Chop and Grow Trunk Taper Method Questions

symbiotic1

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I've seen a lot of examples on here, especially with tridents, of cases where the tree is planted in the ground to grow for years then chopped and a top branch is used as the new leader in order to create nice taper as opposed (or in addition to) using sacrifice branches.

Does this process work on bald cypress trees or even redwoods/sequoias? I see lots of cypress with a great flaring out at the base from growing in swaps, etc., and I'm wondering if there are ways to develop that when there's no bog nearby.

I also see a lot of collected BC show up on eBay with nice bases but I'm unsure how someone would take one of those and build a nice taper naturally without needing to just carve the hell out of it. Since they never seem to grow strong lower branches to use as sacrificial limbs, I'm curious if the same idea that works on those tridents (chop it low and let a new leader grow) work on these?

I have a BC now that's about 7' tall and somewhere between 1-1.5" at the base. I'd like the finished tree to be 2-3' at most but with about double the base diameter. I'd like to get more or even do a forest but want to figure out what I'm doing and try it on this one first.
 

edprocoat

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A BC will develop low branches readily. Choose one and chop just above it, wire it up as a new leader and let it grow large, chop again and as you work it it will heal over and develop taper. None of this is a one season project probably about 2-4 years will get you a good tapered trunk in something the size you have. Naturally the larger the trunk the longer it will take.

ed
 

symbiotic1

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A BC will develop low branches readily.

ed
Thanks for the tip. I understand it'll take years to get the taper I'm after. Would I be better off trying to widen the base with sacrifice branches instead of chop and grow?

If I do use the chop and grow... to get a more gentle taper for a taller tree vs a short, squat one then should I just chop sooner so there is less of a differential between each new section? And am I right in thinking this is the time of year to do it? The tree never went completely dormant here but I'm guessing this is the slowest it will be growing all year right now at least.
 

edprocoat

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I chopped mine all summer in Ohio and it just kept putting out new growth. Mine went dormant that winter and woke up late February as I took it to Florida with me as I do all my Bonsai. Mine had a trunk just under an inch and I was trying to make a flat top tree about 10 inches tall. By the second summer the top had healed and I had a nice looking flat top with twisted branches that I wanted with a nice smooth believable transition from trunk to apex. It was pretty all summer gaining some girth and looking pretty. The second winter it froze on my bench and never recovered, they are not as cold hardy when in a pot. They grow like a weed though, love water and can take growing in a puddle. I mixed spaghnum moss in with my mix of thirds of lava chips, composted pine bark and potting soil, as you can guess it was practically standing in water and never was allowed to dry out and it thrived. My original trunk chop was done below any buds or branches on bare trunk mid winter and by spring I was rubbing off buds as they sprouted to its base.

ed
 
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