Here’s where we left off with Huckleberry #5. With the fall trimming and carving done, I set it back on the bench and got busy with other chores. Flower buds on my Huckleberries are swelling, and a few are already opening. With the mild winter, I expect these trees to begin pushing foliar buds as early as February. That tells me it’s okay to pot up this specimen, which is now two years out of the ground.
First the cleanup. I brushed off the 2019 bark (it exfoliates yearly). Next was some finer carving and sealing those areas with PC Petrifier.
Next came choosing a pot. I’ve always loved this vintage Richard Robertson piece, and I thought it would work great with this tree. But when I set it in, the pot was just too long for the height of the tree.
The same thing turned out to be true of this fine Paul Katich piece. The color was great, depth was fine, it was just too long and I found out the same way as with the Robertson piece.
I think this Lary Howard pot gets me very close to where I need to be. The shorter length of the pot makes the proportions work out much better. I’d love to hear any feedback.
Good morning Zach. A question about treating the wound. Why use the PC Petrifier on the wound instead of using cut paste along the cambium and leave the wound open to dry? Won’t the PC Petrifier seal in moisture that might lead to decay on most of the wound? Thanks.
Ken, the wound was not a fresh one. I had chopped it earlier and found it to be dead wood. So I treated then with PC Petrifier. I did some more carving to make the chop smoother, then applied more PC Petrifier.
What happens when the tree grows? Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to be a wise-ass.
The tree looks great. I wish I could do half as well.
Good one, Mike! The answer to your question is simple: the essential “frame” of the tree will never be significantly larger than it is now. The trunk won’t get much thicker, the silhouette won’t be much broader. I’ve restricted the growing environment of the tree, and that halts certain processes especially trunk thickening. The only changes going forward will be ramification, thickening of the branches, and development of the apex of the right-hand trunk (which I can accomplish in a bonsai pot).
Lary Howard surely appears to be the right choice. Really like the tree and the pot..
Thank you, Ron.