I posted a blog on this Roughleaf dogwood, Cornus drummondii, this past Thursday. The tree was collected in January of this year, and after a slow start really took off. As I mentioned Thursday, the tree has a lot going for it in terms of character. Given that plus the fact that the tree has recovered so well and quickly, I decided that today I would go ahead and do the initial styling on it. One thing I wanted to avoid was allowing the new branches to get too stiff to bend in 2017. 
This view is from the back of the tree. I wanted to illustrate the design principle of making your decisions beginning with things you are very sure of, then moving on through to the things you aren’t so sure of. In this case, there’s a long and straight branch emerging at a sharp angle from the main trunk that, for reasons I can’t explain, I left on the tree. Clearly this branch has to either be removed completely or reduced greatly in length. I was able to cut to a new shoot down the branch, so I did that to get started on the “editing” of the tree.
Here you can see that I’ve shortened the offending branch. It’s not likely to play a part in the final design, but I left part of it on for now (you can always cut more off of the material you’re working on; putting something back on that you just cut off doesn’t work at all).
You may recall from Thursday my impression that I would be cutting to the branch shown here moving off to the left at a good angle, as my primary trunk line. As I studied the tree this morning, I changed my mind. The reason for this has to do with how the tree emerges from the soil. While that particular trunk line could be made to work, I have in mind a round pot for this tree and based on this I felt the tree should terminate in a more upright position. Now, if down the road I change my mind (or the tree’s new owner does so) there won’t be any problem in restyling the tree. But for now, I decided to go with the upright trunk line.
In this photo I’ve cut back the old leader – which was going to happen regardless.
Here I’ve used a wooden block to move the tree into its ultimate potting angle. This will help me as I choose and position branches.
The main trunk gets chopped back to the where the new leader emerges from it.
After much editing of shoots that won’t be part of the final design. You can see the bonsai starting to really take shape. Isn’t the trunk character terrific?
Here I’ve wired all of the branches and the new leader, and positioned them.
I slip-potted the tree into this nice Byron Myrick round, to the greatest extent I could, in order to prevent damage to the roots. I did have to trim some to fit the tree in the right spot in the pot, but overall they got “bruised” to the minimum possible degree.
I really like the way this Dogwood bonsai turned out. By doing the initial styling and potting this year, the tree can get a head-start on next year’s development. All that’s left at this point is to thicken up and develop the crown of the tree, and pinch and prune the branching to create ramification. Roughleaf dogwood is much easier to develop into a well-ramified specimen than its cousin the Flowering dogwood. Don’t get me wrong, I love both species, but each has its own features.
If you’re interested in native species as bonsai, this tree is available at our Miscellaneous Bonsai page. It ships in September.
I notice that the tree has a lot of double branches growing from a single point on the trunk.
How do you choose which branch to keep? Which to cut off?
When cutting that one branch off do you leave a stub? Flush cut?
This is common to many species, John. How do you choose which to keep and which to lose? If one points upward, it almost always goes. If one is significantly weaker than the other, it almost always goes (maybe not in the upper part of an apically dominant tree). If one points downward, it almost always goes. If they’re both the same size and both could be used in the design, flip a coin. I do my best to cut the branch flush – but – it is not important to do so at this early stage in the shoot’s life. The stub will dry up and fall off later. More important is to not damage the one you want.
So I’m guessing it doesn’t realy matter what time of year to do all this work. Potting,prunning, etc.
Not exactly. There are differences among the species. As a general rule, however, deciduous trees that have good root systems can be top-pruned and potted from bud swelling through this time of year. Some species can also be root-pruned at this time of year, but my rule of thumb is to limit work below-ground in summer. You want to be sure everything has time to complete a final growth cycle before fall, which of course varies from place to place in the U.S.