bonsaiTALK Community - View Single Post - Trunk Chopping A Trident, Japanese Maple And Liquid Ambar

Unless you are shooting for a tree 5" tall, these do not look ready to be chopped yet.

Bonsai-Al quick formula for trunk to height = height is 10 times the trunk girth. or... 2" trunk = 20" tall tree.

Litarati is about 30 times the trunk girth, or... 1" trunk would yeild a 30" tall bunjin tree.

These are just averages, and your tree may differ and look better with a smaller or larger trunk. That is what being an artist is all about. The main thing is that the first decisive chop must be made on the stock when it is the size of the tree you want. If you want a tree with a three inch trunk and about 30" tall, then you will be chopping a 15 or 20 foot tree aith a 10 foot canopy down to about 8" tall with a slanting cut. You should do this just as the buds break in spring and let it go for the entire year.

In the fall prune back to one leader and a few side branches. Let the leader grow as long as it can. When it achieves the same or near diameter as the base, ( adding taper) you will be making the next chop. continue on making succesive chops as the years go by.

The tree here was chopped at about 20 years of age. The next 5 chops were done over a period of about 6 years or so. Chop no. 3 was a sort of "V" chop done in between branches, saving both of them.

Hope this helps, Bonsai-al