Liquidambar techniques and help please

[Ces]

Hey there guys,

I purchased this Liquidambar from a fellow ausbonsai member late last week. Thank you very much to them. They were extremely generous and welcoming and more than willing to share some experiences.

The former owner did point out to me that the tree is quite root bound but the tree looked healthy so it didn't bother me too much. I'd like to do some work on this tree, not a lot, keep its current design but compact it a little more and develop some of the lower branches. There are also some big pruning scars that i'd like to address.

to do this I have the following plan:

root prune and repot (probably an oval, matte brown pot).

trunk chop the crown and pick a new leader to delelop from and at the same time partially defoliate the tree, leaving the lower branches alone to grow on and thicken.

carve the pruning scars down a little and apply cut paste or turn them into uro's. I don't mind scars on deciduous trees.

When would the best time to do all these things be?

Should I wait until after recovery from repotting next spring before chopping and defloliating? or can I do the chopping etc. now while its growing and wait to repot?

front 26 feb 2013.jpg

left 26 feb 2013.jpg

another front 26 feb 2013.jpg

right 26 feb 2013.jpg

root bound 26 feb 2013.jpg

pruning scars.jpg

any and all help is greatly appreciated.

cheers,

Ces.

[Brian]

I would carefully slip pot it into a poly box with a good open mix. Let it grow to fatten the trunk.
You will then have a bigger more vigourous tree to work on when its dormant.

[Ces]

Hey Brian,

thanks for the suggestion. I'm quite happy with the thickness of the trunk. but would like to bring the crown down a bit to help it look more powerful

I'd like to get it into a shallower pot when i repot next spring. Can i cut the roots back hard then if i slip it into a grow box now?

[Paulneill]

Hi mate nice tree .
If it were mine i would prune unwanted branches /trunk chop late winter at the same time bare root and arrange the roots and prune.
i wouldnt give this tree any nitrogen until its finished its first growth spurt in spring and even then give it a very low nitrogen fert to try and keep nodes short and leaves small.

keep us posted

regards paul

[Brian]

potting it into a larger box gives the tree vigour to heal up the large cut on the trunk. It will also allow you to grow the top a bit fuller.

[Ces]

Thanks for the fert advice paul. I will definitely be following that when it comes time to refine.

Hey Brian, I'm not overly concerned with healing the scar, actually. I know I've given no scale reference but I think that wound in the photo (probably the second largest) will take 8-10 years to cover fully without planting the tree back in the ground. I have so many trainers and pre-bonsai and only 4-5 plants in pots, so I dont want to relegate this tree to the back bench for a few years.

Unless someone else has an opnion, I think I'm gonna lay off the fert, keep it watered and get it started on its new journey next spring. thanks brian and pete.

Cheers,

Ces.

[Jag01]

Ces,

if this were my tree and my goals were as you stated yours were then my aproach would be similar to yours, however I would not root prune at the moment.

If you wish to develop a new leader then by all means trunk chop now. I would remove larger leafs on the lower branches and leave the new leader un-trimmed. The more foliage you can carry on your new leader the sooner it will develop. Having said that it may be a little late in the season to push new growth on the new leader. In my opinion slip potting into a larger pot, watering and fertilizing may be the only way of doing so (again depends upon your weather).

Then early spring as the buds swell then do your root pruning, as the spring flush appears, control the growth on the lower branches until the new leader has lengthen and strengthened.

I can tell you from experience that new shoots which have not hardened prior to winter can die back easily on Liquid Ambers.

cheers,

Jeff

[LLK]

Read about pruning Liquidambar here:
http://www.bonsai4me.com/SpeciesGuide/LiquidAmber.html

[LLK]

Came up double -- don't know why -- mods, pease delete.