Cutting Through The Trunk?

jml

Hi.

I read in "The Bonsai Handbook" by David Prescott that one can develop a broom style tree by cutting right through the trunk. He says that it can be done with almost all broadleaved trees with virtually total success.

I have a ficus tree that could be a candidate for this kind of action. However, I would like to hear more about this before I seriously think about going ahead. After all, the tree was a present from my future mother-in-law.

Any comments, anyone?

JML

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Tony

What you are talking about is a trunk chop. For developing a broom style the trunk is usually sawn straight across, below any existing branches. I'd disagree that it can be done to almost all broadleaf trees. In fact many it would outright kill. The idea is to get the tree to push dormant buds right at the top of the chop. These new buds are trained to become the main primary upright limbs of the tree and off of these will come the secondary branhing. Elm and Zelkova are the two that work best for this because you can get them to bud right at the top reliably. Most maples are pretty good too. I think it would depend on what type of ficus you have whether this will work or not. Some backbud better than others. The common ficus benjamina would not be good for this.

There are a few prerequisites for doing this also. You want to grow the tree in a large pot with a heavy fertilizer program for a year or two before hand. The health of the tree should be tip top and is very important before this kind of work. Also you want to do the chop right before its biggest growth spurt of the growing season. For deciduous trees that is early spring, right when the existing buds start to swell. For ficus and tropicals it would be latter, around mid summer.

There are other ways to create the broom style too. You can grow several upward slanting branches from the same plane of the trunk and then cut the trunk to the existing branhes. That would work better for trees that don't backbud well. It doesn't look as good in my opinion though. No matter how you go about it you'll have an unnatural buldge where the branches come off the trunk.

Tony

FredL

I have not tried to create a broom style tree from scratch, at least not yet, But I do notice that John Naka recommends cutting the trunk in a "V" shape, off center (to prevent a symetrical form from developing), and wrapping the tree with tape or twine where the cut is made to prevent it from getting "knobby" (Bonsai Techniques I pp 137-9). Having never tried to create a broom style myself, this is all second hand. Hope it's helpful.

Fred

Tony

Fred,

I wrap the top with a piece of rubber hose and put a hose clamp around it. It's the same idea I guess but less fuss.

jml

Hi everyone. Thanks for your replies.

It's become quite clear that trunk chopping really is a last resource, as I thought. I thought of it because my ficus tree (6 years old) has a lot of strength but, coming from a nursery, it lacked a definite style. I could look a it and imagine the broom style but the existing branches (about a dozen) all grow on one side of the tree. It looked like someone tried to invent a half-broom style or something. It looks ugly, to be completely honest.

Now something happened. I have something resembling 2 buds about 1.5 cm (0.6 inch?) below the original branches. They look to be in a fairly good position and now I have some hope this could be a new start for my tree. So, I have new questions:

Suppose I wait a while and these buds turn into nice branches in a nice position. Is it still as dangerous to chop off what's above them?

Is there way I can try to do this in a few phases (cut a few branches first, then another few, then the trunk)?

JML

Jay

JML, if you leave live branches below the chop, it is a different thing. Much better chance for the tree to live. Listen to Tony, he knows from where he speaks. Another thought would be to do an airlayer. This wouls keep the upper part of the tree and in effect make it shorter by having roots grow from up the trunk. Read about it and see what you think!

Jay

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jml

That seems to be a good idea, Jay. I've already read about air layering and I think I've all the ingredients for an all time first attempt (hormone, sphagnum moss, enough trunk diameter...). I'll have time to think about it, too, since I have to wait for the buds to grow into branches. Any idea of how long should I wait (in terms of time, or even better, in terms of occasion)?

JML

Carp

would the tree then concentrate on the buds that are left and not really bother to push new buds to the top of the cut?
i'm very interested in this also because i have a ficus that is about 15 feet tall wit a 5 inch trunk, problem is it has no taper , but it has great nebari, i'm hoping i can develop some taper , or maybe i will just put it in the ground near an enimes house....lol

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