Encouraging Branching

TheSeedling

I have a Ficus Nerifolia(mallsai) that I got about a year ago. *I accomplished my goal of keeping it alive for a year and now I want to style it more. *The tree has 1 branch about 1/3 of the way up the trunk and all the other branchs are sort of broom style at the top. *They are all long but have no other branches growing off of them. *How can I encourange more branches to grow on the trunk and also off of the other branches?

Advertisement

TheSeedling

Is this a really stupid question or something? How come all you bonsai masters won't help me out here?

Jay

Seedling.... No you don't have bad breath and the question is not dumb. Oh yea, I am not a MASTER either(or even close).

Sometimes it is difficult to give an opinion on a specific tree without seeing it. Some general things I can think of for you are. 1- Does it get lots of natural sun? or at least 16 hours of artificial light? 2- do you give it the proper fertilizer as directed? 3- Is it in an area where it gets lots of Humidity?

Those are just some thoughts.... in addition, there is no short cut to growth. Patience is the key! Read all you can, libraries have books for free or you can purchase some. There are excellent links on the top of this forum. Learn and ask questions.... be patient>

__________________
A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

TheSeedling

The tree gets about 10 hours of natural sun every day, then about 4 hours under a light.

I havn't fertilized because it is winter and I didn't think you were supposed to fertilize in the winter

It is fairly dry in my house but I mist it and keep the soil moist.

It seems fairly inactive now in the winter, but in the late summer it was growing like a mad man. I don't really want to know how to get it to grow faster, I want to know how to get it to grow differently. The only thing that grows is the length of the existing branches and new leaves, but I want to encourage new branch structure. New branches on the trunk and off the existing branches. Is there any way to awaken those dorment buds or do I just have to wait?

bonsaial1

Pinching is the key. Cut back to five leaves, just like a rose bush. The ends should sprout buds. If this works, then you can cut back to two leaves. You should be able to ramify you branches from there. Usaully a tree needs some sort of stimulation(no not that) to grow more branches. When you pinch and prune, you cause the tree to think:"hey i'm loseing twigs and leaves too fast, I better grow more in a hurry or I'm going to starve. So the tree pushes "auxin" a hormone to tell the adventitious buds to wake up and get to steppin. It's all so scientific you know. Hope this helps, Regards, Bonsaial

__________________
A tree a day...thats all we ask.

TreeBay

The advice is sound, but I think the explanation may be backwards.

Research has shown that auxin is mainly made by young cells and drops as cells mature (Sembdner, et al., 1980).

The actively growing shoots send out a steady supply of auxin, which inhibits the growth of older buds in an antagonistic way, much like The Wicked Witch of the West waving her wand and telling Dorothy and her friends, "Sleep, sleep!"

It's not until a house falls on the witch, or someone cuts away the growing tips of the bonsai that the auxin is removed and the dormant buds wake up and start growing.

That's the winged monkey theory, anyway.

__________________

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

bonsaiTALK: Over 100,005.36 Megabytes Served this Month!

bonsaial1

I knew it, I made a wrong turn on the yellow brick road and got my wires crossed. I blame it on that big ugly tree, you know that guy in the forest, he was throwing big rotten apples at me. Oh well, prune is the key. Regards, Bonsaial

__________________
A tree a day...thats all we ask.

Tony

So you mean the wizard was actually growing banzi behind that curtain? I never knew!

Seedling, put your tree outside in spring when the nighttime lows are consistently above 45 and it will really take off with new growth. Then you can prune it back hard as suggested by Al and Matt and you should get many new branches to choose from.

I know little about tree science and what makes them tick but from what I've read "auxin" is the main growth regulator and flows from the growing tips of branches back to the roots. If the flow is interrupted the tree will react in some way. If you prune the growing tips off, the tree will stimulate dormant buds to sprout leaves and branches. *If you ring a branch and strip the bark away as in an airlayer the auxin will build up at the girdling site and given moisture and warmth it will stimulate dormant buds to sprout roots. *I'm not sure why it works this way but trees will react differently depending on where the auxin flow is disrupted.

Tony

Bonsainut

Look for Matt at the upcoming bonsai convention. *He will be the one with the t-shirt that says *
"Ask me about auxins and cytokinins"


Winged monkey theory gets the laugh of the day!

__________________
Keep growing,---'Nut



Lethal Use of Farce