NEW! Liquidambar Trimming

TreeBay

I have uploaded a new video called Trimming Liquidambar that discusses training Liquidambar orientalis, but the principles are similar for any deciduous tree. *The movie is available in two formats, *Windows Media (56K) and RealPlayer.

Windows Media Format

CLICK HERE - WMV 56KV MODEM

RealPlayer Format

Click here for 45kbps Realplayer video - 45KBPS VERSION HERE


If you don't yet have RealPlayer, you can get that here.

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denny

thanks matt.
drama romance and a touch of comedy.
seriously though,just what i needed,at the right time.

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TreeBay

I've updated the link above to include a windows media format at 56K that will actually stream. Video quality is just average, but I corrected the soundtrack a bit and added some music (really)

New link is above in the original message.

I have a nice 100K version but I'm not sure if I want to spend the day uploading it - because it's about 40megs. I have cable but it only goes 100KBPS upload, so it might take all night.

Regards,

Matt

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Urbansai

Really fun to watch these sorts of demos on the web, this is the first place i've found them. As always this one was highly informative too. Thanks Matt, keep em coming!
_Urb_

zeb

Great!

The streaming WMV really works. This is good stuff.
Thanks.


Ossi Hanhninen

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Sandi

Great video. Very informative. How long do you let the first flush of growth get before you start pruning? I think I tend to prune too soon, but am not sure. On my Shohin maples I try to pinch fairly frequently as I don't want the branches to get too thick. Fortunately the dwarfs stay pretty small on their own. On my larger maples I let a branch grow to the length and thickness I want it then start trimming. Then it seems the internodes are too far apart. If I prune too soon the branch is too small. Is there a way to get internodes closer together. ie; pot size, not fertilizing, or just continuous removing untill I get what I want?

TreeBay

Hi Sandi,

The internodes will never get any closer together than they are when they form. They tend to extend somewhat as the wood lignifies. A branch can be replaced with another branch that has closer nodes, but that's about it. Smaller pots will constrain the growth and result in shorter internodes and leaf size. Pinching, which is selective defoliation, will also result in smaller leaves and more delicate branching. Holding back fertilizer will weaken the tree and result in finer branching, but I think a better way is to fertilizer adequately to keep the tree healthy and cut back to buds, twigs and branches that have appropriate strength for their position on the tree.

Typically, that would mean choosing weaker buds at the apex and branch terminals, and stronger buds at the interior and lower portion of the tree.

Pinching is a great way to increase ramification. Usually, I would need to pinch back deciduous plants after the second set of leaves appears (in opposite budding plants like maple) or pinch or cut back to two nodes (in alternate budding plants like the elm and liquidambar)

With plants like spruce and juniper that produce lush buds on the branch tips, you have to test to know exactly when to pinch. You want the growth to be strong enough not to tear, but weak enough to allow the center portion of the new bud to be pulled away, leaving a small portion behind. With spruce, when the buds have extended out to about the size of a pea, you can try plucking out the center. If parts tear away, it's too soon. If it pulls away nicely and leaves a a ring or two of lime green needles, its about perfect, and if the entire bud pulls away, it's getting too late.

Pincing is great, but at some point pruning becomes necessary:

Eventually the branches will become too thick, at the apex especially, unless part of the branch is replaced by cutting back to a terminal that is small and twiggy.

Some plants that produce copious buds in tight formation can have similar problems. Junipers can get out of hand because the foliage load on the tree is too great. It makes the apex too thick and shuts out light from the interior branches, which wither and die back.

To correct this problem the the juniper needs to be thinned back significantly every couple of years, beyond a basic trimming. This also holds for most dwarf varieties, like Chinese Elm. This revitalizes the tree.

Regards,

Matt

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Sandi

Thanks for all the info Matt. It's really nice to get specific questions answered. We don't have a club in this area and I really appreciate the time you spend helping us.

Earl

Thanks Matt. I downloaded Windows Media Player and it worked fine. Is there any way to download the file and save it and then play it from the computer? don't know if that would make it run faster or not. I'd love to see it again running faster as the quality wasn't great on my slow internet access.

I did enjoy the video and will look at more of them.