Hey
Hey John! I was actually going to PM you, but decided that I might as well ask my question here. You obviously know my end goal with this one, so I'm wondering what if anything should be done to this one now verses later this year. It's been wired and de-wired twice in the last year, the main branches are basically set excluding one way down on the trunk that needs a lot of growing on. The goal as I see it is now is to start developing the secondary and tertiary branching, but I'm not sure if I should be pinching back the strong growth high on the trunk verses defoliating verses both at different times this summer. What would you do if this one was sitting in your yard? Thanks.
Hey Dave...sorry it has taken me a while to respond to this question. There seems to have been several folks with similar questions recently.
Once the main branches are in place and you are ready to start working on ramification...secondary and tertiary branching, I think pruning becomes more important than wiring. I let my branches grow out until they have hardened off...sometimes that is 1' or more and sometimes less as you get more and more branches...just inspect the branch to be cut...if it is still soft, give it more time, if it has firmed up, then it is ok to prune. Then I cut each branch back to the point at which I would like see further ramification...if its a secondary branch maybe I leave it 2" long. In a few weeks you will typically have 2-4 new buds extending out from the remaining 2" of the pruned branch...lets call these tertiary branch (3rd order)...once these have hardened off, I then prune all the branches again(should be 2-4x as many branches to prune this time)...this time a little shorter 1-1.5"...repeat again for the 4th order branching...prune even closer this time .5-1".
This process will build many many branches from which to choose from for the next wiring....typically in the late winter now because I just spent the entire growing season building ramification. My first task will be to prune all the ugly and/or unnecessary branches...I always develop trees with more branches than needed in the final design. Then I will look at each branch individually...pruning for ramification(only 2 branches leaving from any one location) and taper(prune out the heaviest parts of the branch in favor of the smaller/thinner branches) Once this pruning is done I wire everything trying to give it good 3D shape (every branch has some movement in all directions...up down right and left).
Rinse and repeat the next growing season if you still need more ramification.
The only time I pinch foliage is when I am happy with the ramification and I don't want the branches to extend...I typically think of this as a Show year. You pinch the tip out of all the new leaves and shoots in spring and early summer. I will also do this sometimes if I want the wire to stay on longer...no branches extending = no wire cutting in...more time for the branches to set.
I hope that makes sense Dave...I know you know all of this but perhaps this explanation will be helpful to others also!
I decided to refine the carving of the chop site today. In the first picture, you can see the old chop scar. There's a hole there I just made with a 3/4 inch spade bit to do a bit of hollowing.
Here is the revised carving. I used my die grinder with a wheel bit to remove the bulk of the wood, then followed up with a ball bit on an extended shank to get inside the trunk. Not shown is the cut paste applied to the edges. I expect it to be falling away within four weeks as the new callus forms.
The canopy is just a mop of foliage right now but there's a lot of new ramification developing in that mess. It'll get sorted out and wired this fall
