Japanese 'cloud' Pine Tree - are they only for serious gardeners?

[Towcester]

Something like attached pic. Is it suitable for UK climate and could a beginner do this? I guess they are not cheap either. Anyone got one? As a novice should i stay clear?

This is ‘simply’ a form of pruning. You can do it with any tree, in theory, so you could choose one that suits the uk climate.
You’re looking at a mature tree here, so yeah, very expensive. Around £5k
Check out Paramount plants www.paramountplants.co.uk/blog/index.php/niwaki-cloud-trees/

Ooof! That is a lot. Right, it would be a lovely hobby. I have a couple of acers which i try to form and shape so yes i suppose it is in the same ballpark. The Bonsai and Matsu trees always felt next level gardening and we dont see so many in the uk but i guess the price is a factor.

Beginner’s guide to cloud pruning

The book Niwaki by Jake Hobson is great. There is a lot of skill in training and maintaining cloud pruned trees, reflected in the price of mature specimens, but he also encourages having a go in your own garden with your own shrubs. I've started with a ceanothus that was outgrowing the space it was in and can be hoiked out if it still looks crap in a few years.

@Towcester You can do this with an ordinary Scots pine seedling, or a mugo pine from a garden centre. Each year as it grows, the new shoots that grow from the tips of the branches resemble green candles. All you do is wait until they are a few cm long, break off all but two at the base, and then snap the remaining two in half with your fingers. This encourages the tree to put all its energy into growing new buds, which will sprout the next spring. The next year you do the same, and the year after and so on.

The only problem is that it takes rather a long time. That's why mature ones are so expensive. If you want a quicker result, you can let the candles grow longer before breaking them.

I saw a cloud pruned copper beech the other day - it' looked fabulous as the coppery leaves were still on it....

I'm trying to cloud prune a random fir - it's slowly taking shape and I'm just treating it as a long term plant.