Should i defoliate my Liquidamber?

[Pat093]

I have a liquidamber quite young, which i purchased from my nursery, should i defoliate it.
the leaves are quite large and needs to get thicker. any ideas in what i should do?
Any direction or ideas on how i should go about developing this tree?

[Handy Mick]

I think you should put in grow box, cut down to height, train a new leader and thicken up trunk and branches.
Defoliating is only when you have your branch structure in place.

Mick

P.S. also lots of fert.

[MattA]

Hey Pat,

I would slip pot it into a much bigger pot or foam box & just let it grow its heart out till late winter then cut back hard. This is still a very young tree & if you remove the leaves, energy that would be going into growth will be diverted into producing a new crop of leaves, all thickening ceases till this has happened & then the tree needs to rebuild it reserves before starting to grow strong again.

I have one that i put in the ground 2.5yrs ago and cut it back hard each winter, it has thickened out of sight (from the size of yours to about 6cm at the nebari) . As i am only wanting a small tree I gave it a chop last week to start getting the branchs in position, It is pushing new buds all over. Will let it power away for the rest of the year & dig come spring to go into a pot to start working on ramification (they thicken too fast in the ground & can get out of proportion very quickly)

Matt

[Pat093]

cheers guys, im not so sure on the whole defoliating thing haha.
i'll get a nice big grow pot for it and let it grow, should i fertilise it all year round sept for winter?
hey matta, your from newcastle ey. Do you go to the bonsai meeting round newy, or central coast?
would be great to get more mates that i could take my trees to for a lil bit of advice?

[Handy Mick]

Pat, don't Talk to other people in Newcastle, they are old and grumpy

[kcpoole]

Hey Pat
Stick it in a big pot and fertilse year round . In winter near sydney they will only slow down for a month or so especially if you keep it near a wall or fence to shelter it from the cold.
Defoliating is only useful for reducing the sizze of leave on "finished trees". I have one here that i have defoliated once already this year, but constantly take off big leaves

Ken

[MattA]

Hey Pat,

i am out at Westy, was a member of the Newcastle club till recently, now doing my own thing with the guidance of another more learned in penjing. The local club is a great day out, some really friendly people and a few who have extensive knowledge... just takes a while to work out who that is

Pat, don't Talk to other people in Newcastle, they are old and grumpy

:
Definitely grumpy when provoked, thankfully oldtimers hasnt caught up to me just yet... then again it depends on perspective...36 last november... now where did I leave my zimmer frame

Matt

Ps... Ken very interesting that yours dont go dormant over winter, one of the latest to turn & earliest back into growth but they still give great colour!