I just replaced mine this fall. I had a picturesque, twisted oak tree branch but it got old and rotten, so I cut a tall, branchy burning bush out of the woods and set it in concrete in a 2 gallon nursery pot, which I set into the ground.

I don't care for the look of the manufactured bottle trees made out of rebar or the posts with nails or dowels, I like a more natural look. Crape myrtle bushes were an original structure for bottle trees in the south at one time.

I would like one, and have a bunch of blue bottles saved, but wood branches would rot very quickly her in New England. There is an artist in a nearby town that has blue bottles on a piece of metal fence, but like you two, I would really like a more natural looking base.

My dh is using a special epoxy to preserve the damaged wood trim on our 1920s house. I have a fantasy of finding the perfect tree and preserving it with that, but probably won't happen!
Kathy

saywhatagnes that used to post on here had a half marble tree. To keep it from rotting she painted it with outdoor paint. You could paint your tree with a brown outdoor paint that matches the color of the natural tree. It would probably help keep it together for a few more years.

patti

Primroses there are kinds of wood that won't rot quickly. I don't know what grows near you. We have thorny hedge here. I know it would be good to use, but it is hard to get into it. I think cedar would also be good for a lasting structure.