trunk chop

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...

Hi! I am fairly new to bonsai and to this forum. I am loving the hobby though, so I'm mostly working on getting more trees to put my hands on. I recently went looking through nurseries for Norway Spruce (Picea Abies) and this was the only one I found. I wanted a more developed tree I could...

Hello, I am wondering if I can prune back this oak while there are still leaves remaining on it this time of year in the uk and also to where you would recommend pruning back to thanks

Below is my rainier cherry tree, which I acquired spring 2019 from a local nursery and immediately trunk chopped. It's been growing vigorously since and just lost its leaves for the winter. Next spring I plan to air layer it off of its dwarfing rootstock and possibly rework the chop site. A...

I got a Fukieon and a Too little weeping fig bonsai trees this year. They came in poor condition and have gotten worse. There are only 2 leaves left on the Fukieon and a dozen on the fig in no good grouping or form. I was wondering if I could trunk chop them into stumps and get new growth next...

My first major surgery on a "sort of more ish mature" piece of material. Trident Maple incremental trunk chop, heavy root prune, and repot. These wash basins are of course for future growth and not meant to be aesthetically pleasing. So happy that the tree is doing well this spring and...

Greetings y’all. I’ve been muddling through this bonsai hobby for a number of years, and I’ve got a question about this ficus microcarpa. I’ve had it for fifteen years or so, slowly working on a banyan style and as you can see, it’s way too leggy. I want to prune it waaay back, but am frankly...

hey folks... new person here! with a question for the more knowledgable bonsai enthusiasts. i have a red buckeye in a pot in my yard, about 2-2/12 feet tall, only a few years old. it has a nice thick trunk with a pretty root system and i'd like to just chop the whole thing down and see what...

I picked up two trees this weekend at a giveaway and am curious when/how to best transition them for training. All of my other pre-bonsai material is still in the growing out phase, whereas these are plenty tall but lack lower branches and much girth. I'm not sure if they were field grown and...

Hello all, I have a trident maple growing over a rock that I trunk chopped three seasons ago. No buds appeared after the first year. The second year I tried some grafting that did not take. This is the third season, and I’m at a bit of a loss. I know the tree is still alive because of the...

I found a 50+ year old boxwood that was intended for someone's yard, but never got planted. This thing has some height to it, and I want to scale it back. It has multiple trunks with a rather large main section where the trunks meet. Can I get away with chopping all the trunks at once, or would...

Wondering if anyone has reduced a large beech with a major chop? I saw one at a nursery and it doesn’t really have any branches on the lower part of the trunk where you’d want them. Root base and flare are good though. The first branch is about 16-18” up, so that would be the lowest to chop you...