alt.hn

5/18/2026 at 1:01:18 PM

'We mould trees to grow into the shape of chairs'

 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg0yy3gp71o

by bauc

5/18/2026 at 3:15:37 PM

I first read about tree shaping in a Readers Digest magazine in the 1990s. It featured a man who would shapes trees into chairs and other sculptures. Even since then I wanted to do it. I got started on a white cherry tree that started growing in my yard. Once it got large enough, I would braid and weave the branches every spring.

I didn't do anything as complicated as a chair. I would try to create loops by braiding two distant branches into each other and fastening with wire. Or I would take a long branch, and bend it back to the trunk, and braid it into a branch heading in the opposite direction.

The most difficult thing was not accidentally breaking the branches while braiding. Sometimes strong winds would create too much tension on the already stressed branches and cause them to break.

I did that for about 5 years before I sold that house. The tree is still there last time I checked, but I haven't gotten a close look at how it has progressed.

At my new house, I've tried it with a red maple, but haven't had much success. The branches that I've shaped end up dying.

Sharing this story makes me want to take up the hobby again. I've got some fast growing trees at my current house that I could use.

Edit: here is a photo of my tree (if you can abide imgur) https://imgur.com/a/PjwqWzo

by waltbosz

5/18/2026 at 7:39:08 PM

I have dozens of volunteer red maple trees about shoulder to head height in my yard. I have been trying to find information about training them at this size. Do bonsai methods for Japanese maples work? Can two red maples be joined together to make an arch? I need to learn more about plants

by yummypaint

5/18/2026 at 8:55:37 PM

I believe Japanese maple are a popular bonsai plant. I've never seen one as an arch. I have seen Chrysanthemum bonsai made into a small arch.

by waltbosz

5/18/2026 at 3:22:07 PM

That's really cool and I wish you success on future braiding attempts. If you keep trying at it I'm sure you'll find or pioneer some ways to avoid damage.

by DigiEggz

5/18/2026 at 1:38:54 PM

This field is called Tree Shaping[1] and while it has been tried throughout history, I think there's still a lot of cool stuff that has never been tried.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_shaping

by noworriesnate

5/18/2026 at 2:13:37 PM

The living bridges were new to me. I like the concept, would probably also work in more cold areas, but with more effort.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_root_bridge

by lukan

5/18/2026 at 2:55:38 PM

One of my favourite examples is bonchi, or bonsai chili. It's exactly what the name implies. Unfortunately I've struggled to keep a regular pepper plant alive, let alone bonsai it:

https://old.reddit.com/r/Bonchi/top/

by Rendello

5/18/2026 at 9:18:45 PM

Holy cow this is so cool <3

by miniBill

5/18/2026 at 3:09:16 PM

[dead]

by aaron695

5/18/2026 at 1:47:35 PM

Couple of Australians have been doing this since the 90's - I think they coined the term 'pooktre' to describe the form - https://www.pooktre.com/

Searching `Peter Cook Becky Northey tree furniture` gets you some nice pictures of their work, as they don't just 'do chair' -- though I suspect plenty of people have been doing this in various forms for centuries.

by Jedd

5/18/2026 at 2:39:23 PM

Well that’s flabbergasting.

by thrownthatway

5/18/2026 at 3:53:57 PM

I don't have a picture at hand, but on frequently used rock climbing spots, the young trees at the bottom, where the partner with the rope stands, can be very chairlike, too. I once asked myself why are they so conveniently formed, while leaning against one, but then I got it.

by lukan

5/18/2026 at 8:51:59 PM

I had to re-read your comment, even thought it was a joke I didn't get! So for others who are as tired as me: the people holding the rope kept leaning against the tree for support, but not too much, as long as it existed, so that's how the tree got shaped into a chair.

by constantius

5/18/2026 at 5:06:31 PM

Weaving saplings and coppice sprouts and growing them in place is incredibly ancient, maybe neolithic. Julius Caesar was freaked out by the living woven defenses of the Nervi in Gaul. In general the deeper you go into the past the more people were aware of the possibilities of sprouting wood, coppicing, etc.

by applicative

5/18/2026 at 6:28:51 PM

British hedgerows are (sometimes? often?) woven: https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-english-hedgerow-21854933....

Wiki talks about Caesar in reference to hedges: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedgelaying

by themaninthedark

5/18/2026 at 8:29:11 PM

It's not the hedge that is actually woven, it's the binders at the top. Made of hazel, their purpose is to hold the stakes solid whilst the living hedge recovers after being pleach cut and laid over.

It's a very enjoyable craft. Last year I planted up about 600 metres of new hedge that should be ready for me to lay in about ten years.

by jamiecurle

5/18/2026 at 1:20:46 PM

I've seen this couple discussed on HN before, although my searching abilities are failing me, I just found https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21051965 which is the same couple, but with 3 points and 1 comment, isn't likely to be the discussion I remember.

There's also https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9344837 4 points 11 years ago, although the link is dead.

by xnorswap

5/18/2026 at 1:48:08 PM

It's quite weird.

When I type in "Chair grow" I get nada, but "Chairs grow" provides a bunch of results. You'd think Chair and Chairs would be very close together in a search engine.

by ramon156

5/18/2026 at 2:33:28 PM

[dead]

by ycombinary

5/18/2026 at 5:09:17 PM

In Northern California there’s a small amusement park that has several of these. Haven’t been, but it’s on my list. https://www.gilroygardens.org/circus-trees/

by halfnormalform

5/18/2026 at 6:27:08 PM

They are really cool. I went to see these trees as a teenager when they were in Scotts Valley. From the images, they have grown a bit in the decades since...

by BashiBazouk

5/18/2026 at 6:53:05 PM

They are quite amazing to see.

by hn_acc1

5/18/2026 at 8:06:02 PM

There will rise a PETA like organization that will protest this. Probably call themselves the Lorax and protest that we're practicing colonialism on plants now.

All satire aside... this is pretty cool. And so are groups that look out for the little guy.

by travisgriggs

5/19/2026 at 10:56:02 AM

PETPEEV — People for Ethical Treatment of Plants, Ecosystems, and Vegetation

by perilunar

5/18/2026 at 11:49:40 PM

Isn't that cute.

I've been thinking since the 1970s that we'd decrease the 2nd biggest use of petroleum, plastic, using genetic engineering.

Many biological substances could replace plastic, such as chitin and cellulose.

But "lab grown meat", like "full self driving" and "artificial intelligence", is a name that's a giant leap of faith beyond the actual technology.

Lab grown meat is still only the flesh protean cells grown in a mold to look like a fish fillet. None of the structural components of the real thing are reproduced.

To use this tech as a structural plastic replacement, we'll have to reach the point of controlling the shape of the material as the cells proliferate.

Of course, before that, we'll have to overthrow the petro mafia's control of the US.

by johnea

5/18/2026 at 1:27:27 PM

An issue of WET magazine (from the 1980s) profiled a similar operation. Always beautiful to see.

by euroderf

5/18/2026 at 2:15:59 PM

What species of tree is good for this?

relatively durable

relatively fast growing and amenable to bending and grafting

willow?

anybody ID those trees?

by analog8374

5/18/2026 at 2:16:50 PM

From the article: "The couple, who work with a range of trees including willow, oak and ash, said there were currently "a few dozen" growing pieces in their orchard, including stools, benches and "the odd chandelier" in progress."

by tedd4u

5/18/2026 at 2:34:19 PM

an oak chair would take forever

I wonder if this could be done with bamboo.

Can you graft bamboo? Maybe join it by weaving or twisting

by analog8374

5/18/2026 at 3:12:48 PM

Your comment made me think of those helix-shaped bamboos from IKEA. While this is of course on a whole different level, it does suggest some kind of shaping is possible for bamboo as well. And it wouldn't take decades...

by shmeeed

5/18/2026 at 4:12:54 PM

"Lucky bamboo" is actually a lily.

by coryrc

5/18/2026 at 6:16:56 PM

Akshually, it's an asparagus - dracaena sanderiana (or, usually erroneously, - braunii).

Thanks for inspiring me to look it up! I'm gonna have so much fun at the next party :D

by shmeeed

5/18/2026 at 3:59:47 PM

Probably rattan, not bamboo.

by dekhn

5/18/2026 at 6:24:09 PM

See my other comment - it's neither bamboo nor rattan, but a kind of asparagus.

by shmeeed

5/18/2026 at 8:53:16 PM

Ah, I was thinking of the rattan chairs, some of which are woven into patterns although I don't see any helices.

by dekhn

5/18/2026 at 2:46:36 PM

Camphor Laurel (Camphora officinarum) in ideal conditions, and for a patient individual, can be observed to grow.

I don’t only if it’s suitable for this particular application, and it’s considered a noxious weed in Australia.

by thrownthatway

5/18/2026 at 8:18:30 PM

I'm sure he copied it from somewhere but this reminds me of Paolini's elves in Eragon singing (magicking) trees to their desired shape.

by benced

5/18/2026 at 6:54:52 PM

Your patience and creativity is incredible. I wish someone doesn't ruin it in the name of finding a modern fast pace solution

by maheenaslam

5/18/2026 at 2:39:26 PM

On the one hand this is pretty cool.

On the other hand ... those chairs look damn incomplete. Even the supposedly "finished" ones ...

by shevy-java

5/18/2026 at 8:04:16 PM

I love the idea, reminds me a lot of gardening and growing fruits in special containers.

by chancek

5/18/2026 at 3:39:04 PM

I thought the title was some kind of metaphor. Quite surprised at being a literal thing.

by abhi_kr

5/18/2026 at 3:24:02 PM

This feels closer to structural design using living organisms rather than architecture.

by nodeflare

5/18/2026 at 2:27:10 PM

Talk about patience...

by AltruisticGapHN

5/18/2026 at 1:44:27 PM

So elves in dwarf fortress.

by uolmir

5/18/2026 at 3:56:47 PM

Are they ergonomic?

by tempodox

5/18/2026 at 5:42:28 PM

They're agronomic

by lantry

5/18/2026 at 6:51:49 PM

Seems cruel towards the trees, for human enjoyment

by cocothem

5/18/2026 at 1:14:44 PM

I think these are very beautiful.

by dyauspitr

5/18/2026 at 2:15:45 PM

Imagine an alien species comes here and sees all this totally fucked up human centric thinking. They put fish in small fish bowls, for their own enjoyment. They deform trees for their own enjoyment... and the list goes on. Bleh.

by lofaszvanitt

5/18/2026 at 2:35:56 PM

I assure you, any species capable of interstellar travel will have a capacity and willingness to bend their environment to their will that absolutely dwarfs our own.

by wing-_-nuts

5/18/2026 at 10:45:36 PM

Assuring me, based on what experience? :D

by lofaszvanitt

5/18/2026 at 7:58:00 PM

Capacity and willingness are orthogonal.

by dmos62

5/18/2026 at 4:13:57 PM

Why do you think they would be so bothered by what humans do, when the same kind of thing is done across the animal world? Read about ants milking aphids, for instance.

by TFNA

5/18/2026 at 10:45:00 PM

That's a mutual thing since ants give them protection.

by lofaszvanitt

5/18/2026 at 10:51:35 PM

The topic here is a mutual thing, too. You can see that people sculpting trees are keeping the tree alive when it might otherwise be cut down. Possibly taking pains to ensure it gets enough water, too. After all, the sculpting process relies on the tree continuing to grow.

by TFNA

5/19/2026 at 3:41:58 AM

They wouldn't have grown the tree if they couldn't somehow control it. The control aspect brings forth the need to grow a tree.

by lofaszvanitt

5/18/2026 at 1:03:26 PM

[dead]

by seobot_dk1289

5/18/2026 at 1:41:20 PM

Carpentry is dead

by oytis

5/18/2026 at 2:14:36 PM

The trees are taking our jobs

by analog8374

5/18/2026 at 6:03:51 PM

GMO seeds from OpenTree

by luqtas