cedarcanvas
Sapling
I was doing some cleaning on my first tree, a savin juniper, with my new tools. I took off some branches (see below) and left behind some scars.
@Wires_Guy_wires left some super advice on my progression thread:
I have a bunch of questions related to his post. This is one of the cuts I made:
The photo makes it look bigger than it is and the lighting really highlights it. It is somewhere in the neighbourhood of a golf tee to pencil in size. I just used my branch cutter. I didn’t think it as prominent as it shows here but it’s raised some questions.
I am keen to minimize the appearance of as much man-made damage as possible. I understand what Wires_Guy meant by leaving stubs. I don’t think I’m ready/interested in the jin stuff yet...so I want to be minimizing scarring.
How big a branch should I be considering using the concave cutters on instead of just branch cutters?
How deep do I cut to maximize healing?
Can I go back now with my cutters a couple of days later and address this “knot” or is the damage done?
Cut paste/putty is a whole other debate I’ve explored on BonsaiNut. Suffice it to say, I don’t have any for now so will stick to tool work for the time being. I will also do a little experimenting, but would like to avoid damage. Thanks again Wires_Guy and anyone else who chimes in.
@Wires_Guy_wires left some super advice on my progression thread:
I see that you made some nice flush cuts with your new tools, I want to advise you to leave a bigger stub. Over time, those will heal nicer and look less man-made. If you're making concave cuts, make sure you make them deep enough so the trunk can roll some callus over it and engulf the cut site over time - not decades, but closer to 3-5 years. It takes some experimentation and a couple years of growing for a person to see how that actually turns out and what difference a couple millimeters make, but it's worth telling you about it now that you have a concave cutter.
I have a bunch of questions related to his post. This is one of the cuts I made:
The photo makes it look bigger than it is and the lighting really highlights it. It is somewhere in the neighbourhood of a golf tee to pencil in size. I just used my branch cutter. I didn’t think it as prominent as it shows here but it’s raised some questions.
I am keen to minimize the appearance of as much man-made damage as possible. I understand what Wires_Guy meant by leaving stubs. I don’t think I’m ready/interested in the jin stuff yet...so I want to be minimizing scarring.
How big a branch should I be considering using the concave cutters on instead of just branch cutters?
How deep do I cut to maximize healing?
Can I go back now with my cutters a couple of days later and address this “knot” or is the damage done?
Cut paste/putty is a whole other debate I’ve explored on BonsaiNut. Suffice it to say, I don’t have any for now so will stick to tool work for the time being. I will also do a little experimenting, but would like to avoid damage. Thanks again Wires_Guy and anyone else who chimes in.