Styrax japonicus....advice needed ASAP.

[Bavarian Raven]

Wasn't sure where to post this question. While not strictly a bonsai question per say, I need some advice asap.

I pruned a Japanese Snowbell a little over a month ago and it's still bleeding. From every single cut. Large cuts. Tiny cuts thinner than a pencil. Nothing is healing. There are large amounts of gelatine - like substance (sap) building up and flowing down from the wounds, and there is a constant "drip" of "water" from the wounds. I've pruned thousands (tens of thousands probably) of trees before in my career and never had this happen.

My personal theory is that there could be a fungal infection or the like causing this, but I am at a loss and about to start googling to see what I can find.

Any feedback / advice would be welcome. Thanks. Cheers.

 

[Victorim]

Noob and know nothing about snow bells.. but have you tried sealing? Even if it's just vasaline..

You may have found 'the' wrong time to prune it

 

[Bavarian Raven]

Noob and know nothing about snow bells.. but have you tried sealing? Even if it's just vasaline..

No - sealing isn't really healthy for trees (traps pathogens and moisture in, and slows healing), and I would have to clean hundreds of cuts... it is a very large tree. :/

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

No - sealing isn't really healthy for trees (traps pathogens and moisture in, and slows healing), and I would have to clean hundreds of cuts... it is a very large tree. :/

That's an age-old controversy. You posted this thread specifically for help, so why dismiss this advice out of hand? I'm not sure there is another route. It's not like you can apply a tourniquet, and trees don't actually bleed, so you won't see it "bleed out". You may just have to patiently wait for it to callus over when it starts growing. If you have the old Bonsai Today magazines, here is a list of articles about Styrax:


Best of luck.

 

[Victorim]

Pop it out of the pot and clip some roots.. minor shock might make it pause/slow.. purely guessing now mind..

 

[Dav4]

Pop it out of the pot and clip some roots.. minor shock might make it pause/slow.. purely guessing now mind..

I was just going to ask if this was a potted tree or out in the ground. I've pruned heavy branches off of styrax bonsai and sealed with duct seal with good results. With that said, is this tree otherwise healthy? What does the foliage look like? I've had maples bleed heavily after heavy springtime cuts for several weeks and the trees were fine. If the tree had a fungus, I'd expect more symptoms other then just the bleeding, like poor growth or less watery and more jelly like discharge from the cuts along with discoloration of the bark surrounding the wounds.

 

[Bavarian Raven]

Sorry - didn't mean to come across like that! It's just that this tree is a might big to be sealing (30ish feet tall). I've been pruning it at a client's for a decade. Always same time of year, and never had this happen before. Every single wound is bleeding (and has been for a month or so apparently). There is a build up of sap like gelatine around the cut wounds but its soft and mushy. The foliage itself looks healthy but the tree is clearly stressed from loosing so much water (thankfully its been a wet spring or else it would have died). :S

I've pruned thousands of trees before and never had this happen to me...

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Harvest that gummy resin, it is "styrax" in olden times that gum was sought for perfumes, incense and as a medicinal. Your local New Age herbalist may offer good money for it. (Personally I usually pronounce New Age to rhyme with Sewage, which also is my opinion of it, but their money spends the same)

If you have had a long cool spring, that may be why it is bleeding so profusely. I would tell your customer not to worry, but maybe your Provincial Forestry service has an expert.

I honestly don't know if it is a problem or not.

 

[Saddler]

Could it have something to do with our brutal winter this year? All of my trees are 2-4 weeks late coming out of dormancy. The snowbells (15'-20') in my complex all get pruned late November and mid January. Each tree was pruned twice, but I think it is more for the owners sake of not freaking them out by cutting the trees back all at once. Or is it? Ill ask next time I see the guys working. I am curious about this now.

 

[Bean]

That's an age-old controversy. You posted this thread specifically for help, so why dismiss this advice out of hand? I'm not sure there is another route. It's not like you can apply a tourniquet, and trees don't actually bleed, so you won't see it "bleed out". You may just have to patiently wait for it to callus over when it starts growing. If you have the old Bonsai Today magazines, here is a list of articles about Styrax:

View attachment 144220
Best of luck.

Thank you Brian for posting these Bonsai Today issues.

 

[Jzack605]

Don’t seal, especially if this is a tree in your landscape.

that is odd. Could you provide some images? include images of leaves, wounds, overall and base of tree.

 

[Jzack605]

Oh wow this is quite old. Bleeding is common during spring time and sealing those wounds would be very detrimental to the health of the tree.