It looks like the understock was never removed above the graft.

Mike, I'm sorry but I have no clue what you mean by that. Why would you remove the understock once the graft is completed. So this is a grafted tree, yes? What understock would they use for a dwarf hinoki?

comparing the iseli description with the growth i see on this plant.. it does not appear to be 'thoweil'.. surely it looks like it grew more than 3 to 6 inches???

ergo.. the graft died.. and all you have is the understock ... or as mike suggests.. the understock outgrew and killed off the graft.. or someone pruned it off by mistake ???

ken

http://www.iselinursery.com/colorful-conifers/chamaecyparis-false-cypress/chamaecyparis-obtusa-thoweil/

Why would you remove 'thoweil' foliage? That is the plant that you paid for. What you have now may be a thuja on standard ( bottom pruned) or some common type of hinoki ( not thoweii) on standard .

If this conifer did shoot out a branch that was a reversion, you should have removed that part of the plant.

OR as Mike suggested the root stock or what they grafted the thoweii scion wood to was never removed. Google "Newly Grafted Conifers Rootstock" , you will see young conifer grafts with the rootstock still attached to the graft.

Reversions ( looking at the other photo) see this link reversions

i figure the graft stock was long dead before he got the plant ....

and if i am correct.. this is not what i think of as a reversion ... its the understock ...

ken

The scion was pruned off and now you just have the understock. That's what you wanted. Most people would cut the understock off wherever it appeared. The graft was inserted in the side of the understock, not the top. You let the understock grow while eliminating the side grafted scion.

Ken, did you see the previous thread I posted about my thoweil hinoki reversion? Also I cut off all the thoweil myself. I hope you're reading my sentences.

Mike Larkin, I removed the thoweil part because I'm now more interested in growing the species chamaecyparis obtusa. And what do you mean thuja, that's a different genus. So you can graft different genus plants together??

So if I am reading your statement correctly, you are saying that the grower took a straight species chamaecyparis obtusa as an understock and grafted the thoweil scion onto it on the side of the understock tree? So now, I'm left with something completely natural as I cut off the graft. So all in all, that thicker trunk towards the bottom of the trunk is not a graft union, correct?

Either you had a reversion ( which is my guess) , in which the cultivar thoweil reverts back to some type of chamaecyparis. Not sure which ! Or less likely ( based on the age and size of the thoweil from photo of the prior post) the root stock from the graft was still remaining when you purchased. Do you recall if the plant grew like that , or came from the nursery with that long growth. Sometimes people use thuja to graft Chamaecyparis. ( I did and it worked great) ? If it is a new graft , propagators sometimes leave on the root stock for a few years. Grafting Demo

The problem is now, you are not sure what you are growing and it looks like it is growing fast !

Well everybody in that other thread is telling me it's a reversion. When I bought the plant it absolutely did not have any of that growth. It was a pure thoweil. So let's say it is not a thuja rootstock. Then would the rootstock be a pure chamaecyparis obtusa species or a dwarf cultivar of it?

I may have Iseli's head propagator visiting my garden this weekend. If so, I'll ask him how they produce 'Thoweil.' I'm pretty sure I already know the answer, but I get the definitive answer from the guy who made your plant.

Thank you! But just in case this doesn't happen, can you tell me the answer you have in your mind?