Couple questions

laen ssor

I have been lurking around on these forums for a couple years now soaking up info and trying to undo the first two years stupidity on my part of just hacking up Procumbens junipers and shoving them into pots thinking I have 'bonsai'.

So with all the reading and lurking I have become what one might call 'book smart' but with little to no practical knowledge when it comes to some apsects of applications.

So I have two cases I would appreciate some help with. Both are field grown trees, one a Japanese Maple, the other a Chinese Elm. The Maple suffered either lawnmower or weedeater damage while it was in the yard so I dug it up and put it into a large grow box. My question for this tree is how can I get rid of that ugly scar?

My second example is a field grown elm. There is already a nice bend in the trunk as you can see. I am thinking about a trunk chop at point 1 and then removing the branch at point 2 as it would be too large. When I do the chop can I hope/pray/expect for enough buds to regrow a usable branch at point 2? I am almost sure I will get enough growth to grow a new leader and more upper branches but I would like a branch at point two. And since this will be my first trunk chop I also have a pesky question about that also. Should I put any cut paste on the actual cut? In one of Colin Lewis's books I saw a whole slew of new buds on an elm from the cambium ring around a new cut but there was no cut paste. But I also don't want to kill this tree by not using any.

I would appreciate any and all help/suggestions.

Attached Images

	wounded maple.jpg (71.2 KB, 52 views)
	possible cuts.jpg (52.2 KB, 54 views)

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malhomme

Regarding the maple, I would layer above the scar. It already has nice flair, and layering with the ring method could give you even more. The alternative is to re-open the scar with an extremely sharp knife, dress the wound, and let it heal but always keeping the scar at the back. But if it was my tree, I'd layer it in Spring.

Regarding the trunk chop on the elm, In Spring chop above the place you want the new leader and do not dress the wound. The cut should be perpendicular to the trunk. When you get the mass of shoots that you are expecting, choose one leader, and carve out a rounded slope opposite the leader, dress with wound sealer. If your slope cut is flat, the resulting calous will look artificial. By rounding it... giving it a ridge in the center... it will blend in with the round of the trunk later.

My two cents... I look forward to hearing other views.

Cheers,
Jim

Dkozi

We all got to start some where and there is no shame in learning from books. If you are able to you should consider finding a local bonsai club if distance permits.

That aside. The maple I would let grow. You may find that another good year or two of growth may do wonders to heal over that scar. Your options are many but taking into consideration a trunk chop or airlayer you would more than likely be looking at at least that much time to get to the same point of progress. I'm not sure how much you have done on the order of branch selection or even what your vision for this tree is but since you have it in a grow box you should probably be considering those things very seriously since grow boxes are generally seen as a some what temporary arrangment lasting for a couple of years before pot training. Ofcourse there are many reasons for using grow boxes and there is no harm in keeping it in one as long as the grow box doesn't rot away.

I have to take another look at the photo to comment on the elm. It isn't showing at the same time as this reply page.

Dkozi

Might I again ask you what your vision is for this tree? Is the scale and proportions right at this time to consider with what you are thinking about for it? By that I mean do you have a finished height in mind and are you happy with the roots spread and trunk flare you have right now before a trunk chop. Basically if you do a trunk chop you are slowing the growth of the tree and are taking away progress towards achieving some of those goals more rapidly. Although depending on the on the finished size you want this maybe an appropriate time to consider those things.

Malhommes suggestion seem to be right on with the trunk chop. I am more interested in the direction you are taking this tree is all.

laen ssor

As far as the elm goes I pretty much have a vision for it, I just don't have it sketched out. I am not very good at virtuals so I have to go by memory. I remember reading somewhere, I think it was on Brent Walstons webpage about trunk chopping that you should do it when you get about 2/3 the size of the final trunk thickness you want for your tree. That picture may not show it but the trunk is 1-1/2 inches across. I am just planning for the future when I get a 2 to 2 1/2 inch trunk. I don't want or have room for any large size bonsai so that is just about when it will be ready for a trunk chop. I put that thing in the ground in March and it was pencil sized and now it is what you see there. So I am guessing one more year in the ground and it will be ready for the chop.

The maple is another story. I don't have a clue what I want to do with it. My wife put it in the south side of our yard and it got toasted every summer by the 100 degree sun. So she was gonna toss it out but told me that if I wanted it for bonsai material I could have it. So I quickly dug it up and put it into the first grow box I found. It has been in there for 3 years now amazingly. I plan on putting it into something better this coming spring but as far as plans for it go, nothing yet. Maybe I will try to air layer it since I don't really have any plans and am in no hurry with it. We'll see. '

Thanks for the inputs.

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Aaron_K

Personally, I like the scar on the maple. It's these "imperfections" that add interest and can be either a focal point of the tree or help tell a story if incorporated into the design. Otherwise you'd just have a bog standard tree with the start of some nice nebari.

I'd be more inclined to work with it than against it.

All the best,

Aaron

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