Ever tried Snow Berry ?

redvw5

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I recently bought a Red Snowberry also know as Symphoricarpos Orbiculatus. Has anyone ever tried this type of bush. It looks like it could make a nice tree. The more mature branches seem very stiff but I think, I could wire branches when young for shape. What I dont know is if they bud back well.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts on this. I will try to post a picture of this tree for opinions.
 

redvw5

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I thought posting some pictures might help. If no one has ever tried this, how about this question?
Does this tree have potential? I appreciate any one thoughts on this species or this tree.
 

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rockm

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Funny you ask

I've got alot of this growing in a very old landscape. It's gone wild in the area. There literally thousands of these shrubs on that property. Funny thing is, they're all half the diameter of the one you've pictured, so I haven't bothered collecting one...:) You'll have to tell us how it works
 

ThirdCoastBorn

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Has anyone else tried working with this species in the 10 years since this thread? AKA Coralberry, just picked this one up from a nursery clearance. I was so enamored with the exposed roots and flaky bark that it HAD (accidentally grasped while repotting :-( that I missed the inverse taper! Was planning to grow out for a few more years, but curious if anyone knows how they backbud in response to pruning/chops.

Also, it appears the USDA zone for this species is only listed up to 7, yet a fellow customer remarked that it grows all over her nearby ranch which is 8B. How (by who) are the upper USDA zones typically determined? Besides the fact it's already an understory shrub and thus handles part shade well, would the implication be extreme shade during the heat of summer?
 

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TomB

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I've been experimenting with a small example of a related species, Symphoricarpos albus.
What I've learned:
Seems to adapt to a bonsai container well
I keep it in semi-shade
When pruning new shoots, wait until the stems lignifiy - nipping back the green growth results in dieback.
Pruned stems will die back to the previous node
Flowers and fruit develop mainly at the end of the current growth, meaning you will end up with long spindly branches if you want fruit.
gently wiring green growth seems to work OK.

DSC_0568.jpeg
 

ThirdCoastBorn

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Thank you so much, very helpful! I'm still very new to bonsai, so does "Pruned stems will die back to the previous node" mean that if I cut just above a certain node, it will in fact grow from the next one back/in? And if so, does this mean that chopping the trunk to deal with the whorl is out of the question, and that I'll need to hope for some bud-break lower down to grow out a sacrifice branch?
 

TomB

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Thank you so much, very helpful! I'm still very new to bonsai, so does "Pruned stems will die back to the previous node" mean that if I cut just above a certain node, it will in fact grow from the next one back/in? And if so, does this mean that chopping the trunk to deal with the whorl is out of the question, and that I'll need to hope for some bud-break lower down to grow out a sacrifice branch?

I mean you'll get budding at the outermost remaining node (like a maple), not at the cut (like an elm).
Chopping the trunk, I'm not sure about. While it's hard to say without the tree in front of me, I'd probably be tempted to reduce the whorl to 2 branches (1 to be the new leader, 1 to be the first branch).
 
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