Something to chew on...

Eariler in the week I came back to the defoliation thread with some other pics. Part of that discussion was on what I call hedging a plant. Hedging in the traditional sense is the cutting back of a plant to the same place over and over again. This is something seen on plants like landscape junipers and boxwoods used around homes for landscaping. Both juniper and boxwood respond well to hedging and will ramify profusly at their tips. Some trees in the lanscape are commonly pollarded, which is a term to mean to cut back to promote a thick crown of branches. Pollarding was common in Medievel times in Europe. It can still be seen today on many city streets where the city will pollard trees to keep them from touching power lines.

Some examples of pollarding

This is not exactly what we wish to do to our trees. Somehow we wish to get a much finer structure in the crown than these stubs, which someone alluded to in the defoliation thread when I talked about hedging.

Maybe the term "Hedging" carries a bad connotation when it comes to bonsai?

or does it?

May a term like shearing seems much softer and not so harsh. The outcome is the same yet we call it different things. Maybe hedging for trees and shearing for sheep? Whatever you call it, it acomplishes the same thing.

So, maybe we can define the term for bonsai so everyone can be on the same page. I can give you my opinions on the subject and then maybe some here can educate me where it is I am going wrong on the pruning of bonsai.

Let me start by showing two examples of a needle juniper.

The first juniper is from Shinji Suzuki. That is an award winning tree. I have always admired his work.

Rob

Both needle junipers are well done. Pinnicle of bonsai evolution.

Yet one seems more refined than the other. One seems like it has been sheared or hedged. Why does it seem that way? It seems that way because Shinji has plucked every needle cluster to the exact same place on every foliage mass. In this way the tree looks sheared. This shearing makes it look tidy and almost perfect in its form.

The other tree while as equally developed is more loose. The ends of the foliage pads are a little rough and not as tight as the other.

Which do you prefer?

Walter Pall would say that the sheared tree is "slick" fake looking almost plastic, like a painted lady. Could I go so far as to say it fits into this catagory?

So...how does this apply to a maple?

Same way as the Shinji Juniper. When a person has taken every bud on a tree to the same exact point, they are shearing a tree, or hedging or whatever it is you wish to call it to make yourself feel better about what it is you have just done to your tree. For me I don't have a problem shearing my tridents or hedging them cause that is what I am doing.

People at the show don't care nor do they ask how you got them there....just that you did ..right.

So what is the difference between a tree that has been sheared/hedged?

First it is the tree that when in leaf has a perfect outline. It will also have this fine tracery of twigs in the exact same place all over the entire crown of the tree. One would call this tree sheared or hedged.

In this tree I have chosen it because it is not as well ramified as the previous tree but soon will be just by nature of the way it is being trimmed. It is being hedged/sheared. How do I know that?

You can tell by the way the branches have been stripped clean of all foliage all the way to the tips. The primaries, secondaries and even tertiary branches are all bare of foliage buds except right out on the tips of the outline of the canopy. This is done because we wish to have a dense and well ramified canopy but it can never be done if one wishes to retain inner twigs within the canopy. They will never recieve light or air and will die.

Follow the branches as they emerge from the trunk and look for twigs within the canopy....there are none..

Contrast the previous tree with this tree.

This is another maple. It is pruned in the more traditional method of removing tip growth as it buds. It is more open and small twigs can be seen even on primary branches hidden well into the canopy while in leaf.

Make no mistake, this is a very old tree. This tree could be recieving a whole new set of branches, or may be in the early stages of refinement, but I think it shows well the difference between the two methods.

Lets put the two side by side

Maybe someone can post more examples.

Something to think on. Maybe someone can post some examples of elms, (which by the way hedge beautifully). Maybe Thomas J. can post some of his.

When you first said hedging I thought it was what most people might think. That your just hacking away at the canopy with a pair of scissors. Leaving leaves half cut, buds chopped up, and so on. This may ramify a tree but it will also leave you with masses of ugly crossing branches. But from your last hedging thread I see you really mean selective pruning to shape. I would just call it maintenance pruning not hedging, I do that all the time. Let the tree grow out, cut it back to shape, let the tree grow out cut it back to shape, and repeat. I agree it's a great technique to keep a tree manicured and improve ramification drastically but I wouldn't call it hedging.

Ben

Beng said:

When you first said hedging I thought it was what most people might think. That your just hacking away at the canopy with a pair of scissors. Leaving leaves half cut, buds chopped up, and so on. This may ramify a tree but it will also leave you with masses of ugly crossing branches. But from your last hedging thread I see you really mean selective pruning to shape. I would just call it maintenance pruning not hedging, I do that all the time. Let the tree grow out, cut it back to shape, let the tree grow out cut it back to shape, and repeat. I agree it's a great technique to keep a tree manicured and improve ramification drastically but I wouldn't call it hedging.

Ben

Click to expand...

Like I said whatever makes you feel better.

"I take supplements to improve my body image"

...others call it doping....

again, whatever makes you feel better.

Beng said:

I would just call it maintenance pruning not hedging, I do that all the time. Let the tree grow out, cut it back to shape, let the tree grow out cut it back to shape, and repeat. I agree it's a great technique to keep a tree manicured and improve ramification drastically but I wouldn't call it hedging.

Ben

Click to expand...

How would you take this tree....

To this canopy.

....and what would you call the process.

....cause lets face it....I don't see alot of maples in the world that look like this.

Smoke said:

Like I said whatever makes you feel better.

"I take supplements to improve my body image"

...others call it doping....

again, whatever makes you feel better.

Click to expand...

When I hear the term hedging I think of very imprecise haphazard pruning. Just chopping away at the outer limbs without regard for anything other than the shape. Do you just wack away at the outer leaves and branches to keep it in shape or cut each individual branch back to keep the shape? You did post that picture with the big trimmers before. If you're letting the growth extend and just cutting the branches back to shape then wouldn't you just say you were doing routine pruning? Of course that would lead to ramification.

KennedyMarx said:

When I hear the term hedging I think of very imprecise haphazard pruning. Just chopping away at the outer limbs without regard for anything other than the shape. Do you just wack away at the outer leaves and branches to keep it in shape or cut each individual branch back to keep the shape? You did post that picture with the big trimmers before. If you're letting the growth extend and just cutting the branches back to shape then wouldn't you just say you were doing routine pruning? Of course that would lead to ramification.

Click to expand...

Nice reply....but.. missing the point.

Take the two trees immediatly above. One is a traditional moyogi styled trident with a pointy top and the other is a moyogi with a more rounded top, yet each looks very different. Both are pruned yet one is different...WHY?

How many wish to take a crack at explaining to a blind person what the differences are between these two mediums.

Smoke said:

How many wish to take a crack at explaining to a blind person what the differences are between these two mediums.

Click to expand...

A blind person....good luck no difference.

But to someone with sight I'm sure the one on the right was pruned selectively, methodicallu even, and there are no brown tips. Whereass the one on the left would have lots of half cut leaves and brown cut marks across the outside. Granted if the one on the left grew out a little that would solve the brown tip problem.

Smoke make a video please.

Beng said:

A blind person....good luck no difference.

But to someone with sight I'm sure the one on the right was pruned selectively, methodicallu even, and there are no brown tips. Whereass the one on the left would have lots of half cut leaves and brown cut marks across the outside. Granted if the one on the left grew out a little that would solve the brown tip problem.

Click to expand...

So the plants on the left recieved no artistry, just shaped williy nilly. I mean just go out and buy a boxwood or juniper and make one of those in an afternoon with a hedge pruner?

I don't see any brown tips on the left. How do you know there wern't brown tips on the tree on the right, besides this exercise is not about how to prevent brown tips, this is an essay on to improve the look of your tree. Didn't we just talk about defoliating bonsai by cutting leaves in half? I have given you ample pictures and thoughts, I am always misunderstood on these forums because people are hardheaded and never step out of the box and try anything for themselves. Keep on going you have yet to convince me that bonsai is unlike hedging any other plant.

Maybe you could show me some of your pruned maples and we can see your method for gaining a nice canopy of perfectly manicured twigs. I am always open to improvement or suggestions.

Smoke said:

So the plants on the left recieved no artistry, just shaped williy nilly. I mean just go out and buy a boxwood or juniper and make one of those in an afternoon with a hedge pruner?

I don't see any brown tips on the left. How do you know there wern't brown tips on the tree on the right, besides this exercise is not about how to prevent brown tips, this is an essay on to improve the look of your tree. Didn't we just talk about defoliating bonsai by cutting leaves in half? I have given you ample pictures and thoughts, I am always misunderstood on these forums because people are hardheaded and never step out of the box and try anything for themselves. Keep on going you have yet to convince me that bonsai is unlike hedging any other plant.

Maybe you could show me some of your pruned maples and we can see your method for gaining a nice canopy of perfectly manicured twigs. I am always open to improvement or suggestions.

Click to expand...

Smoke i think you're misunderstood because you ask questions others don't fully understand and then don't offer a clear answer in forums like this.

As for leaves being cut in half. I would never hedge a bonsai of mine. I prefer to make precise cuts to control the direction of growth with deciduous broad leaf trees. Leaf cutting and defoliation can and are often used in conjunction however they are not the same thing. Defoliation means cutting the petiole in half on the outer canopy of a tree to let light into the inner canopy. With trees such as trident maple this can and is often applied to the entire tree once a growing season leaving it nearly leafless with only its petioles in place. At that time a tree can be wired as the branch structure is easly visible. Branches are more flexible during early summer when defoliation takes place as well. When defoliating a trident fully they will push out a slightly smaller leaf where the first 2-3 sets of internodes will be shorter. This also encourages inner shoots to push out what would otherwise die or become dormant. Once two sets of internodes are pushed out the terminal bud of each branch must be pinched to control further internode elongation and to signal the leaves on that branch to harden off and support the tree. Defoliation is also used when a trees leaves are very sick from a fungul attack or insect attack to promote a new flush of healthy leaves.

http://bonsaitonight.com/2011/06/28/defoliating-trident-maple/

http://peterteabonsai.wordpress.com/2012/06/12/the-trident-maple-project-and-summer-maple-work/

http://crataegus.com/2010/07/02/trident-maple-reworking/

Leaf cutting on the other hand does nothing to reduce internode length. It is used to let light into the canopy to promote inner growth and to redirect growth on a tree. Often a tree such as a crabapple or japanese maple will have many different sized leaves ranging from half an inch to 2-3 inches. By folding each of these 2-3 inch leaves in half down the center of the leaf and cutting it at a 45 degree angle we tell the tree that the strong branch is equal in vigor to the weaker branch with smaller leaves. The tree will then push adventurous buds in the inner canopy increasing overall density. The downside is many of these cut leaves will not be replaced this season so you will have brown edges where the leaf was cut and some off shaped leaves. It's not an eyesore as the edge of a leaf is such a tiny area.

Maintenance pruning is waiting till a tree has extended its shoots far out of its basic shape and then selectively pruning it back branch by branch till it returns to its desired shape. For trees like apple, apricot, plum, and hornbeam and others that tend to push buds from the last leaf margin before the cut, we can use this method to control the direction of growth without wiring.

Hedging is cutting away at the canopy only for shape not going branch by branch. You see a globe cut the tree to a globe, you see a triangle cut the tree to a triangle. This results in a dense canopy as we can see in topiary, but will lead to dieback of inner branches and leaves as the canopy will not be penetrable by much light.

So you asked what we saw in the two photos above. What i see is a carefully pruned bonsai on the right. On the left I see a hedged bush. It will have some brown tips its just not possible to hedge randomly and miss cutting any leaves.

To this post you'll probably say something like

The hardness of butter is proportional to the softness of bread. Or Ignorance is not bliss. Bliss is ignorance of one's ignorance.

Responses like that are what lead to misunderstanding.