defoliation help...

[esteve59]

Can anyone share their experience with defoliating....Is it better to put the tree in the shade or full sun afterwards.
also,are maples ,elms and beeches all treated the same ?
Thanks

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Great timing...Here are 2 blog posts by artists that are inspirational teachers and recently tackled the topic. You'll learn volumes on defoliating different types of trees:

Peter Tea, on apprenticeship in Japan: http://peterteabonsai.wordpress.com/
Bjorn Bjorholm, also working through an apprenticeship, but may not be back in Japan just yet: http://bjorvalabonsaistudio.com/


Also, I've been working on this zelkova, and touched on defoliation here:
http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?4671-The-5-Year-Zelkova-Challenge&highlight=defoliated

Later, I'll be doing a partial defoliation on my J. Maple and will share some details about that on a blog post. The article is here:
http://www.nebaribonsai.com/Nebari_Bonsai_112109/Projects_files/Evolution of Jap Maple.pdf

I return my zelkova to full sun, maple stays in mostly shade when it's hot here.

Happy reading!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

And... Don't defoliate beeches...

 

[Ang3lfir3]

I put my Amur maples (Acer ginnala ) back in full sun .... I do the same with my tridents... I have defoliated the amurs up to 2 times a year (that's 3 full growth cycles) and the tridents I usually leave at just once... (this year might be twice depending on the weather)

I don't defoliate hornbeams tho I know some other people do... I use pruning and leaf trimming (i reduce them to the desired size)


as Brian said.... don't defoliate beeches

 

[JudyB]

What is the reasoning behind defoliating or not on hornbeams? I have a laxiflora and a korean, and was thinking of defoliating this year...

 

[esteve59]

Great advice,just what I needed...!
Thank you...

 

[Ang3lfir3]

What is the reasoning behind defoliating or not on hornbeams? I have a laxiflora and a korean, and was thinking of defoliating this year...

for me personally its just because they are a little slower to respond ... so I prefer to leave them with a little fuel in the tank ... cutting extensions back to two leaves and cutting those leaves to be 1/2" long or so seems to provide a sturdy base for the creation of ramification ....

so in my case its a personal choice ...