That Boxelder I lifted last month did so well I thought I’d lift another one. Might as well have two to play with next year. For this specimen, my plan is somewhat different as I want to build the trunk from the ground up. In this blog post, I’ll show you what I have in mind. It’s the sort of technique you’re likely to practice many times in the course of your bonsai journey.
When you chop a trunk low down, you often will be looking for adventitious buds to emerge from the chopped trunk. It’s from those that you choose a new leader. In the case of this Boxelder, I had a low branch that will give me something of a head start. It also happens to have a bud, at an obvious node, that will work perfectly with my plan.
The branch I chopped to is obviously a good deal smaller than the trunk, so it’s vital that I thicken up its base where it emerges from the trunk. Again, this is a technique you’ll use many times and it’s critical to get it right.
I encourage everyone to take up drawing when they get into bonsai. It’s one of the best tools I know to plan out a tree. Notice in this case how I have “drawn through” the existing leader to illustrate both the thickening of the base, along with the eventual trunk line I’ll get when I repeatedly cut back the leaders. This is to show you both where this tree is along with where it’s going.
This is how I envision the final appearance of this tree. If I take each step the right way, and patiently grow out the leaders while positioning branches as they emerge, I should end up with an outstanding bonsai with great taper and movement. Let me know what you think of this project in the making. Do you use drawings or photos to help you style your trees?
A good learning article reviewed again as it now has a strong practical application for me as I start the development of tree trunks recently dug up and boxed. Thanks for explaining your process and providing photos and illustrations. I hope the stays with you long enough that I have the opportunity to see the next development….but I realize it may not be around.
Thanks for your clear and targeted presentation.
This one should be here for a while, John. Boxelder is one of those species that aren’t well thought of, but the foliage is very nice and reduces well plus they grow very fast. My hope is I’ll be able to learn how to make a good bonsai from it.
Zach,
You can dig up trees in the growing season, despite the typical lifting of collecting season being winter, based on other posts of yours. Intereting. Which ones are okay with that?
Thanks, Danny
The experimental work is far from complete, Danny, but I can offer the following comments about certain species. Chinese elms seem to do better when lifted after first flush. This seems to continue through July. Oaks can do well when collected in summer. I lifted a Zelkova in August and it’s pushing shoots now. Sweetgums do well when lifted in May and June, and I suspect they’d do fine if lifted in April. I recently lifted a Boxelder (maple), as you probably recall. I haven’t done it in a while, but Bald cypress can be lifted in early July. The key is to defoliate and seal any chops.
Zach,
I understand that you let the existing leader run to encourage thickening of that section of trunk, but how do you get that adventitious bud to grow out? Do you chop slightly above it after your current leader develops the desired thickness, or will it naturally push out since the tree’s options for growth are few? And at what point do you cut off the section of the current leader that is not part of the longer term design?
Richard, the adventitious bud will grow out just because of the fact that pretty much all of the growth in the top of the tree has been chopped away, and the tree wants to get tall again and that bud will naturally have a lot of strength delivered to it. Yes, I will chop everything above it away once it’s hardened off but not before (to protect it). I do need to cut the excess leader away as soon as I can, otherwise it could outcompete the lower shoot and would most definitely hinder its thickening.
Picasso has nothing on you, thanks very informative!
Thank you, David! That’s high praise.
You’ve turned this site into a great learning tool. This is fabulous! Thank you.
Thank you, Sue. I appreciate the positive feedback.