Around this time of summer, many of our Japanese Larch will have produced a long enough second flush to allow for a follow-up prune. As with the first pruning, we are seeking sets of buds that have a small internodal gap. If the buds are still too far apart then we prune right back to ‘just above’ the needle swirl at the base and wait for a final smaller push in Mid-Autumn.
If your tree is in early development and you are still looking to thicken branches then I would recommend you only remove unwanted new growth that will not be of use in the design or may lead to unwanted branch thickening and inverse taper. If you are unsure, then it is much safer to leave the growth and review it when we carry out the Spring prune and bud selection in March 2022.
Please read the June blog post which provides detailed images of this pruning technique.
The images I have selected show one Larch that needs over 3/4 of the new shoots to be pruned. The lower branches will be kept longer with at least 4 viable buds as I intend to wire some movement into them when they start to swell next Spring.
The second Larch pushed out lots of new growth but it is very juvenile so I will leave it till Autumn before pruning.
Most of our decidious bonsai will now have a good covering of leaves and be in need of a tidy up to ensure we are able to maintain decent airflow and light into the core of the tree. We will want to remove any unwanted juvenile growth that sprouted from junctions or crotches and we will look to prune shoots back to the desired shape.
This pruning is not intended to encourage another flush, though it does happen. This is the time when I am looking to remove surface weeds and inspect for bugs. I also use this time to wire in ‘minor’ movement on branches for my younger nursery stock. I often carry a notebook and write down any thoughts I may have for the future of the bonsai.
It is important to remember that your bonsai needs a good amount of leaves to enable it to produce strong vascular growth in the autumn. This will be the period when the tree expands trunk and branch girth. If you remove too much of the growth now, you can severely impair this aspect and put the tree back a year…or two!
This Snakebark Maple has been in the wars and has lost several key primary branches over the past 7 years. I have slowly brought it back to full health and am now looking at maximising the ‘charm’ of the chaotic root growth whilst hiding the obvious ugly trunk flare resulting from extensive dieback.
Once I had pruned and tidied up the tree I decided on using front option No 2. It still allows the central trunk dieback to be a part of the design but reduces the amount of visible inverse taper. This angle also improves the view of the nebari and the branch structure. It still has a long way to go yet…
So what else have I been doing?
I purchased a variety of 2-year-old starter plants in 2016 that included: Hornbeam. Italian Alder, Japanese Larch, Silver Birch and Crab Apple. I try to work on them but find the demands of the more developed bonsai sap my energy and time.
This week I have managed to do some more wiring work to establish a primary structure for these potensai. The key is to avoid trying to prune to the ‘final shape. You need all of this leaf mass to help the tree grow but you can definitely apply some wire and get your branches moving in the right direction.
I appreciate this is only a snapshot of some of the ongoing tasks in the nursery so if you have any specific questions you want me to answer then just ask by leaving a comment. If you take the time to look back over the previous blog posts and also my facebook posts I am certain you will probably find the information you need.
HOT TIP:
If you have applied any wire during the last 3 months then be sure to have a reminder set on your phone for early autumn because this is when you may see some pinching. Early autumn is also the time to apply some more biogold fertiliser so make sure you have some ready 🙂
And now for a final few images showing one of my imported Dawn Redwood. This has been put through quite a radical branch removal and it’s potting angle changed. This year I finally applied the ‘once only’ pruning technique and all of the new fronds look fantastic.
Another long blog but hopefully someone is getting something from them?
Happy bonsaiing 🙂
