branch growth but no trunk growth?

mcpesq817

Omono
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One thing I learned well in this hobby, the hard way and much to my benefit, was not to trouble myself with species or individual trees that wouldn't grow well where I live, especially if there was not some REALLY good reason to bother. It's a matter of triage based on prognosis. You are capable of so much more in this hobby than this particular tree is ever likely to bring you. Save your energy and time and resources for really good material.

This is great advice. I've slowly learned this lesson myself. Some material is just not worth it, whether it's a particular species that doesn't do well in your climate or an individual tree that lacks the quality deserving of your time and attention. In my case, I found myself spending far more time that I should have on poor material, when the time could have been better spent working on my better trees.

Putting things in the ground is not a sure thing. I've got a bunch of small or crap stock that I put in the ground, and in some cases, they are developing nicely into material that I think will be good material to work on in the future, and in others, they are turning out so-so. The in-ground route does take a lot of time though - you're probably looking at a good 3 years to really begin seeing rapid growth for many species.
 

clic8991

Sapling
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I will simply present this information from bonsai4me, as I have not practiced long enough to know this to be true, but I believe it is relevant:

http://www.bonsai4me.com/AdvTech/ATCollectedBeechProgressionSeries.htm

"Very often I have seen enthusiasts fail to understand that when developing a trunk for bonsai in the ground, the tree must first be grown freely until the base is the desired thickness intended for the bonsai that it will one day become. The example above perfectly illustrates that after trunk-chopping, the trunk base will barely thicken (if at all) until the new sections above it have reached the same diameter. By which point the taper (and the purpose of trunk chopping) has been lost."


Im not sure where you are in bonsai, but I would read all of bonsai4me and Brent Walston's site if you havent.

http://www.evergreengardenworks.com/
http://www.bonsai4me.com
 

JudyB

Queen of the Nuts
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Well I hate to say it but G52 is most likely the winning candidate in this debate. If it were a tree that could go native here, then it might be a viable thing. I have recently adopted a cleaning out of trees that would never be good trees, but still have a ways to go. I've stubbornly held onto some of the things that I've put more effort into, or I just want them to be better than they are... I do have trees that could better use my attention and care... It's not in the compost yet, but I daresay I'm considering it. Or put it in a protected area out in the back 40, who knows. Or maybe I'll send it to JKL, it'd be a masterpiece in no time with him. I do thank everyone for the replies, and it has been an interesting conversation with lots of good ideas. And fodder for thought. Clic, thanks, I use those 2 sites regularly.
 
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