Trunk thickening and when to style

Collin

I'm new to this hobby and have a general question not related to any particular species or style.

My question is about the trunk height to width ratio which I understand should be about 6:1. I have read about seven books about bonsia and most have pictures of bonsai at various stages of development. I regularly see pictures of trees in bonsai pots where the height to trunk ratio is clearly more than 6:1.

I've purchased some nursery stock and performed some basic techniques such as pruning, wiring, trunk chopping, and creating a new apex from a branch. I think I understand the basic techniques. I envision most of my trees to be around 12 inches tall and have pruned them accordingly. However, a height of 12 inches requires a trunk width of 2 inches at the base. None of my trees have a 2-inch trunk at the base although a few have about a 1-inch trunk at the base. I am worried I am creating funny looking shrubs as opposed to creating bonsai.

My question (finally) is how much should I expect the trunk to thicken after I start styling it? I planned to do some pruning and height reduction while leaving the trees in the 1 or 3-gallon containers in which I purchased them. I assume the trunk won't thicken much once they are in a bonsai pot. Will planting them in the ground make the trunk thicken more rapidly than leaving them in a full-sized pot? Also, what affect does height reduction have on the rate of trunk thickening?

Thanks in advance,

Collin

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pootsie

Howdy Collin, and welcome to bonsaiTALK!

The 6:1 ration you hear about is not an absolute rule in bonsai. Rather, it is the suggested ratio for a classic myogi form. A nice bonsai need not have that exact ratio, and the ratio does not guarantee a nice bonsai. (But a thck trunk is a nice thing IMHO).

Cascading styles, literati forms, windswept styles, and many others do not apply the 6:1 ratio.

As to how to get a thick trunk, you can expect almost no thickening once you begin styling. Once in a bonsai pot, expect even less

Growing in the ground is one way to thicken the trunk. I recommend Brent's excellent article on Developing Large Trunks for Bonsai for more info.

pootsie

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Edro_A2

Simon and Schuster's says to hammer the trunk without romoving the bark, during the growing season, where you want swelling or to jam a large needle to the wood at "several key points" and these two methods "yeild satisfactory, if not spectacular, results". Has anyone had experience with this? I can not wrap my mind around this concept. I am also not sure if i would want to try it. I tend to get over-zealous whit a hammer in my hand

Ed

Bob O

Edro, stay away from those methods, they are a pretty sure way to severely damage or outright kill a tree. The best methods for thickening a trunk are to develop in an oversize pot or in the ground. Search around, there are many articles on doing it by the growing out methods.

Bob O

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