trunk chop

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...

Bought this ginkgo today. It sort of winked at me as I was browsing trees in the pouring rain, being small enough to fit in my car and 1/3 the price of the taller, less interesting ginkgos on offering. My instant feeling was "good wide base, not perfect (a bit of reverse taper) but interesting...

Hey everyone, I just defoliated one of my maples and decided it's time to ask for a little input. This started out as a trunk chop experiment from pre-bonsai stock that I got back in 2009/2010. I've learned a ton from the process and would definitely do a number of things differently if I were...

Can anyone tell me if you can trunk chop a larch below the first branch? and if so when? Thanks Chris

I found this maple on a local classifieds website for $35. It seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. I have never done a trunk chop before, but I think that is what this needs to get some taper going. This tree is also in urgent need of a repotting as the soil is quite poor, and there...

Hello! I'm in eastern Iowa (5b) and have three Bur Oaks in a fence row I want to collect (pics tonight). First I want to try the 3-4" trunk, which has been pruned in past years about 2' high and is growing through a fence (I like the scars from the wire). Everything I find says chop and dig...

I am looking for a resource that describes in detail how each species should have a branch cut off to get a nice smooth heal over. It seems that each species has different needs on how to make a fast smooth heal on major cuts and then the particular situation warrants a variation such as a...

Local club was selling bareroot flowering cherry trees fairly cheap, 8 bucks for trees about 10 feet tall, 1"-2" diameter trunks. They are grafted onto bases with diameters of about 4". They have already leafed out, and have blossoms, and have no branches on the lower 2-3 feet of trunk. My...

I'm sure this has been done many times, but here's the idea: I got a couple weird Japanese maple varieties on clearance at a garden center. Both were grafted and both had long whips of the rootstock extending just below the graft. Last year I cut them below the graft so that the long whip...

Looking to acquire a cork oak and have several options available. All options would require a trunk chop. Looking for advice on what would be best time of year to complete and any limitations on trunk size or any other precautions I should be aware of.

Here's a trident that's been in the ground since spring 2014. I was envisioning a smaller tree (2-3" dia) with a more naturalistic canopy, but it's really starting to get top heavy where all the branches join. I probably should have removed a branch or 2 last year but was getting greedy on...