Question When is the best time to cut back a Corky

[irish]

Hi.

To start with i have no idea what i am doing here in regards to this species of tree, as i am a rank beginner.

Can some one help me out please. I have a Cork Bark which i was given last year the trunk is 10 cm tall and 4cm across. Has been placed into the ground, fertilized with sea-sol and charlie carp every week for about 6 months.

A 11cm cermatic tile was placed under it to help the roots to spread out. At a depth of 2cm.

To say it has gorn off it's head is a under statement...

The branches are at least 40cm long coming from the trunk you can not see the trunk at all. As a matter of fact it looks like a small bush.

My question is.

When do i cut it back, i think i should do it in Autumn, when the leaves have fallen off.

Now it gets the full sun all day in summer no shade, in winter it was planted to get maximum sun all day.

This tree is the nearest i have to going into a pot, was actually given to me by the person who i brought the pots off. Has sentimental value to me.

Have looked in the search engine but no luck.

Any information will be greatly appreciated.

Regards.
Irish.

[Paulneill]

Depends on what u mean by cut back . Do u want to pot it up ?

[Bougy Fan]

Firstly are we talking abot a corky bark chinese elm ? Yes it does depends at what stage the tree is at. If the trunk is at the correct diameter and you want to put it into a bonsai pot then you can start selecting branches to cut off before repotting when it is dormant. But if you are still trying to thicken the trunk up just let it be. If you cut back the branches the tree will put energy into regrowing those rather than putting on more weight. You may well take the option to regrow all the branches once it has established in a bonsai pot - depends where they are. A photo may be helpful

Tony

[kcpoole]

Any time according to Wiki
https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki/index. ... le=Pruning

Depends on what you are trying to achieve but generally I let mine go all seasons ( or 2 seasons even), and oly remove the branches and trunks that I knwo are in the wrong places, or will cause problems.
If thy are going where i want I will leave them as long as I can. I trimmed back a maple in the ground about 2 weeks ago, only beacuse it had gotten taller than the fence and I had to remove some of it all to check on the progress of sacrifice branches.

Each tree is different, and each grower prefers different styles of trees. I like a taller slender tree, so will tend to let them grow towards that style, where anothe might let them go for a year or 2 and thn cut back real hard to develop a stumpier tree.

See this wiki article for a a great link to and article here

Ken

[irish]

Corky Bark 003.jpg

Corky Bark 001.jpg

hi.
Here are some photo's of the tree.

What type of Corky is it. Pat did tell me but you know how it goes

Regards.
irish

[MattA]

Its a Corky bark chinese elm.

If your happy with the thickness you could cut back now & start building on the branches but then you will have to stay right on top of pruning, it doesnt take long for a stray branch to grow & thicken a part you dont want thick (eg apex or upper branches)

If it was mine I would be letting it go for the rest of the season to thicken it up even more. Don't prune in autumn after leaf drop but wait till just before regrowth in spring, that way any dieback over winter wont be a problem.

Look forward to seeing your first tree in a pot come spring

Matt