Pre-Bonsai Trunk Thickening advice - Prune lower whips?

River's Edge

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Does the trunk chop need to stop at a lower branch? I've read online somewhere where people chop it down to the base and say to choose a new leader from subsequent sprouts.
The method is species and cultivar dependant. Not all maples will respond to this approach. some will. The safe practice is to do progressive cuts to a lower branch until one obtains a bud and develops a healthy shoot in the right direction/placement at the desired height for final chop.
 

Canada Bonsai

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perhaps you guys can help me analyze this tree, and their methods to creating it's taper

see attached

I'm amazed how they were able to get such an upright leader afterwards. From the photos uploaded, I would think the new leader would be growing out from the side

See post #13 in this very thread


I strongly suggest that you get the books by Peter Adams and Andrea Meriggioli on doing bonsai w/ maples to help you understand these core concepts.
 

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walee

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see attached
I think I see what you're saying now, the arrows are where the nodes/prunes would have been right? But what about the very lowest arrow from the left, would that have been the initial "hard prune" on the trunk? Then subsequent prunes with each arrow up?

I also actually purchased Peter Adam's 'Bonsai with Japanese Maples', it's a plethora of information and I should probably read it again. The first couple times you read it, there's so much information, that it seemingly flies right over your head. ✈️😵‍💫 Thank god for these forums though, it's very helpful to get a second explanation in more layman's terms from everyone on here. Things like the importance of cutting ABOVE the node, are very useful bits that I've taken to heart. I'm sure when I give it a second read now, I'll understand it much more (I'll also look into Andrea Meriggioli's book).

I also now realize why I thought you could just "chop" it as low as possible, and get multiple sprouts; img attached. 😅
 

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Brenda_SLC

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I have a very juvenile pre-bonsai which in the past year has shot out a couple whips at the base of the trunk. I'm wondering if I should prune off the lower whips. My thought process is that since they're so low, they will only suck energy and thickness away from the main leader. I am considering leaving the lowest whip though and keeping it for a twin trunk, though I think that may be pre-mature at this stage of it's growth. Any advice is appreciated.

Conversely I’m considering pruning them back to the first or second internode and experimenting with some ramification.

Feel free to also critique my plant too. My goal is to turn this into a 3-4 foot tall bonsai 5-10 years down the road.
I'm a newbie but just on esthetics I'd remove the lower growths.
 

walee

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I'm a newbie but just on esthetics I'd remove the lower growths.
Welcome young padowa. I as you, are also new to the art. From what I’ve gathered from everyone’s response, it does appear best to leave EVERYTHING especially the lower whips because those will be the focus of the future trunk “pruning” and taper. I plan to let the tree grow wild and leave everything as it is to give both more options and contribute to the overall thickness of the trunk base, which is what we care about most anyways.
 

Joe Dupre'

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Point: branches don't suck energy from the tree. Branches ( and therefore, foliage) GIVE energy to the tree. More green = more energy = more growth. If your goal is a 3-4" trunk, put it in the ground and maybe prune the roots back every couple of years. When the trunk is big enough, chop it , dig it and THEN start growing branches. It's faster in the long run. You can grow a big trunk in a pot with branches being refined along the way, but it will take a LONG time if you want a big trunk.
 
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