trunk chop

Recently got this Stewartia Monadelpha and would love your advice as I’m thinking to achieve taper by doing a trunk chop, so would you do a whole saw diagonal chop below the 2 leaders? Or would you take leader #1 only? #2 only? Or just leave it and let ramification take care of the visible...

I have been doing a lot of yamadori, but I usually always keep a few branches and leaves or buds. However since I now wish larger trees, I was wondering if it was possible to do a trunk chop low down near the base of the trunk?, so I just dig up a stump (on deciduous trees only). I hear it is...

I have quite a few Japanese black pine growing in the ground in grow bags. I haven't heard anyone discuss the nuances of what to cut, when to cut, or how to cut to encourage the fastest base thickening and keep lower growth healthy. I have heard to not trim or cut back to encourage rapid...

So I've finally beaten my compulsive urge to buy nursery material with severely underdeveloped trunks and C grade branching that I end up lopping off anyway. *cue applause* Not that this little crab apple's trunk doesn't need developing, in fact that's precisely why I'm posting. I picked it up...

I collected this maple tree earlier this year in Michigan about 1/2 a mile from Lake Michigan in a large forest. It was definitely not planted by people and neither was anything remotely near it. My best guess is that it would be an Amur maple but honestly it’s leaves resemble a sienna glen...

Had a ugly S shaped elm that I chopped over winter. The thing grew like a weed (had zero branches after the chop) and I finally did the first prune. I’m hoping a bud will break near the first bend to form a new apex so I can chop it lower. What are your thoughts?

Hello, I have this fig tree for several years now, it is about 5 years old. Is it getting too large for my house at about 5 feet tall and I want to turn it into Bonsa tree.. I am planning to repot it into bonsai pot with Bonsai soil which I have decent experience with, but I am in doubt when...

Hello, I have collected this maple in Maine wilderness last October. I believe it is red maple but I am not sure. It has survived the winter well and several days ago I repotted it into bonsai pot with good bonsai soil. I watered it little bit and left it in part sun location. It is doing well...

I am pretty new to pines and would greatly appreciate some advice and help with a game plan for this tree. It is a grafted Miyajima, jwp supposedly 9-10 + yr out. I purchased it on ebay last spring. I potted into this pond basket right after I received it, as it was shipped without a pot. It had...

I am wondering if I can trunk chop a lilac that I collected last spring. It has grown wonderfully after I collected in. This was right after collection. The trunk looks small but it is about 1.5 inch thick at least and has amazing bark on it. I want to chop back to the red line or lower to force...

Got a few trident chops I need to finish carving. On the first chop, the callous has stopped rolling over. The second one I haven't worked yet. Should I go ahead and reopen them both now, or wait until spring after the first flush has hardened, to speed healing? Also, should I remove the dead...

Hi, I have recently collected this tree (2 days ago, it was now or never) from a forest near my grandads house. I have potted it up in a plastic pot with regular potting soil (all that I have available) and given it a deep watering. In the photos you can see where I have cut the tree in order to...

Hey BNutters, recently the trunk chop on my chinese elm finally budded. I set an initial leader but since I can't decide on what I want to do with all the extra budding, I decided to let bonsai nut make the choice for me! You can submit any changes or styles you'd like to see it in and vote on...

I couldn't find a whole lot online and what I could find was about our American Sweetgum and people having little success with air layers. I have a decent amount of this trunk I'm planning to chop and thought I could possibly air layer it off. Anybody else have success with this or thoughts?

I've had this ficus for about 3 years now. It's been in the pot it's in for 2 and very pot bound and needing a repot. I was thinking of doing something drastic and doing a trunk chop to the first main branch. It's been growing so a-typically that I'd like to get back budding lower. Any...

Hello All, I have this Chinese Elm with an S curve that I’m not a huge fan of (and the roots are a mess). How and when should I “fix” it? I’m thinking above the red line is just firewood, too much of a reverse taper. Is the blue line a good place to trunk chop? And if so is it worth trying to...

I recently chopped a new maple a few inches above the final chop location. I've heard from videos and the forum that it's common to do a rough chop first, wait a year, and then do the final chop at the angle you want and (usually) pretty close to your selected new leader. Does chopping in...

So I have a little cork bark JM that I picked up from Brent at Evergreen Gardenworks. I'm thinking it's going to need a trunk chop due to how far up the first branching starts. I'm not sure air-layering will provide much and not even sure I can do successfully with it being this young. I've read...

I went out in search of ugly (another thread) I was disappointed in what I went out for which I think is what led me to this After what feels like a lifetime I finally found something that definitely fell out of the mould of the clones I keep rummaging through I expect its not the 'cup of tea'...

The next-door neighbours had dug this 20-year-old olive out of their garden and threw it in the skip. I saw it and took it in. It is about 6in diameter at the base with some roots intact. It has no leaves on it as the top has been chopped off completely. I'm in UK and new to Bonsai. I have read...

Found this maple at Home Depot and couldn’t pass it up due to the price. Had to chop most of the branches off to get into the suv for the ride home. It was balled and bur-lapped in the pot. I pulled it away a bit and just under the clay soil there is some root flare. I will probably ground/air...

In general, is it wise to do a trunk chop after defoliation (a planned trunk chop obviously) so the regrowth energy doesn't get wasted on parts of the tree that are unwanted? I've recently defoliated a tree and am intending on chopping it around half way. Above the intended cut there are a lot...

Hi, I was wondering what techniques can be used to develop taper in field growing conifers. trunk chopping to a new leader is what I’m using for deciduous trees (to develop taper whilst field growing), does this technique work with coniferous species? How would you deal with candles/growth...

Hey All, This might be a stupid question... My chopped BC are starting to explode. Before it may be too late I wanted to ask if it is the time to start removing/managing any new growth - if not, when is the right time? Here is the tree with the most growth so far. The reason I am asking is...

Hey all, I collected this privet from my brother's property this morning, and I'm really excited about it. I'm almost 2 years into taking bonsai seriously and have collected many trees. Most survive. I'm learning a lot about styling but think this is my best material collected and don't want...