I collected this Mayhaw in January of 2011. It threw lots of shoots, allowing me to wire a good set of branches right away. I also got a good new leader started, that thickened enough to be cut back in year one. By January of 2012, I felt the tree was ready to go into a nice pot and selected this custom Byron Myrick piece.
It’s important to bear in mind that when you pot up your newly designed bonsai, growth is going to slow down due to the limited space in the root zone. This is why it’s important to have one developmental task as near completion as possible, namely, the tapering transition in the apex. Otherwise, you will have to spend the requisite time on this chore. Quite often you’ll see bonsai that have obviously bypassed this part of their development, and the transition looks awkward. On deciduous trees, it’s a flaw that really stands out during dormancy.
Fast-forward three years. Now the tree is not only ramifying well, the apex is one to two years from completion and the tapering transition is looking very smooth. I’ll cut back the apex hard just before budburst in April, and should have a good set of branchlets in the apex by year-end.
This tree is also due for repotting in spring, so I’ll have a good opportunity to see how well the root zone has developed. Hawthorns sometimes root very vigorously, sometimes not. Regardless, if you look closely you can see the phenomenal surface rootage on this specimen.
I’d love to hear what you think of this tree. You can submit a comment below.
This tree is progressing nicely, Zach. Ramification is beginning to show. The trunk appears to have four distinct sections in an effort to create the crown you are seeking (the last being the thin leader at the top of the tree). How many sections are desirable to achieve the right taper in a tree like this? Are there any general rules of thumb to follow proportionately while building these sections?
And lastly, if you cut back the branches hard to keep the silhouette tight, as you describe, will the branches thicken and develop the necessary taper?
As always, your thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Yes, there are distinct sections to this tree, but it’s more about establishing taper from soil to apex than a number of sections. When I collected the tree, the bottom (largest) section continued straight on up into the upper part of the tree. It continued to taper slightly, not enough to build a believable trunk without chopping and regrowing. Fortunately, there was a fork and a smaller leader I was able to cut to (section two). By chopping that leader, roughly three times its basal diameter in length, I was able to reduce the trunk’s thickness fairly quickly and fairly smoothly.
There is a rule of proportions I observe when chopping trunks and larger branches to build taper: make your cut not more than three diameters from the base, regrow your leader, then repeat the process. This can take some time with lesser quality material or newly grown trees, say from seed, but it works.
Cutting back the branches to keep the silhouette tight does not induce thickening or taper in and of itself. Cutting for taper as the branch grows is the best way to do this. As for thickening, this year I’ll get buds to grow near the base of the branches I need to thicken. Those I’ll let run until I get the desired thickness.