callistemon 'little john' training help please

[Ces]

Hi all,

I've got another question for the ever reliable brain trust...

I have a callistemon 'little john' in training and I am wondering when pinching back new growth in this species should I remove just the terminal bud or should i cut back to two or three sets of leaves?

Also, is it advisable to defoliate these trees while still in training? I'm pretty sure that clip and grow is the best method of training callistemon branches (at least the branches on this little john are quite brittle) but there are a few that the plant already has that i would like to reposition slightly. With the way the foliage grows i find it hard to wire with the leaves still on (let alone the inner branch structure).

Thanks for any help with this guys. Will post photos when my 'smart' phone decides to finish sending the emails with photos attached.

edited to make the subject of the title clearer

[Bougy Fan]

Hi Ces I would be not pinching back or defoliating while it is in training - in fact you would not defoliate at all. If you did I would expect that branch to die. You can cut them back hard to encourage growth like all callistemons. I have a small one I collected and have found it is a very slow grower.

[MattA]

Hey Ces,
The only pruning I would do on a 'Little John' is cutting back just past the flowers when they finish and removing any growth in the wrong place. While Callistemon have the ability to shoot back on old wood I wouldnt defoliate one at any stage unless doing a major cutback and even then I would try to leave some growth.

The wood is brittle but you can wire & make soft bends without too much trouble but avoid trying to make sharp changes in angle unless taking extra precautions (wrapping in raffia or similar). To make it easier to wire amongst the leaves you could try 'Cage wiring', here is a really great thread that shows the full process viewtopic.php?f=7&t=108&start=0

Look forward to seeing pics of your Little John, this is one I am working on viewtopic.php?f=9&t=8213
Matt

[Ces]

Thanks Tony and Matt.

Great information! I'll stop pinching and just let it grow then cut back when new growth begins to harden off.

Thanks for the thread link Matt and the bending info. I think i'll try raffia on some of the larger branches and cage wire the younger stuff.

The leaves on this species are already relatively small but will they reduce with pruning? or should I just be happy with how they are?

thanks again.

edit: wow Matt just checked out your little john. Its ALOT older and larger than mine. Mature bark only just showing a suggestion of itself on mine. Fantastic tree you've got there. Cant wait to see how it develops. And i think it could live happily in that pot for awhile. Now come on android, we need pictures!

[MattA]

Look forward to seeing some pics of yours. Don't be concerned with the leaf size while your still in development, more big leaves means more food being made & a thicker trunk quicker. The bark will develop with time & really is something special

Mine is just coming into flowering & once thats done I will select branches for the future canopy. It will then be allowed to grow freely for a year, prune & year of free growth... I expect it to take about 10yrs for the branching to fill out & mature enough to be in keeping with the trunk.