Recent content by Rustinj74

I would let the limbs adjacent to the targeted carving zone grow out first. Without strong growth nearby the areas around the carved region will die off.

Thank you for the great detailed descriptions and discussion! I've updated my profile (zone 8a, Birmingham, AL). Based on my limited experience, when I prune these back, it induces two new buds at the tip and forms a new "Y"- shaped structure, but no bud induction below the terminus. Al, from...

Thank you both for the input! Judy, it is the ramification I'm after, but I was unaware of the other effects. These things grow so fast, they're already shaping up nicely. However, the rapid growth also makes it hard to keep up with just pinching alone, so many of the branches are long with...

I'm new to bonsai and figured I'd learn by starting with a pretty hardy species. I dug up a privet in February and it's already looking nice (pictures soon). I'm curious about what time of year to defoliate and how often. So far, I've just been pinching and wiring. Im not sure if it's...