When to do Carving ??

senseijames · Post by **senseijames** » May 19th, 2010, 9:28 am

Hey there all ....all I seem to do is ask questions...hey.....here is another one....? can somebody inform me about when the best time of the year is to do some carving on a tree....I have a Liquidambar that needs some carving work done on it....any takers...??
Thanks

maryo · Post by **maryo** » May 22nd, 2010, 6:13 pm

My first question is why would you want to carve a liquid amber? But if you must, as long as you protect the cambium layer with some paste or putty go right ahead. I do most of my carving at this time of year cause basically I dont normally have time during the warmer months as long as I protect the living part of the tree from frost and moisture I dont have a problem.

Amanda · Post by **Amanda** » May 22nd, 2010, 6:20 pm

I've a liquidambar which would take a brutal carving any time - but only because the whole of its' guts is mushy and it kind of needs it

But I wouldn't be touching any live wood until spring due to die back which can be common.

senseijames · Post by **senseijames** » May 22nd, 2010, 6:35 pm

maryo wrote:My first question is why would you want to carve a liquid amber? But if you must, as long as you protect the cambium layer with some paste or putty go right ahead. I do most of my carving at this time of year cause basically I dont normally have time during the warmer months as long as I protect the living part of the tree from frost and moisture I dont have a problem.

Hi maryo, thank you for your comments, rgds, James

senseijames · Post by **senseijames** » May 22nd, 2010, 6:38 pm

Anja wrote:I've a liquidambar which would take a brutal carving any time - but only because the whole of its' guts is mushy and it kind of needs it

But I wouldn't be touching any live wood until spring due to die back which can be common.

Hi Anja...yeah I think I will take your advice and leave it till early spring, thanks muchly, James

kvan64 · Post by **kvan64** » May 22nd, 2010, 6:45 pm

I would do when it's most domant where sap flow is least. I would wait till at least 3 weeks after all leaves have dropped. General after care is applied. There are quite a lot of experts on deciduous plants in this forum that will be able to suggest ideas too.

Post by **kcpoole** » May 23rd, 2010, 9:00 am

Hi Kvan
I am assuming that this will apply to any Deciduos tree?

I am considering hollowing out a Section of Branch on a maple that I wish to bend, It is far too large to bend with wire, so wish to carve / Drill out most of the heartwood and then apply wire and bend it

anyone else have ideas as to when to do this? Late winter is what I was thinking

Ken

Pup · Post by **Pup** » May 23rd, 2010, 12:59 pm

kcpoole wrote:Hi Kvan
I am assuming that this will apply to any Deciduos tree?

I am considering hollowing out a Section of Branch on a maple that I wish to bend, It is far too large to bend with wire, so wish to carve / Drill out most of the heartwood and then apply wire and bend it

anyone else have ideas as to when to do this? Late winter is what I was thinking

Ken

If you wish it to heal or stay hollow would depend on the timing, winter is dormant so no growth, spring is active growth time good for healing. winter is wet so the chance of rot is high.

Cheers

Pup

PS Senseijames, in your profile your Bonsai age is shown as 40 I would think you would know all these things after so long at it

Ash Barns · Post by **Ash Barns** » May 23rd, 2010, 1:18 pm

Pup wrote:
PS Senseijames, in your profile your Bonsai age is shown as 40 I would think you would know all these things after so long at it

Looking at James' blog Shangrila it is more than evident 40 bonsai years is behind him.

Post by **kcpoole** » May 23rd, 2010, 1:49 pm

Ash Barns wrote:
Pup wrote:
PS Senseijames, in your profile your Bonsai age is shown as 40 I would think you would know all these things after so long at it
Looking at James' blog Shangrila it is more than evident 40 bonsai years is behind him.

Where did you find his Blog?

Edit Ahh just figured it out

Ash Barns · Post by **Ash Barns** » May 23rd, 2010, 1:53 pm

Checked out his profile Ken. I think James asks these questions to stimulate interest on the site.

Pup · Post by **Pup** » May 23rd, 2010, 2:41 pm

Ash Barns wrote:Checked out his profile Ken. I think James asks these questions to stimulate interest on the site.

G,day Ash I must admit I have not checked out his Blog. By the questions he has been asking I had just wondered that he was not that long at it.

Do not want to hijack his post though.

Cheers

Pup

senseijames · Post by **senseijames** » May 24th, 2010, 12:16 am

Pup wrote:
kcpoole wrote:Hi Kvan
I am assuming that this will apply to any Deciduos tree?

I am considering hollowing out a Section of Branch on a maple that I wish to bend, It is far too large to bend with wire, so wish to carve / Drill out most of the heartwood and then apply wire and bend it

anyone else have ideas as to when to do this? Late winter is what I was thinking

Ken
If you wish it to heal or stay hollow would depend on the timing, winter is dormant so no growth, spring is active growth time good for healing. winter is wet so the chance of rot is high.

Cheers Pup

PS Senseijames, in your profile your Bonsai age is shown as 40 I would think you would know all these things after so long at it

Hi Pup....yes I have been Bonsaing about 39 years or so, have never attempted to carve a tree up to now...was too scared to maybe loose the tree, also I never seem to cut back too much rootage when repotting for the same reason...I have never really tried to follow the traditional Japanese rules for Bonsai... I fear I have wasted all those years by not taking chances and not trying hard enough to follow the rules better and being too anxious to get the tree into a bonsai pot, instead of letting it have the time to grow bigger first.....but i can say that at least 99% of my trees have been grown from seed or cuttings and I have never purchased a Bonsai already done to this day....cheers.
James

craigw60 · Post by **craigw60** » May 24th, 2010, 6:49 am

Hi James, I really think carving is best reserved for hardwood trees like juniper, prunus or hawthorn. I don't think liquidamber falls into this category. If you carve soft wood species you will find the wood will not preserve in the long term. The other point to make is that liquidamber can die back after hard cutting so by carving the tree you may lose more than you bargained for.
Craig

senseijames · Post by **senseijames** » May 24th, 2010, 7:10 am

craigw60 wrote:Hi James, I really think carving is best reserved for hardwood trees like juniper, prunus or hawthorn. I don't think liquidamber falls into this category. If you carve soft wood species you will find the wood will not preserve in the long term. The other point to make is that liquidamber can die back after hard cutting so by carving the tree you may lose more than you bargained for.
Craig

Hi thanks Craig for the advise, cheers.
James

AusBonsai

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