Should i cut the branches back?

[shane0]

I posted about these 2 coniferous? Trees last year because i was worried about the branches going brown. I followed the advice that was given involving the fertiliser and feed and have kept ontop of it throughout the year making sure the soil never dries out etc.

So now im wondering, should i cut the branch back or just remove the dead needles.

 

[Shibui]

There is no right or wrong in this. More about what you want and what you think looks good.
You should certainly remove the dead needles. Dead is dead. They won't suddenly turn green again so better off gone IMHO.
If the branch is still alive it may grow new foliage but if the branch is also dead then dead is dead so no point having it on the tree.
If only part of the branch is dead you could just remove the dead part and allow the live shoots to grow back out and replace the lost branch. That will take a few years rather than weeks so don't be in too much of a hurry.

Sometimes less is more in design so if you think the tree will look better without that branch you can cut it right off any time..

 

[rockm]

Cut off what you want to cut off to make the tree look like you want it to. A word of warning though, evergreens are very reluctant to produce new growth on bare wood. This looks like Leyland cypress. It is a hybrid of Monterrey Cypress and Nootkah Cypress. It's a very fast grower and used for quick growth for hedges, etc. They can take heavy pruning (might even require it to avoid overgrowth and shading of branches which can result in dead branching).

 

[Attmos]

I posted about these 2 coniferous? Trees last year because i was worried about the branches going brown. I followed the advice that was given involving the fertiliser and feed and have kept ontop of it throughout the year making sure the soil never dries out etc.

So now im wondering, should i cut the branch back or just remove the dead needles.

Is there any way to increase the trunk taper?

 

[Attmos]

There is no right or wrong in this. More about what you want and what you think looks good.
You should certainly remove the dead needles. Dead is dead. They won't suddenly turn green again so better off gone IMHO.
If the branch is still alive it may grow new foliage but if the branch is also dead then dead is dead so no point having it on the tree.
If only part of the branch is dead you could just remove the dead part and allow the live shoots to grow back out and replace the lost branch. That will take a few years rather than weeks so don't be in too much of a hurry.

Sometimes less is more in design so if you think the tree will look better without that branch you can cut it right off any time..

Maybe this is a moot point but, have you ever pursued a degree in biology or horticulture? I guess, for me, it's kind of "romantic" to envision that you learned all of this on your own, in one lifetime... but I know better.
I guess I'm asking if you learned horticulture through experience with a bonsai "master?".. or through formal school and your own experience...

There's just so damn much information to process, even just to keep a tree alive...

 

[Gabler]

Maybe this is a moot point but, have you ever pursued a degree in biology or horticulture? I guess, for me, it's kind of "romantic" to envision that you learned all of this on your own, in one lifetime... but I know better.
I guess I'm asking if you learned horticulture through experience with a bonsai "master?".. or through formal school and your own experience...

There's just so damn much information to process, even just to keep a tree alive...

Anyone can buy a botany textbook. You don't need a prescription from your professor in order for the bookstore to sell it to you.

 

[Shibui]

I guess I'm asking if you learned horticulture through experience with a bonsai "master?".. or through formal school and your own experience...

No hort or botany degrees but I have occasionally been asked to teach horticulture because some of my peers recognise knowledge is valuable no matter where it was acquired.

Most of my knowledge has been gained at the School of Hard Knocks. Not sure whether you have that in the US but quite common to learn that way down here.
Put simply, I am not afraid of trying different approaches and techniques I hear or read of.
I'm fortunate to have enough space and time to have multiple individual plants at any time which means it's quicker to sort fact from fiction.
I've also been doing this for a very long time.

 

[Attmos]

Anyone can buy a botany textbook. You don't need a prescription from your professor in order for the bookstore to sell it to you.

Very true. lol

 

[Attmos]

No hort or botany degrees but I have occasionally been asked to teach horticulture because some of my peers recognise knowledge is valuable no matter where it was acquired.

Most of my knowledge has been gained at the School of Hard Knocks. Not sure whether you have that in the US but quite common to learn that way down here.
Put simply, I am not afraid of trying different approaches and techniques I hear or read of.
I'm fortunate to have enough space and time to have multiple individual plants at any time which means it's quicker to sort fact from fiction.
I've also been doing this for a very long time.

Cool.

 

[penumbra]

Very true. lol

Read a lot, old books and new. Much changes over the years and the baby is often thrown out with the bathwater. And though it seems contrary, don't believe everything that you read. The artistic part of bonsai is subjective, like all art and often it requires breaking rules for your own personal gain, while sometimes it requires following the garnered rules. Much of bonsai is science. Science is not truth but the search for truth, so that too is amendable.
For the plant material you have chosen, I think your plants look pretty good. Do clean out all of the dead foliage.

 

[Attmos]

Read a lot, old books and new. Much changes over the years and the baby is often thrown out with the bathwater. And though it seems contrary, don't believe everything that you read. The artistic part of bonsai is subjective, like all art and often it requires breaking rules for your own personal gain, while sometimes it requires following the garnered rules. Much of bonsai is science. Science is not truth but the search for truth, so that too is amendable.
For the plant material you have chosen, I think your plants look pretty good. Do clean out all of the dead foliage.

I'll start looking at books. (and take care of the dead foliage)

 

[Attmos]

No hort or botany degrees but I have occasionally been asked to teach horticulture because some of my peers recognise knowledge is valuable no matter where it was acquired.

Most of my knowledge has been gained at the School of Hard Knocks. Not sure whether you have that in the US but quite common to learn that way down here.
Put simply, I am not afraid of trying different approaches and techniques I hear or read of.
I'm fortunate to have enough space and time to have multiple individual plants at any time which means it's quicker to sort fact from fiction.
I've also been doing this for a very long time.

...and YES, we definitely have the school of hard knocks here in the US.