Fixing scars
- Mitch_28
- Aussie Bonsai Fan
- Posts: 112
- Joined: April 24th, 2018, 8:57 am
- Favorite Species: Cedrus Atlantics Glauca
- Bonsai Age: 1
- Location: Wollongong
- Been thanked: 8 times
Fixing scars
Can anyone offer up some advice to best deal with the 2 yr old pruning scar on the main trunk?
(The short stub will probably go soon, just removed an air layer)
Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk
(The short stub will probably go soon, just removed an air layer)
Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk
- melbrackstone
- Aussie Bonsai Fan
- Posts: 3462
- Joined: December 15th, 2015, 8:05 pm
- Favorite Species: the ones that live
- Bonsai Age: 28
- Bonsai Club: Redlands, BIMER, VNBC
- Location: Brisbane
- Has thanked: 1211 times
- Been thanked: 738 times
- Contact:
Re: Fixing scars
I'm not sure that can be fixed. I'd cut just below the scar and develop the short stub as the new leader if it has any latent buds in it. Leave the stub from under the scar to die back to create a collar, then you can see where to cut it back to. That should allow the trunk to heal much better.
- Ryceman3
- Aussie Bonsai Fan
- Posts: 2617
- Joined: October 19th, 2014, 10:39 am
- Favorite Species: Pines & Mels
- Bonsai Age: 7
- Location: Melbourne
- Has thanked: 1067 times
- Been thanked: 1604 times
Re: Fixing scars
I agree with Mel. Although I think you can heal that scar out in the long term, I think the best bonsai move regardless is ...
“What kind of tree is this?”
Cut at the red line, look to the green line for movement and hope some stuff happens like the yellow line. I think it should... although I should ask...“What kind of tree is this?”
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
"NO CUTS, NO GLORY"
https://www.instagram.com/r3_bonsai/
https://www.instagram.com/r3_bonsai/
- TimS
- Aussie Bonsai Fan
- Posts: 1951
- Joined: March 17th, 2017, 2:46 pm
- Favorite Species: Japanese Maple
- Bonsai Age: 9
- Bonsai Club: Waverly Bonsai Group
- Location: Melbourne
- Has thanked: 428 times
- Been thanked: 538 times
Re: Fixing scars
Yep +1 to the cut back option as per Ryceman's photo.
Japanese Maple have thin bark, so any ugly wounds will heal over ugly and just look ugly generally for an exceptionally long time. When you have young material like this the best bet is to cut it off leaving a little stub to die back naturally and then once it has died off you can flush cut it for it to heal over smoothly. There are many decades ahead for this to become a bonsai, so you may as well start off on right foot rather than having to cut it back later down the track anyway.
Japanese Maple have thin bark, so any ugly wounds will heal over ugly and just look ugly generally for an exceptionally long time. When you have young material like this the best bet is to cut it off leaving a little stub to die back naturally and then once it has died off you can flush cut it for it to heal over smoothly. There are many decades ahead for this to become a bonsai, so you may as well start off on right foot rather than having to cut it back later down the track anyway.
- Mitch_28
- Aussie Bonsai Fan
- Posts: 112
- Joined: April 24th, 2018, 8:57 am
- Favorite Species: Cedrus Atlantics Glauca
- Bonsai Age: 1
- Location: Wollongong
- Been thanked: 8 times
Re: Fixing scars
Yeah I thought this might be the case. It's a young maple. I had pruned it back to that point a couple of years ago but obviously didn't do the best job.Ryceman3 wrote:I agree with Mel. Although I think you can heal that scar out in the long term, I think the best bonsai move regardless is ...Cut at the red line, look to the green line for movement and hope some stuff happens like the yellow line.
“What kind of tree is this?”
Thanks for giving me some direction
Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk
- Mitch_28
- Aussie Bonsai Fan
- Posts: 112
- Joined: April 24th, 2018, 8:57 am
- Favorite Species: Cedrus Atlantics Glauca
- Bonsai Age: 1
- Location: Wollongong
- Been thanked: 8 times
Re: Fixing scars
Yeah I can see that now after not doing it properly originallyTimS wrote:
Japanese Maple have thin bark, so any ugly wounds will heal over ugly and just look ugly generally for an exceptionally long time.
So once it has stopped its die back and i cut it flush it won't try and die back further?? Then do I do a slight concave finish to improve the roll over growth??TimS wrote: When you have young material like this the best bet is to cut it off leaving a little stub to die back naturally and then once it has died off you can flush cut it for it to heal over smoothly.
Is this the case for most deciduous species?? Eg wisteria and elms etc
My thoughts exactly, thanks for your inputTimS wrote: There are many decades ahead for this to become a bonsai, so you may as well start off on right foot rather than having to cut it back later down the track anyway.
Cheers Mitch
Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk
- melbrackstone
- Aussie Bonsai Fan
- Posts: 3462
- Joined: December 15th, 2015, 8:05 pm
- Favorite Species: the ones that live
- Bonsai Age: 28
- Bonsai Club: Redlands, BIMER, VNBC
- Location: Brisbane
- Has thanked: 1211 times
- Been thanked: 738 times
- Contact:
- TimS
- Aussie Bonsai Fan
- Posts: 1951
- Joined: March 17th, 2017, 2:46 pm
- Favorite Species: Japanese Maple
- Bonsai Age: 9
- Bonsai Club: Waverly Bonsai Group
- Location: Melbourne
- Has thanked: 428 times
- Been thanked: 538 times
Re: Fixing scars
Mitch_28 wrote: ↑August 3rd, 2020, 1:39 pmIf you let the stub die back naturally, it will compartmentalise at the next branch or bud below the cut and you should not get any further die back after removing the stub. If you flush cut back straight away, there is a possibility that the compartmentalising will happen at a bud or branch further back than the branch you wanted. Hence best to leave the stub and let it die back to the branch naturally.TimS wrote:So once it has stopped its die back and i cut it flush it won't try and die back further?? Then do I do a slight concave finish to improve the roll over growth??TimS wrote: When you have young material like this the best bet is to cut it off leaving a little stub to die back naturally and then once it has died off you can flush cut it for it to heal over smoothly.
Cheers Mitch
Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk
I have a shishigashira young air layer that did exactly that, i cut back too close to the branch i wanted, and it has died back below it to a new bud on the trunk. Now i have to grow the bud out to be a branch rather than using the branch that was already there.
- Ryceman3
- Aussie Bonsai Fan
- Posts: 2617
- Joined: October 19th, 2014, 10:39 am
- Favorite Species: Pines & Mels
- Bonsai Age: 7
- Location: Melbourne
- Has thanked: 1067 times
- Been thanked: 1604 times
Re: Fixing scars
The die back will be to the next junction between trunk and branch (sometimes referred to as the “collar”). Once it occurs you can concave cut at that point the following year. All things being equal it won’t continue to die back from that point.
As for other deciduous, elms can be treated the same ... I don’t own Wisteria so can’t say definitively, but I imagine so.
"NO CUTS, NO GLORY"
https://www.instagram.com/r3_bonsai/
https://www.instagram.com/r3_bonsai/