Spring update of my growing collection. So much to learn!

[atlarsenal]

Its essentially the same argument as why MANY bonsai professionals do not pinch the new shoots on their maples.

I am not trying to start an argument but you are completely wrong with statement. Many professionals DO pinch new shoots on maples. I think you are Mirai member as am I. You can watch the stream with Peter Warren and he recommends constantly pinching well ramified maples. Rodney Clemons is the curator of the bonsai garden at Smith Gilbert Gardens where I attend a study group each month and he recommends pinching maples. These are highly ramified trees and we pinch them as soon as you see them coming out past the first node. Now if you are still building a branch and want it gain girth, of course you don’t pinch it.

 

[just.wing.it]

I am not trying to start an argument but you are completely wrong with statement. Many professionals DO pinch new shoots on maples. I think you are Mirai member as am I. You can watch the stream with Peter Warren and he recommends constantly pinching well ramified maples. Rodney Clemons is the curator of the bonsai garden at Smith Gilbert Gardens where I attend a study group each month and he recommends pinching maples. These are highly ramified trees and we pinch them as soon as you see them coming out past the first node. Now if you are still building a branch and want it gain girth, of course you don’t pinch it.

Im referring to developmental stages of growth....building a tree from scratch as Al says.
You are correct, with refinement stage, they do things like that to deliberately weaken the tree and stop the growth.
So it actually is the point I am making.
Gracias, as we say in Takoma Park.

Similarly to refined pines, some withhold fertilizer to slow it down and such.

 

[Smoke]

Im referring to developmental stages of growth....building a tree from scratch as Al says.
You are correct, with refinement stage, they do things like that to deliberately weaken the tree and stop the growth.
So it actually is the point I am making.
Gracias, as we say in Takoma Park.

Similarly to refined pines, some withhold fertilizer to slow it down and such.

Let me clarify some things here. Once again people are reading , taking from that what they want and then parroting it back totally wrong. At no time have I ever said that the way to build a branch from scratch was to keep cutting it back to a pair of leaves. In every photo I have ever shown of hedging a maple it has been a tree with a full canopy on it with all the branches built already. I have always talked about what I do as a timing issue to ramify a tree , gain smaller leaves and shorten internodes. That is ALL, period. I talk about getting more flushes of buds during the growing season by pruning early and not waiting for cuticles and hardening off. That is all.

Whatever you guys want to gob onto my words is just not true.

How about in the future I talk about what I do, period. If you wish to try it great. If you don't wish to do it, thats fine too. While I may talk about the Mirai video, I have never told anyone to not follow it or try it. Makes me no nevermind. I just want people to have options and ways to improve their trees.There are lots of bonsai masters in the world and if they all did the same thing there would be no need for so many. They all do things just a little bit different and have different ideas about how to make a tree.

For the record. Nothing I do to a tree is going to kill it. Cutting foliage back to first nodes in Spring will only make the tree stronger with increased foliage and more roots. If you tree died you probably did something to it wrong, or it was going to die anyway. I have never killed a tree by pruning it and I don't think you would either.