V-chop China doll (Radermachera sinica)

[aussie4bonsai]

This is the Ugly chop-off that I will be working on at Bonsai by the Harbour.

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[Jamie]

gday mate

i havent seen china dolls as bonsai before, i did try one a while back but found its growth habit awkward. from what i have followed in your pictorial is there two trees here or one?

jamie.

[gocny]

Well done Barry you made it.

[kcpoole]

they look like 2 differet trees to me too

I Like the stump in the first pic

Ken

[aussie4bonsai]

+Hi Jamie
Its all the same tree.
I also thought the habit was fast and awkward, until I saw one that had been displayed at Illawarra Bonsai club that had won a place in its section. When I asked the owner how its growth was so small, I was told that it was given in very bad condition because of this it had reduce growth with small leaves so it was kept in a very small pot without fertilizer.
When the V-cut is healed I will do the same.

[thuynguyen001]

Hi,a4b.
So the tree in 1st pic is the result of the tree in last pic being chopped down. Am i right?
Thuy

[aussie4bonsai]

[quote

[aussie4bonsai]

they look like 2 differet trees to me too

I Like the stump in the first pic

Ken

+Hi Ken
To make the sawing of the V-cut easier I have repotted into cut down plastic pot and lifted the root base out of the mix, seeing the root base makes it look different.

[aussie4bonsai]

Hi,a4b.
So the tree in 1st pic is the result of the tree in last pic being chopped down. Am i right?
Thuy

Hi Thuy
Yes thats right.
Barry

[aussie4bonsai]

+This is the result of the V-cut as a demo at Bonsai by the Harbour.

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+The questions that were asked I thought you might find interesting
Q: - Are you going to cut all the way through?
A: - Yes you need to so that the two halves can be screwed and glued as close as possible together.
Q: - Why do you use glue?
A: - I have found that without glue, when the cambium starts growing together the pressure tries to push the top section apart, where you can’t put a screw.
Q: - Why do you use a carpenter’s saw?
A: - The wider blade gives a straighter cut.
Q: - Do you have to align the cambium, and won’t the glue get in the way of the cambium?
A: - I try to align the cambium as much as possible but it is not necessary - each half has to be self supporting with a good root system and at least one branch on the top of each.
The excess glue is cleaned off when dry and I rake out the glue just below the cambium after the plant has stabilised in the pot.


The next day I was asked about a tree in the auction whether you could V-cut it?
It had good roots either side but the roots on one side were 30mm higher than the roots on the other side and on the low side the root was parallel to the ground. An equal V-cut in the middle would leave the major root poking up. The drawings below show the V-cut with one side straight down to solve this problem and the next shows the result with that side lowered 30mm.

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