Dr Shigo

[Eric Group]

Those who do not know much about this man could learn a lot from reading this info! A lot about TREES that is... I know some will take one look at the basics of this info, the LENGTH of it... And decide not to read it "because I am interested in Bonsai not Arboriculture"- HUGE mistake. If you don't understand a tree's biology you are just firing shots I the dark as you try to care for them.

I hope most here are familiar with these writings and if not, please take some time to read up!

http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/shigo/

There were books written by Dr. shigo that I am sure go into greater depth, but there is a wealth of info out there about him and his ideas... Worth a little research time and certainly worth the time to read the info in the link. Yes, this is about full sized trees, but a tree's biology and basic functions do not change much just because we out them in a pot. We just have to give them a little more care than trees in the ground...

 

[Alain BERTRAND]

Size of scars much varies from trees to bonsai.
Because of Shigo's work I had stopped using sealant on my bonsai but then I felt that "healing" is much faster when using sealant so I am using it again.

 

[Eric Group]

Size of scars much varies from trees to bonsai.
Because of Shigo's work I had stopped using sealant on my bonsai but then I felt that "healing" is much faster when using sealant so I am using it again.

I think it depends on what kind of sealant you are using and why you are using it. Some have hormones in them to promote quicker healing I believe. Some are certainly better than others, and most cuts we make are so small it probably doesn't really matter if we seal it or not. I am more interested in it to learn a bunch about tree biology and how to prune in ways that are most beneficial to the tree... That sort of stuff.