Squamata Flat Ramified Pads

[one_bonsai]

How does one flatten, shorten and ramify Squamata pads? For example below you can see I have long secondary branches near the trunk;




In the past I've removed upward and downward growing growth and then shortened the horizontal secondary branches. I've had with some success, but I find that when you shorten the secondary branches, sometimes you get ramification, but sometimes the ends brown off and you get no ramification as the below photo illustrates;

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I'm still trying to figure it out too.
I see secondary branching starting to form; the buds of the browned shoots. I have this too on my needled junipers. I figured to let them grow next year and cut back to those buds when they've become shoots. That way at least I'll have primary branches with secondary and maybe tertiary branching. My needled junipers tend to make more buds when they are allowed to elongate, so I think this would be a good clip-and-grow approach. Let them grow, cut them back, let them grow again.
But again, I'm still trying to figure it out. I could actually use some veteran advice on this too.

 

[leatherback]

You can cut the green foliage back to a few (2-8?) needles in early spring, assuming the tree is strong. THat will give you at least 2 new branches, often more. I do not prune inner branches that have hardly grown the year before; I let those grow longer. In summer I do a general trim & thinning round again of the runners.

2018 - Jun 28


2018 July 2nd


2019 March 20:


2019 March 31

 

[one_bonsai]

You can cut the green foliage back to a few (2-8?) needles...

Sorry I don't get what you mean by this.

 

[just.wing.it]

Sorry I don't get what you mean by this.

Meaning, ne sure to leave some foliage. Never cut all the foliage off, or that branch will die....
And only cut back if the tree is strong.

 

[sorce]

I'm still rounding this bend too.

For me this branch will and wants to hold 6 runner growing branches. The red.


The idea is to make the cut all the way back to the previous 6 buds, when they are still being allowed the option by the tree. Like, as soon as they exist with tips in the form of the outside 6.

Problem I've had, is not enough overall health yet, coming off a Repot, to be able to make such a drastic cut so fast.

Then, as in this pic, the tree abandons them, to keep light in it's interior just as we want to do for health. Just backwards! It wants to reach out to new lightspace, we want to design it on the same lightspace.

I would cut this tree back to the last running healthy 2 branches, in hopes to reinvigorate the first 2, knowing I am operating in a zone I shouldn't be in, so I'll do it right the next time.

Sorce

 

[one_bonsai]

I'm still rounding this bend too.

For me this branch will and wants to hold 6 runner growing branches. The red.

The idea is to make the cut all the way back to the previous 6 buds, when they are still being allowed the option by the tree. Like, as soon as they exist with tips in the form of the outside 6.

Problem I've had, is not enough overall health yet, coming off a Repot, to be able to make such a drastic cut so fast.

Then, as in this pic, the tree abandons them, to keep light in it's interior just as we want to do for health. Just backwards! It wants to reach out to new lightspace, we want to design it on the same lightspace.

I would cut this tree back to the last running healthy 2 branches, in hopes to reinvigorate the first 2, knowing I am operating in a zone I shouldn't be in, so I'll do it right the next time.

I don't understand any of this

 

[one_bonsai]

So leave two healthy secondary branches on the end?

 

[just.wing.it]

I don't understand any of this

We NEED a high level Sorce translator over here! STAT!

 

[sorce]

I don't understand any of this

There was a time when those branches were healthy, we have to cut back to them then.

Sorce

 

[sorce]

So leave two healthy secondary branches on the end?

This?

would cut this tree back to the last running healthy 2 branches, in hopes to reinvigorate the first 2, knowing I am operating in a zone I shouldn't be in, so I'll do it right the next time.

Sorce

 

[one_bonsai]

This?

What does this mean?

 

[sorce]

What does this mean?

We're operating begind the 8ball.

So cut back to those 2 first healthy ones so the whole branch doesn't die, to try and renivigoarate those first 2 branches.

I'm afraid tho...at this point, a crotch branch at the trunk may be the best replacement.
As far as time goes. Restarting a crotch branch can be faster.

Sorce

 

[one_bonsai]

So remove the healthy ones in red and leave two healthy branches at the tip?

 

[sorce]

So remove the healthy ones in red and leave two healthy branches at the tip?

View attachment 275057

Sure. At least that way you have taken it back as far as possible, keeping your silhouette as tight as possible.
With any luck, those first couple may come back to health.

It depends on how much growth you get of course, but there is only so many flushes you can mismanage before there is too much bare branch to "foreshorten".

You haven't passed that threshold IMO.
Of course this is of personal preference, hell, even display angle comes into play, since, from one angle you may be able to hide 4 years of mismanaged growth, where it may damn you from another angle.

Sorce

 

[one_bonsai]

...there is only so many flushes you can mismanage before there is too much bare branch to "foreshorten".

So in terms of the branch below, how should I prune it?

 

[sorce]

So in terms of the branch below, how should I prune it?

View attachment 275078

This is the very crossroads I'm toeing. Ideally you want it back to the yeller.


But I only have confidence in that red one making it. It's the only one seems strong enough.

I think those closer branches also had a better day to have been cut all the way back to.

Health must be grand.

Sorce

 

[one_bonsai]

I think those closer branches also had a better day to have been cut all the way back to.

I see. Thankyou. Sorry to be a pain. I appreciate your patience.

 

[sorce]

I see. Thankyou. Sorry to be a pain. I appreciate your patience.

No need to be sorry.

In fact, I'm sorry for being short, and blah uninformative, I am being impatient with myself due to other useless BS around here.

I wish another opinion would come in.

Then again, I believe this is the part where generic directions don't always apply die to lack of info, previous health etc, and the whole hort side...as well as all the personal decisions behind your design, and what actually IS an appropriate amount of branch to have before foilage.

A foliage pad that needs to drop 2inches might NeED extra bare branch to get there!

At that point, we need to see the whole tree.
Or we can just speculate intelligently.

That's where great ideas come from.

I'm in!

Sorce

 

[one_bonsai]

Can Squamatas be pruned like this:



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