Agonis

[rayfam5]

Woud love some advice on how to deal with this 6ft Agonis which is about 12-14 years old. should I work with the top and make is a weeping type or can it have the chop of a lifetime.
Has been repotted about once each year and so now what. Need some help. cheers

bonsai au019.jpg

[teejay]

If I were you Peter, assuming that Agonis bud back at least as easily as Eucalypts, I'd trunk chop it way down about a third up from the base (or lower even) and catch a new shoot in order to make a new leader and create some taper. Branches can emanate from the new leader or even from other shoots along the stump.

That's if Agonis bud back easily I reiterate. I know nothing about them in that regard.

[rayfam5]

thanks Teejay, I have explored the idea of a harsh chop with another one I had and lost it. It does have a nice taper towards the base and there is a branch half up the trunk. I have pondered many times to chop it down to there. Would save me running out all the time having to pick up the tree of the ground every time there is a wind.
cheers

may scya Saturday workshop

[teejay]

Would save me running out all the time having to pick up the tree of the ground every time there is a wind.

ha... I have a gum that's giving me the same trouble, can't wait til it warms up so I can chop it.

may scya Saturday workshop

Yeah I should be there, if I can find a tree to bring after putting half of them in the ground last weekend.

[MelaQuin]

Cut the trunk off wherever offers the best taper/movement. I would do it when it starts shooting . An agonis shoots out almost everywhere on old wood [except, of course, exactly where you want it]. Presuming the tree were mine I would mentally select the spot to cut and then reduce the head by 75% to encourage it to shoot lower. When it starts shooting back do a straight cut about where you want the trunk to end - maybe with luck it will throw a shoot on the 'best' side and you can go with that. It should not be long before buds break and the branching develops quickly. Quickly!! This tree is a strong grower.

Agonis growth is a bit gross and I don't think it is suited to a shohin [tho I am working on one]. A tree 50cm+ would cater for its weeping growth habit nicely.

I got one badly riddled with ants, took me two days and a hell of a lot of insecticide to clear them and then discovered half the trunk was gone, leaving the sides and back. Within a couple of months I was wiring new branches, shaping the new header and working on the tree. It was then I realised that this was going to be a large bonsai and I had to sell it. But it's great - zigzag branching development, nice shaped leaves, wonderful leaf scent that encourages tip pruning and lovely colour to the leaves.

This one has lovely movement. Go for it. You will get a nice tree. [That branch halfway up the trunk is too high to include in your design. Set your sights lower - in a manner of speaking.

[teejay]

[That branch halfway up the trunk is too high to include in your design. Set your sights lower - in a manner of speaking.

This is what I was thinking also. You'd need to convince it to bud a fair way below that branch and make that the new leader in order to make it convincing I reckon.

[rayfam5]

thank-you for all the wonderful advice. Can't wait to hack into it.