Thuja question

Eaglion

I bought a thuja occidentalis several months ago. Unfortunately, there is not much detail about the species compared to others. I hope some of you can advice on the following issue.

It was about 150 cm ( about 5 feet) high and had very thick and long branches. Initially, i removed some of the unnecessary branches and tried to convert it to windswept. It was doing well but the shape was looking too akward and unnatural. I decided to trunk chop it to 30 cm (1 foot) leaving only two main branches at the top, which would be removed as soon as new branches formed in the trunk. I also tried to graft another branch to its new chopped top (just to experiment, no expectations about it).

It has been 3 months since i trunk chopped. No new branches seems to be coming out from the trunk. In the begining the branches were producing new buds. For the last few weeks some of the leaves started to turn brown and most of them became brittle. I am sure about its roots as i had left enough root mass to support the initial size. It is in large training pot. I am feeding them well and water appropriately. The weather here is still calm and rainy that i do not suspect leaf burn either.

My friends told me that neither of them had any luck with thuja after trunk chop.

What is your experience with it and do they develop new branches on the trunk.

Thanks in advance,
Regards,

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Taylan Benker
Eurosia Bonsai Club-Turkey
www.avrasyabonsai.com

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treebeard55

From what I've read and my own experience, Thuja occidentalis is a funny tree in some respects.

Biggest problem for the bonsai grower is that the roots are connected pretty directly to the branches and foliage above them; there is very little or no crossover. So if you remove a branch, some of the roots directly below it are going to atrophy and die. Same with root pruning: take off a major root completely, and you're going to lose some of the foliage it was feeding. Neighboring roots don't send any of their take "sideways;" because of the plant's vascular structure, they can't.

I have had a Thuja occidentalis for 10 years. (I was doing a demo with it when the woman who is now my wife stopped to watch; that's how we met.) I can't recall ever having seen mine throw a new branch on old wood.

Thuja occidentalis is native to eastern Canada and the northern states of the eastern US. You might be able to find more information (and more experienced growers) if you went to the websites of bonsai clubs in cities like Detroit and Toronto.

I wish you the best with it.

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Treebeard 55

"To do bunjin is easy. However, to do a bunjin masterpiece is difficult." -- Susumu Nakamura, at MBS '07