I decided to go with this Western Hemlock for a couple of reasons: it met my budget of $15 and it looks unique. The bend that occurs in the middle of the tree really makes this one stand out to me. The pot was given to me by a dear loved one, Katie, whose support I’ve come to rely on. She has encouraged me greatly in learning this amazing art. Thank you, Katie!

Western Hemlock, or Tsuga heterophylla, grows from southern Alaska down the western coast of the US, through the Cascade gorges of Oregon, and to the northern California coast. It is classified as a climax species, meaning that left alone the Western Hemlock would dominate the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Interestingly, the Western Hemlock is the state tree of Washington! They can grow over 200 feet tall, live over a thousand years, and tolerate both shade and sun quite well.

I have not yet begun any training or pruning on this tree. I want to make sure it will survive the coming winter before I put any additional burden on it. I’m already in love with this one!

So far this tree has survived the winter of 2024, and has started to bloom in the spring time. Pictured right are some of the new buds that the tree has grown during Spring 2025.

I’m really proud that this tree continues to thrive, and I hope that in a few more years that I can really start to train this one into something grand. I don’t see a lot of wire training for this tree, as I think it would damage the needles too much. I will simply wait for a more full appearance before I start to trim and prune it into shape.

Update: August 12th, 2025

I finally decided to give this tree a trim and start training the larger branches with wire. These branches are huge and represent significant growth and I did not want to lose that. The tree was hanging out of the pot in several other places, though, and a bit of a trim would make it look quite nice.

I started by cutting off some of the lower branches completely to show a bit more of the trunk. Branches in the midsection of the tree were trimmed back to the point that they would not hang too far over the edge of the pot.

The upper branches were huge, and I decided that they would be the top of this tree. In their natural state, they hung heavily off the sides but now they have been wired and are now neatly pointing upwards. The larger of the two branches required two wraps of wire in order to hold the branch in place.

I’m not going to bother this tree again until next summer when I plan to give the tree fresh soil. It has been in this pot for two years or so now, and being so young, I feel that the tree could benefit from the nutrients found in fresh soil. At that time, I will inspect the large upper branches to see if they will stay in place without the wires and make the determination then as to their removal.