Leo in N E Illinois
The Professor
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Congrats, you "ate your bonsai". Too bad it was less than delightful. Oh well.
Natal Plum plums
- Thread starter Carol 83
- Start date
pweifan
Shohin
It's doing fine. I did a bit of an emergency repot a couple weeks ago, the soil it came in just wasn't draining and it was staying too wet. Seems fine now. After the first fruit ripened, I cut the rest off to let it put more energy toward making foliage. It bloomed a short time after. It's growing a bit, but you're right, they do so much better when outside. Hurry up spring!
vp999
Omono
I was in San Diego last year and natal plums were used everywhere as shopping center parking lot landscape, big fruits too. Didn't know what they were until recently.
Forsoothe!
Imperial Masterpiece
Yes, I take it down to two leaves and defoliate, once a year, or every other year. That's about a million leaves and you need to be careful to not damage the bud in the axil, so it's slow. Alternately, I just take it down to two leaves. I work on it in autumn or winter in a cool greenhouse when I don't care what it looks like. It sort of has continuous growth so when there is not a million buds that need to be simultaneously expanded the leaves are bigger, (you can see this in the photo) so continuous tipping is part of the game. I've had it 15+ years and never a flower, but Keeping it tight enough to have layers and definition is the price I pay. I think. I don't have spines either and I think there is a correlation between cultivars that are more fruitful and spines and size. Mine is probably a dwarf, too. I had one as a houseplant a hundred years ago before I knew enough about houseplants to keep it looking nice enough for my wife not to complain. It had flowers and fruit followed around Christmas. And big spines.
This pot is about 8 or 9 inches tall.
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Mayank
Chumono
Forsoothe, that's lovely. I've never defoliated mine. Should I do that this year? When? What do you mean take it to two leaves? Every shoot gets cut back to two base leaves? These pics are from last week.
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Forsoothe!
Imperial Masterpiece
I find it is very hard to obtain ramification. It wants to just continue tip extension. I manage just by being persistent.
You have allowed nearly normal growth where the leaves fill in the space between the internodes and new pairs of leaves are added to the tip. You have many years piled on with very little bifurcation, just like me, so you have long stems packed with leaves. I have much shorter stems with just 3 or 4 sets of leaves, max. You have too many to count on one stem.
Naturally, fewer and/or smaller leaves will mean slower growth. Choose your poison.
You have allowed nearly normal growth where the leaves fill in the space between the internodes and new pairs of leaves are added to the tip. You have many years piled on with very little bifurcation, just like me, so you have long stems packed with leaves. I have much shorter stems with just 3 or 4 sets of leaves, max. You have too many to count on one stem.
Naturally, fewer and/or smaller leaves will mean slower growth. Choose your poison.
Mayank
Chumono
So when is a good time to defoliate? Once I do that I can take a pic and then maybe u can guide as to how to prune for max ramification. This is what it looked like in 2016.
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Forsoothe!
Imperial Masterpiece
It looks very healthy, so you can defoliate now. If you need to leave the base of the leaf to protect the bud in the axil, that's fine. The expanding buds will push the old leaf out of the way and you can go back later and clean it up at your leisure. It also looks like you have plenty of twigs that can be wired into fans, if that's what you want. I would invite @vancehanna to participate in this confab, too, because I have seen the mother of yours and it's one of the best. My trees are generally of a more pedestrian design than his, so he might be able to coach you to a more adventurous styling.
Mayank
Chumono
Yes the mother is beautiful! I think I've posted pics earlier in this thread.
Mayank
Chumono
Ok so I've defoliated her (name's Karessa if anyone cares) and took some pics. Feel free @Forsoothe! To make red slashes all over them. After repotting three tropicals and now this I'm running out of things to do while it's Michigan warm outside.
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Mayank
Chumono
Forsoothe!
Imperial Masterpiece
Ok! I like it all. Keep in mind that all growth will be either linear from the ends of the twigs, or kind of closely angled sideways from those twigs and not the way Acer palmatum would angle out at ~60° and point straight up to the sun. The twigs eventually turn up, but they take several generations of leave, and in a broad arc, and so they don't really spread wide to fill in space. So, wire them as companions where you want pads keeping that in mind. Other than that, every pair at the tip needs to cut off, unless you want that twig to extend, or only the tip will grow and all the secondaries will just park. You really have the makings of a fine tree. Good show! Meijer bailed out today for this year's show. Boo, Hiss 
Mayank
Chumono
I know, I was really upset. I even signed up for the BYOT with Mauro S. Also, this year I was planning to enter a couple of trees for the first time. Oh well, I hope the four seasons show doesn't get cancelled. BTW, could you do one of your yellow/red line type images to illustrate what you said in the previous post? I think I get it but I am a very visual learnerMeijer bailed out today for this year's show. Boo, Hiss
Also, I'm assuming that at every cut it will have two new shoots emerging?
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Forsoothe!
Imperial Masterpiece
The tips look freshly cut. Did you already prune the last pair of leaves on each stem? It's not possible at this time to guess if Mauro will skip his trip or not, but if he does past through this region he will probably do something at the Flower Market. Talk to Kurt and ask him about the possibilities.I know, I was really upset. I even signed up for the BYOT with Mauro S. Also, this year I was planning to enter a couple of trees for the first time. Oh well, I hope the four seasons show doesn't get cancelled. BTW, could you do one of your yellow/red line type images to illustrate what you said in the previous post? I think I get it but I am a very visual learner
Also, I'm assuming that at every cut it will have two new shoots emerging?
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Forsoothe!
Imperial Masterpiece
No worries at all. Do you think it's beneficial to defoliate them?
Mayank
Chumono
I will be finding that out soon
Mayank
Chumono
Thank you so much for taking the time!
Forsoothe!
Imperial Masterpiece
It's not intended to be beneficial, it's intended to force the tree to use all the resources it has in an emergency replacement of the canopy. Since doing that, using all of its stored resources, is not required when merely replacing a portion of an existing canopy that has reduced usefulness because that portion is old and/or interior leaves that are not as efficient because they are old, or because they are now partially shaded by newer leaves, it can only inflate the new, emergency canopy to a smaller size. This is exhausting to the tree and will reduce the amount the tree will grow until such time as it has restored the used up resources, probably at least one year.
If you want the tree to grow at maximum you don't trim it at all. There is a price to pay for every outcome. You buy smaller leaves in return for expending vitality. You pays your money and you takes your chances. You don't always get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get.
If you want the tree to grow at maximum you don't trim it at all. There is a price to pay for every outcome. You buy smaller leaves in return for expending vitality. You pays your money and you takes your chances. You don't always get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get.
