Thanks again, guys. Hank, yes, I always use cut paste because bonsai is an aesthetic endeavor. True, if one does not use some sort of dressing on a sizeable wound, it
may heal without any unsightly finish, but a wound dressing will help to ensure that things go as best as possible - aesthetically.
Yes, opinions vary and there is no need for further debate. I am merely expressing my own experience, having worked without and with such dressings. I can only report what I've seen.
Note that in this case, no amount of wound dressing (or lack of it) could have saved this tree from the ugly result of my chop. I simply did the chop incorrectly, as described earlier. C'est la vie!
Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
www.andyrutledge.com/palaver/main.htm
zone 8, Texas