ok newbie with twiggy bonsai

Technium

ok am back, sorry for delay but been manic at work!

ok heres a pic of the bonsai, i love the trunk shape so feel it has some decent potential.

http://www2.propichosting.com/Images/450015297/1.JPG

But if you look around the trunk and where all the greenery is its very twiggy heres another pic.

http://www2.propichosting.com/Images/450015297/3.JPG

and alot of the twigs have nothing on, no leaves or shoots so looks rough.

Also some of the branches sudenly shoot out like this pic, I was told to cut back to the 2nd set of leaves but then im left with a twiggy bit at the end so could do with some advice on how to trim these properly.

http://www2.propichosting.com/Images/450015297/2.JPG

You can also make out the trumpet like white flowers, so I guess the tree is happy if its flowering so I must be doing something right.

anyway any advice appreciated.

cheers.

Advertisement

Technium

nobody??

Marie1uk

I started to write how I would go about it but it was easier to do a virt for you to see just how much needs to come off (see my attached photoshop picture) - try placing your serissa against a neutral background and step back five or six feet every now & then so you can appreciate the overall shape / silhouette as you trim. This scissor pruning should be done gradually just to be safe as Joanie has had poor response from extreme thinning before.

Trim overlong stems with scissors. Trim ALL stems that originate from the same point on the trunk as a branch . Trim ALL stems that originate from very close to the start of a branch - the distance gradually diminishing as you go up the tree (both on the trunk and along the branch).The aim is to get a cone of vigour with the lower branches having a greater volume of foliage - the foliage for each branch should be identifiable as a distinct pad - read this for basic prunng techniques:

http://www.bonsai4me.com/Basics/Basics_Pruning3.html

Once you get the basic shape finger pinch the tips to create clouds of foliage. Hope this helps.

Good luck.

Marie

Attached Images

serissa.jpg (69.4 KB, 34 views)

__________________
Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

All those who believe in telekinesis, raise my hand.

Every morning is the dawn of a new error.

Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.

sauce

Don't know beans about Serissa but your tree looks pretty darn healthy to me. It needs pruning and cleaning up which is why I think you are noticing all of the dead twigs. They all appear to be under the canopy therefore they receive little or no sunlight. This is inherent with most if not all trees. The tree must be kept thinned out so to speak so that the underlying branches receive light. Not sure I've ever seen a Serissa that bushy and healthy, Good Luck with it!

__________________
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift; that's why they call it the present." Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) Thanks for the flag Zen!

clrosner

Technium
You definitely have to cut back and clean out. The virtual gives you a pretty good idea. The Serissa is a tough tree, and the only thing I can tell you is feed it once a week with a product that is high in the second number, such as Super Bloom 12-55-6. It loves full sun and here in Zone 6/7, I bury the trees in soil and mulch them up to the first branch. They survive our winters and come back with vigor.

Here are a couple pictures of my Serissa.

Attached Images

	SERISSA FOREST 060525 a.jpg (55.5 KB, 19 views)
	SERISSA FOREST 060525 c.jpg (53.3 KB, 16 views)
	SERISSA MOUNTAIN 051107 CC.jpg (56.2 KB, 17 views)

__________________
Carl L. Rosner - near Atlantic City zone 6/7
arteacher3725@yahoo.com

CHECK OUT MY UPDATED WEBSITE AT[B]:
www.carlrosner.com

Technium

Marie1uk, thanks for that and its funny as your pic you did is basically the same as what ive scribbled in my bonsai book as to how I plan the tree to end up looking so thats good


Pruning, you said to scissor cut if first to basically trim to a rough shape first, do I just cut or do I have to say cut just passed a set of leaves or something, is this important as after the trimming then I will be at a later date doing a more precise prunning?

You say about doing bit at a time because it could kill the tree, so how much is abit and how often? i.e. when can I start again on the next bit, next week, a Month later?

Sorry for the questions but I dont want to end up doing more harm than good.

cheers