Ginkgo chop?

bandbchute

How are all my fellow bonsai people's?

this is my first post, and i do it with a question. i purchased a Ginkgo this past spring from a local nursery. they had $10 dollars on it? so i asked what was the reason? the owner told me that it wasn't marked when she bought it from her supplier, male or female? so she had to mark it low and get rid of it.(i guess... most people don't want a female because of the smell) i told her i wasn't concerned about that, i want it for bonsai!
this tree is about 3 and a half feet tall, with lots of branches. the branches start about 6 inches up the trunk.(it's rather bush like)
i want to chop it down to about 12" to 15". when is the best time of year to do this?
it's still growing in a large 5 gallon nursery pot.
if anyone has had experience doing this, please point me in the right direction.
i would appreciate it.
thanks,

B.

Advertisement

bonsaiwillie

Hi there,

I always do my severe cuts in winter while the tree is dormant, or in early spring before the buds start to swell. At the very latest you can cut in the spring during active growth.

Hope this helps,
Will

Graydon

Welcome to the boards!

So far you have done well. Leaving the ginkgo in the 5 gallon pot is a good move. Chop first, let it recover for a year or two and then pot down with the reduction of root mass.

Dormant time is indeed the time to chop. I have luck getting my ginkgos to heal over using a petroleum jelly on the cuts - never use typical cut paste as the scar will nor callous properly. Ginkgos do not like wire so try to directional prune.

Can you post any photos? There are lots of people online that will offer suggestions on where to chop - if you need or want that help. I only bring that up as ginkgos do not ramify very fast so the best move may be to keep some of what you have as either part of the final tree or at least sacrifice branches to help fatten up the trunk and primary branching.

If you do post photo do it in the show and tell area and in the title ask for help on where to chop and ginkgo - you will get lots of input.

Here is a great little site with nothing but ginkgo photos and info - bonsai only. It has helped me in the past.

Good luck!

__________________

TreeBay

Hi There!

Ginkgo is slow to heal large wounds - particularly in containers. How thick is the trunk?

Regards,

Matt

__________________

Want to be a seller on bonsaiAUCTIONS? Get authorized today!

bonsaiTALK: Over 100,005.36 Megabytes Served this Month!