Elderberry cut offs for tree making

jini5OGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBER

So I picked some elderberries for pies today and took the time to clean them from the vines. It got me thinking that maybe the the vine or armature (which ever you prefer) could be used for tree making. These seem to have fine tentacles coming off a branch. I would think that this would allow more flocking to stick to the tree. There are still some berries on these armatures which need to be cleaned off. What I am not sure about is how to keep these armatures flexible. I have them sitting in the sun but I know that will dry them up and make them brittle. I am thinking there is some type of chemical that these could soak in to keep them moist and flexible. Anyone ever done this?

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8/9/211:25 PM

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third railOGR Forum Member

Jini5 , great idea for tree armartures. I use autumn Joy sedums that I can take from my front yard. I tie them in bunches and hang them in the garage for 6 months till they're totally dry. Spray paint the trunk with dark gray or black paint and add ground foam or last year's dried leaves with hairspray.

I never tried making the trunks flexible. There was a multi step process once detailed in Kalmbachs SCENERY FOR MODEL RAILROADS many years ago for preserving lichen. Start by soaking in plain water then increasingly add alcohol to a point where it's 100% alcohol then add glycerin until you're at 100%.

Good luck with this and keep us updated.

8/9/211:55 PM

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