Opinions Needed On Next Step

Constantgrowth

Hello again,


in my first post i asked for some help identifying a few trees i collected. Most of my trees are pre-bonsai, but i think some of them will be looking alot better this spring.
http://forum.bonsaitalk.com/showthr...=&threadid=4672

Here i have a few of my trees that have a couple of forks in the road ahead. I am wondering what would by the quickest way to fatten the trunks on theese

My Grilfreind gave me this rose of sharron she dug up last fall, I was shocked by its vigor, it looks good so far, but i want to make sure i dont go the wrong way with it at this point.
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roseofsharron.jpg (31.6 KB, 247 views)

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Constantgrowth

should i take this low branch off?

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dcp_1260.jpg (49.7 KB, 244 views)

Constantgrowth

i just dug this up a few weeks ago, is it an english oak?
will the leaves even reduce on on of these?
im gonna take that secondary trunk off, so it might have potential

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dcp_1264.jpg (56.3 KB, 243 views)

Adam_MA

Well to answer your first question, the fastest way to fatten up these trunks is to put them back into the ground and just let them grow for a couple years. On tree #2 I wouldn't take that branch off but rather shorten the height of the tree.


Hope this helps
Adam

Constantgrowth

I know that if i take a branch now that it might not fully heal until spring. I'll pry hold off on everything but the ficus, but i really want to plan ahead on the other two

most of my trees are going in a growbox for winter, and I have plans for a few smaller ones to go in the ground.

most of my trees are pretty young. I haven't spent much money on stock, and about half of them i've found and dug up less than 2 years ago. to my suprise almost all are in great health, and with what limited things i have been able to do some will actually look like somthing in a few years, if not sooner.

thanks for any tips though, ANY advice on these would be appreciated.

Tony

One thing I've found about the rose of sharon is that wounds heal very slowly and the wood is soft and rots easily. For that reason I would do a series of trunk chops starting when the trunk is around 1/2" diameter, keeping the wounds small. It takes longer to grow out a trunk this way but I think you'll have a better bonsai in the long run.

A couple of problems I see with the ficus. Some of the roots are growing on top of other roots. This looks odd to me. I think I would take the upper roots off and plant the tree deeper. Try to get some new roots to fill in at the same level as the roots you keep. Also, the lower trunk is straight with decent taper but half way up it juts off to the right then back up again. This really doesn't go well together. The lower trunk looks like a broom or formal upright style while the upper trunk is more informal. I think you need to choose one style and train the trunk accordingly.

Tony

Constantgrowth

i took your advice and took one of those roots off, I think it will look better, in a couple months i'll pry take another off.

Im still not sure on the best way to start styling it though