Cotoneaster Nursery Stock

[Jehb]

Hi all,

New to the forum, have been following the hobby for 3 years or so but only actively for maybe 6 months or so.

Bought this Cotoneaster today, have cut it back a bit to clear the view a tad (before pic attached). I am thinking cut the right branch off, dip it on rooting hormone and grow it as a separate tree.

Then wire the other side to make it more upright and let it grow out a bit and see where it goes.

Would love to know all your thoughts. Perhaps someone might be able to tell me why cutting that off might be a bad idea, potential if left etc

 

[Shibui]

What are your aspirations for this tree?
The low branches are currently thickening the trunk so it may be valuable to leave them there for a while if you want a bonsai with a thicker trunk, especially thicker down low.
I can't see any surface roots so cannot tell if the trunk we can see is the real trunk. Nursery stock is often just dumped into a pot then filled with mix. The real trunk may be much longer than we can see. Always look for the main rootage (not just the first one you come to) before making any decisions on shape for any bonsai. If it is left planted deep, new roots will grow just under the surface of the mix so you may be able to change the base of the tree. That low branch will grow new roots while it is still connected if some extra mix is added so you can get both thickening and a new tree.

What did you prune with? Looks like those shoots have been bitten or twisted off....... clean cuts are much better for tree health and to heal up fast.

 

[Jehb]

What are your aspirations for this tree?
The low branches are currently thickening the trunk so it may be valuable to leave them there for a while if you want a bonsai with a thicker trunk, especially thicker down low.
I can't see any surface roots so cannot tell if the trunk we can see is the real trunk. Nursery stock is often just dumped into a pot then filled with mix. The real trunk may be much longer than we can see. Always look for the main rootage (not just the first one you come to) before making any decisions on shape for any bonsai. If it is left planted deep, new roots will grow just under the surface of the mix so you may be able to change the base of the tree. That low branch will grow new roots while it is still connected if some extra mix is added so you can get both thickening and a new tree.

What did you prune with? Looks like those shoots have been bitten or twisted off....... clean cuts are much better for tree health and to heal up fast.

Thanks so much, great advice! I repotted a podocarpus a while back that had a similar trunk to this but after the repot much more trunk was exposed making it look much nicer so I totally get where you’re coming from - clearly I didn’t learn from that experience!

Yeah I know, they look dreadful. I’m at my girlfriends parents house and their secateurs are awful, anything more than the flowers they really struggled with. I’m going to go over and cut them with my own scissors when I get home - I’ve broken too many other people’s scissors hence I was using blunt secateurs instead of their decent scissors.