Burning Bush

j evans

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This is a Burning Bush that we were removing from our yard and I decided to give it a go. This is the tree/bush about a month before I dug it. I did not measure it but I would estimate it to be about 6' tall and 8' across. 05-2014
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It was the first of July and warm but what I thought would be about a two hour dig turned into about a 6 hours project. Worried about drying out I missed photos of the tree prior to getting it into the pot but here is a photo after getting it into the tub and doing some reducing. I was concerned about doing more due to the time of the year. 07-2014

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The tree survived the winter and although the timing was not perfect I was itching to do something so I uncrated it and washed off most of the old soil as it was too heavy. At the same time I reduced the foliage and did some minor root trimming. A word of advice though, I was wanting to put this into a 18" bowl, width wise I was fine but I lacked enough depth so back in the tub it went. I was concerned about doing to much root trimming due to the hot weather coming. 05-16-2015

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j evans

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Here is one after it is back in the tub. I reduced the top down to the first leaves on each branch.
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What height do you think would be good for this tree with this trunk. I was thinking I'd like it to be 18" - 20" or so but that might be too short? Thanks for looking.

Jamie
 

misfit11

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Nice material. I think I would have chopped it back to here though.

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Also, your soil looks a bit heavy. Well drained bonsai soil will promote a healthy fine root structure and will prevent root rot.

Cory
 

j evans

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Both times I have worked on it I did not think that it was a good time to do something extreme so I am proceeding with caution. Don't know if that will do me any good but sometimes careful might not hurt.

Cory - your photo above is the first one and I agree the soil was heavy. That is part of the reason that I worked on it last week. Thanks for looking and the comments.
 
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barrosinc

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sometimes leaving to much is the mistake and the roots cannot handle enough moisture for the amount of foliage that is produced by having too many branches.
I think you could easily do a twin trunk out of this one. (I am not good at timing so don't know when it would be best to do this).
 

Bunjeh

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I just did one of those in the fall. I might suggest cutting back all by 5 or 7 aesthetic branches and try to develop it from that.
 

j evans

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" I might suggest cutting back all by 5 or 7 aesthetic branches" (I couldn't remember how to do a quote)

Can you explain further? I don't understand. Do you have any photos of yours?

Thanks
 

jedge76

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You may want to prune even harder. It seems there are a lot of long, straight branches without much taper...you could have a pretty powerful little tree if you get it real short and show off that base. I am not real sure about Euonymus as far as timing and it may be good to keep it at present height and let it grow and regain strength for the remainder of the year. Stare at it a lot in the meantime.
 

Brian Van Fleet

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" I might suggest cutting back all by 5 or 7 aesthetic branches" (I couldn't remember how to do a quote)

Can you explain further? I don't understand. Do you have any photos of yours?

Thanks
As your tree sits, it's far too busy, long and lanky to ever make a respectable bonsai, but there is a bonsai in it. Bonsai need to be compacted and reduced/distilled to a very small, tight scale.

Somebody mentioned taking it back to 5-7 branches. If this was my tree, I would select the best front as dictated by the base. Which side shows the widest base, most natural flare, and best taper? Then reduce it to a short trunk, or pair of trunks. As an example, and only based on the images here, I would reduce it to something like this.
 

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Bunjeh

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" I might suggest cutting back all by 5 or 7 aesthetic branches" (I couldn't remember how to do a quote)

Can you explain further? I don't understand. Do you have any photos of yours?

Thanks
I think Brian pretty well sums it up. What you have right now is a reduced bush. To many branches distracts from the overall composition. As these exisitng branches grow, they will produce more branches, and so on and so on. You need to reduce to a manageable foundation.
 

Bunjeh

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Here is mine. The line show where it was reduced last fall. I am new at this so I am still a little trepidatious when it comes to cutting branches. I could probably go even further. bb.jpg
 
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j evans

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I know that right now I have a "reduced" tree. I am just proceeding with caution. It is about a third of what it use to be.

Brian basically drew what I have in mind for a trunk other than I was thinking instead of a double trunk, three or four and creating a hollow on the left side of the base to create a wider span across the base. Thanks for the help.

Jamie

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Paradox

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I would not cut it back until after the leaves fall off and probably not until February or March. I chopped one last winter and it budded back just fine.
 

j evans

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Just planning, although I wish I had it in a smaller container. Might still attempt that if the weather doesn't heat up real fast. It is just too hard to handle.
 

Paradox

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I am fairly sure that Burning bush are single flush so I would not cut it back now.

If you rush things too much and remove too much or at the wrong time youll very quickly find yourself with a dead tree.
 

JudyB

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I think your plan along with Brian's virt are good plans. You should make very sure about your front before you cut off any trunks, as that will make or break the design. Have fun!
 

j evans

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This is a continuation of the drawing above. Although it might be out of proportion a bit I am thinking that I'd like to try to keep it about 2' +/- tall and if I keep the big roots it will have to be in about an 18" pot. I did not measure the base but I would estimate that it is about 6" at this time. I also realize that it would be better to have some more taper in the trunks but need some suggestions on how to create the taper or the illusion of more taper. I like the big trunk but I need to get it eventually where I can handle it and also have a place to winter it.

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JudyB

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There are two basic ways to create taper. One is to chop lower, and successively grow new trunks that are section by section smaller as you grow the apex(s). The other way is carving, which can look realistic and good if done well. I've seen carving projects that look terrible, there is some artistry involved.
 

j evans

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My burning bush has developed a problem. Some of the leaves have developed dry, dead spots and it seem to be only on one side of the bush. We had a weird hail storm a few weeks ago and out hydringeas suffered some severe leaf damage. Any ideas?

Jamie

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