bonsaiTALK Community - View Single Post - Renovating a Japanese Garden

Hi Don,

Hope your health continues to improve! *

Pruning time depends somewhat on your climate, but you should be able to prune the junipers, if they are healthy, most any time of the year when there isn't frost and snow in the forecast for the next month or so. *The reason is that after pruning the shrub takes some time to heal and if it pushes new growth, it will be tender and subject to die-back. *This holds for most trees.

Maples (whether bonsai or yard trees) tend to bleed a lot if you cut large branches in the flush of spring growth, but this isn't as much a problem for in-ground trees... Best time for the deciduous stuff is the period *between the disappearance of frost and prior to bud break.

Pines are a little more particular in terms of timing. *Generally, any time it is pushing candles, it is very safe to cut back, but you want to be sure to cut back to a point where you have some branching, and take it easy on the lower branches which will be much weaker than the apex. * You can cut back a fair amount as long as you are cutting back to a strong, viable branch. *It will bleed sap for awhile. *

If the trees have been neglected, you may find them top-heavy, so you will want to trim the top and upper branches and let the lower ones grow a bit to recover some lost vigor.

As a practical consideration, I would suggest that you go ahead and do some pruning whenever you feel up to the task. *In the ground, all of these trees are much more hardy and resilient than they are in bonsai pots!

Regards,

Matt

25-Sep-2001	#2
TreeBay Tips:5¢ Advice:Free *MODERATOR GROUP* Join Date: Aug-2001 Location: Silicon Valley Country: USA USDA Zone: 9 AHS Heat Zone: 4 Posts: 9,747	Re: Japanese garden Hi Don, Hope your health continues to improve! * Pruning time depends somewhat on your climate, but you should be able to prune the junipers, if they are healthy, most any time of the year when there isn't frost and snow in the forecast for the next month or so. The reason is that after pruning the shrub takes some time to heal and if it pushes new growth, it will be tender and subject to die-back. This holds for most trees. Maples (whether bonsai or yard trees) tend to bleed a lot if you cut large branches in the flush of spring growth, but this isn't as much a problem for in-ground trees... Best time for the deciduous stuff is the period between the disappearance of frost and prior to bud break. Pines are a little more particular in terms of timing. Generally, any time it is pushing candles, it is very safe to cut back, but you want to be sure to cut back to a point where you have some branching, and take it easy on the lower branches which will be much weaker than the apex. * You can cut back a fair amount as long as you are cutting back to a strong, viable branch. It will bleed sap for awhile. If the trees have been neglected, you may find them top-heavy, so you will want to trim the top and upper branches and let the lower ones grow a bit to recover some lost vigor. As a practical consideration, I would suggest that you go ahead and do some pruning whenever you feel up to the task. In the ground, all of these trees are much more hardy and resilient than they are in bonsai pots! Regards, Matt __________________ Want to be a seller on bonsaiAUCTIONS? Get authorized today!* bonsaiTALK: Over 100,005.36 Megabytes Served this Month!