Acacia burkei

[MWid]

Tnx lennard really great help, I love reading your blog by the way, I have learn't quite a bit within a South African context.

[GavinG]

Very fine tree, good trunk texture, and graceful movement. Thanks for posting. Our acacias look, and behave, quite differently.

Gavin

[lennard]

Thanks for all the positive replies.

Will update after the defoliation to show the results.

Lennard

[Jerry Meislik]

Lennard,
Very nice work.
I saw a number of these as bonsai on my trip to Africa.
I think yours is right up there with the best.
Jerry

[lennard]

I have defoliated the tree two weeks ago to adjust some of the twigs and to get back buds going:

november 2012.jpg

The tree has responded well to the defoliation and has budded out nicely. I have heard that you can reduce Maples leaves by pinching out the growing tip between two new leafs while the bud is still very young and I am doing this to the buds at the outer limits of the canopy. The two leaves that remains do not reduce tremendously but the amount of backbudding I am getting is tremendous - it is even budding out just below the remaining leaves where I have removed the growing tip. I do believe this will leave me with very nice twiggy growth and with that a very nice canopy.


Lennard

[kcpoole]

Nice result
Lots of new shoots there for you to control now

Ken

[lennard]

Just realized I named the tree wrong in this thread. It is Burkei and not galpinii

From the date I have defoliated the tree I let the twigs grew out to three to four leaves before cutting them back to two leaves:

maart 2013 groot 2.jpg

In winter I will compress the crown a bit because it is getting too heavy.

Any comments welcome.

Lennard

[kcpoole]

Lovely tree Lennard
Super effort mate, to reward you, i have renmed the thread as you mention in the last post

Ken

[Neli]

Lennard, Looking very very good! Keep it up! Proud of you!

[Andrew Legg]

Looks good Lennard. If it were mine, I'd lift the foliage a bit to expose some of the branching that's holding it up!

[lennard]

Thanks for the compliments.

I am thinking a lot on making the branch structure more visible- I am a traditionalist when it comes to opening the trunkline, branches and twigs so the structure can be visible. In leaf the only way to do this will have to be by cutting back the composite leaves to the first pair so that the twigs can be visible through the leaves. In winter this will not be a problem.

At this stage the tree looks natural from all sides and if I want to open up the branch/twig structure by picking up the branches/twigs the tree will have to have a single front where the leave rim is higher than the back.

I am always commenting on composite leaved trees that the leave stalk should be seen as a twig and that one will have to wire every leaf stalk if you want a perfect tree

Lennard