or grafting to make formal two-dimensional, or single-plane, patterns with branches of trees or shrubs, but shaped-tree projects are not limited to a flat single plane, nor a pattern. Either technique may use species of trees that produce fruit, but espalier-trained trees are not known to be shaped into benches, mirror frames, table pedestals or woven pillars.

[edit] Pleaching

Pleaching is more similar to shaped trees than topiary or espalier, but pleaching is limited to flat planes and hedges, and, therefore, it is not a three-dimensional tree shaping. If a person chose to weave and graft several trees into a flat hedge, that hedge would be one individual shaped-trees project.

[edit] Bonsai

Bonsai is an art of growing trees in pots and containers using pruning techniques to keep the trees at a miniature size; they also use copper wire to shape the tiny branches. Bonsai avoids woven branch patterns or branches bent to resemble identifiable shapes. A bonsai project is intended to appear as if a human had not shaped it, like a representation of a miniature tree, if one could be found in the wild. Shaped trees is almost the opposite concept, because the project shapes visually "announce" that a human had shaped it.

It is possible to make a miniature shaped tree in a pot like bonsai and keep it reduced to miniature size, but if it were to resemble a pretzel, for example, that would not be the true nature of bonsai. It would just be a miniature shaped tree in a pot or container. Even a flat slab of rock can work for a planting tray, with moss retaining the soil.

[edit] See also

• Topiary
• Espalier
• Pleaching
• John Krubsack
• Axel Erlandson
• Fab Tree Hab
• Gilroy Gardens

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• World Tree shapers, history and links
• Designs and photos of Axel N Erlandson art
• History of the Tree Circus
• Extreme Nature Installations, Lectures, Art and Innovation
• Grownup Furniture
• Pooktre
• Plantware Technology and Art
• Arborsculpture: books, tools, installations, history and links