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dalenlynz

styling help please

dalenlynz
11 years ago

Ive dug this tree up and belive it to be some sort of maple just a bit baffled on how to style it any advise will help thanks

Comments (9)

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    11 years ago

    To be honest, I'd do a trunk chop just above that thin low branch, work on the roots or start a layer (ask if you want to know how) & put it back in the ground when the frost is out, making sure it remains dormant until then.

    Al

  • dalenlynz
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Cud you explain a little more please as im kinda new to this ii have a couple of indoor trees that ive bought and done quite alot ov reading but advice from someone experianced is priceless
    thanks mate

  • dalenlynz
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Hi ive read up on what you said and understand a little better now so thanks would a graft to this trunk be possible do you think as its thiker than picture shows! Does trunk tapper afect grafting ?????

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    11 years ago

    I just used this picture on another thread, but it is really close to what you have. I've already chopped the thick trunk just above the thin branch with wire on it. The thin branch will be the new leader, and at some point, I'll chop that back, too. You can also see where it was chopped previously - where the cut paste is covering the old scar.

    {{gwi:2225}}

    Building a bonsai is very often a series of 'chops', designed to build taper into the trunk and to add the illusion of great age. For instance, this larch was chopped where you see the scar, and the scar was then carved into a hollow to disguise it and make it look like a natural part of the tree. The 'trunk' above the scar, is a branch that I wired upward to be the new leader, just as I did on the maple at the top.

    {{gwi:2226}}

    Even this little Ficus cutting was purposely chopped so there would be some taper in the trunk. In 3-4 years, the scar will be completely healed.

    {{gwi:2228}}

    Here's another larch being started from nursery stock. In the spring following the photo, I chopped it back even with a line that extends from the top of the branch on the left to the top of the branch on the right. The small branch coming of the branch moving diagonally upward to the left is the new leader. you'll see 2 small branches coming from the underside of of that diagonal branch moving to the left. I'll keep one of them as my second main branch. The rest of that branch moving left with the heavy wire on it is a sacrifice branch. It's only job is to thicken the tree below it. When it's job is done, it will be removed and probably jinned (turned into deadwood).

    {{gwi:2229}}

    Are you getting it now?

    Al

  • dalenlynz
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Yes thank you do i chop first and plant back out or vicer versa? Cheers for your help mate

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    11 years ago

    Thread and approach grafting are commonly employed on maples, but your main obstacle to a natural looking tree lies in the unsightly bulge caused by all the main branches origination within a a very short vertical span on the tree, and grafting isn't going to address that unless you approach graft a LOT of seedlings below the bulge in hopes of increasing the trunk diameter to the point it's heavier than the bulge. That might be a fun experiment if you have the time & inclination, but it's not a very practical approach. The only practical ways of dealing with the bulge would be to carve it out or chop the tree below the bulge. Since chopping it is safer for a beginner and would automatically induce taper, it seems the most logical approach to me.

    Al

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    11 years ago

    Chop it about 1-2 inches above the small branch & plant out when weather allows. Watch it carefully, and rub any new buds off as they break on the thick stub - you want it to die back. Next spring ('14), or when you see a collar start to form around the base of the dead stub, cut the stub off flush to the collar and use a knob cutter or Dremel tool to carve the wound so it's slightly concave.

    Al

  • dalenlynz
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Right so trunk chop and leave in massive pot or plant back out?

  • dalenlynz
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Cheers ur post want showing then thanks for ur help mate

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