Winter 2005/6

During the winter of 2005 I began a process of refinement that will start to build the character of the tree. Although the shape of each of the three trunks could be considered unique, two were rather similar and one was very different in shape. All the leaders were pruned back short for shape and the small suckers at the bottom were now pruned close to the trunk for healing. At this point I do not need to build any more new growth for trunk size, but need to focus on branching and healing over of the carving. The carving was done during this winter to help build the trunk shape. The trunks now have gained a full inch in girth from the scarring process and are 3” across at the soil line. The large chop line from the initial chop had started to close over with scar tissue. It was necessary to carve through this scar tissue to help build taper. (figs. 13,14,15)

Figure 13 -

Figure 14 -

Figure 15 -

Once the carving was done, all the edges were finished with a very sharp grafting knife. Slicing the live portion with a sharp knife will help promote good healing. The mashing action of a carving tool ruins the cambium tissue there and the tissue will just recede and heal at a very slow rate. What will be needed to help heal this area over will be good sacrifice branching near the top to help speed healing. This sacrifice branch will have to be chosen carefully to not ruin the great trunk line that is already there. Had the initial cut been made a more straight across in the beginning, I could have skipped this part completely.

Figure 8 -

Figure 9 -

Figure 10 -

Since the trees had been in the pots since the initial chop, I used this year to do another root reduction. Upon inspection of the pots it was noticed that roots had completely filled the containers. Mycorrhiza had also been present amongst the roots. (fig. 8) The roots were further reduced by another 50 percent. The root mass was reduced with the aid of a saw. (fig. 9) I literally sawed thru the middle of the root mass and removed as much wood as possible from the initial plant growing thru the container. (fig. 10) During this phase of the reduction special attention was made to get a radial root spread of the roots in the container. (figs. 11,12) While most of the larger roots are gone now, some have remained and have been cut so as to promote a nice nebari within the pot in the future.

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Figure 12 -

Future and Beyond

So far the exercise in chopping has been very rewarding. I have found that those that grow stock specifically for bonsai need to have many artistic principles at their disposal if the stock is going to be the kind of stock that a bonsai artist would want to work on. Remembering things like taper, ratio, and branch line will be most important during this all important grow-out phase. Many of the branches will be worked into the designs this year and I hope to have something very nice by fall of 2006. The two remaining tridents that have not been chopped will undergo chopping this spring. With some of the new techniques I have improved on I hope to speed up the final product by at least one year.

THE END

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