AusBonsai

I bought this tree on the weekend, I cant remember the name but the guy at the nursery said it was a flowering tree, anyway I have had a little go at wiring the lower branches but I am at a loss as to where to go now, one thought was to air layer/ chop the top off at the first leaf where the line is, second is to layer/ chop lower and wire one of the branches as the new leader and put some movement into the trunk,
any help or advice very welcome

BATURB; how ya doin? if this were my tree i'd first find out what it is. then i would chop it at my red line and chuck the rest so that i can get on with the tree. but thats me cause i already got too many trees. the brown line is an option for wiring the new leader. if i layered it would be at the 2 blue lines so that there is movement above it and definately chuck that uninteresting straight piece away. imo these choices will give you the 2 best trees to work with. hope this helps.

I wish I could remember the name, it didnt come with a tag and the guy said it only once, the leaves look like a peach, actually I thought it was a peach when I first saw it, but its not and it does flower, if thats any help

either peach, nectarine but im thinkin almond. if so anyone of these. its a bit late but you could layer now. trunk chops best done late winter though. b4 it flowers.

Is there any trunk size difference above and below the point Ant says to cut? if the diameter reduces then you could cut where you think and use the leader as in your Virt.
If not then cut where ant says and use one of those branches there as the leader. If needed you can tilt the trunk at next repot to get some more movement in the bottom section

Ken

the trunk tapers to the point where I first thought to cut then it gets much smaller in diam and tapers to the top

heres another thought after looking at the tree some more

I think i prefer the blue top as the curve of the trunk just continues on with that one
the blue leader one seems to move back over the trunk for me ( assuming it is leant to the right when next potting up)
Bit hard to see the taper you mention in the photo tho

Ken

Merry Christmas,
The tree looks like a lycee. Check the trunk as it may be grafted. It has a white flowers and likes lots of water and hot weather. It is not frost tollerant.
Before you cut the top, look at the root structure, if the name tag has fallen off, maybe it is in serious need of a re-pot and sorting of the roots.
In the hot times I have had success with root pruning underwater. Put some seasol, vegemite or superthrive in the water.
The underwater pruning is good for all Aust natives.
Boxing day is a good day to defoliate your figs.
Bonsai Bruce

it is definatelly not a grafted tree, and I was told it doesnt fruit, the roots look good and not overly pot bound

Best to go back to the nursery and ask the name of it, or go to another one and try to id it from there. good luck.

well after some more thought I decided to just chop the top, and rewire the front branch as the new leader, I also gave it some movement, I think this will be as tall as it will be, I think the result is pretty good and it might be a nice tree in another 10yrs LOL

I went back to the shop where I got the tree from and was going to ask what it was when I came across a nice trident maple, that got my attention and I forgot to ask the guy about the tree, the trident was about 8 foot tall when I spotted it, well that quickly got the chop, when I got it home I took it out of the pot and it was fairly pot bound, I reduced the root ball by a third and exposed a little more of the trunk when I repotted as you can see in the pic, I think its a good starter

baturb wrote:I went back to the shop where I got the tree from and was going to ask what it was when I came across a nice trident maple, that got my attention and I forgot to ask the guy about the tree, the trident was about 8 foot tall when I spotted it, well that quickly got the chop, when I got it home I took it out of the pot and it was fairly pot bound, I reduced the root ball by a third and exposed a little more of the trunk when I repotted as you can see in the pic, I think its a good starter

Jusdt be very careful withthe after care on this one
Trunk chopping is fine this time of year on maple. but root work can be very dicey
in hot weather be sure that when you see the tips drooping, that you ensure it water in the soil. Keep far away from any wind that might dry it out

Nice tree tho

Ken

the root ball on this maple was huge, Im talking 400-450mm pot X 400mm deep, I dont think what I took off will affect it in any way (only cut back a third)