The Big Belly Hornbeam

[leatherback]

Shit man. I think you need to invite me over to do a nursery run. I do not have nurseries in my area where they sell things other than beanpoles!

 

[BobbyLane]

well i did tell folks about these on another forum, nobody seemed interested or shared my enthusiasm.so i went back to the nursery and bought them all

 

[ConorDash]

well i did tell folks about these on another forum, nobody seemed interested or shared my enthusiasm.so i went back to the nursery and bought them all

awesome looking.. getting some real branching now, I love it.

I think I like the back more than the front but it’s purely my person preference.

Don’t tell me this is that nursery we talked about recently? (I know this wasn’t a recent purchase). It’s killing me that I can’t go down there.

 

[BobbyLane]

awesome looking.. getting some real branching now, I love it.

I think I like the back more than the front but it’s purely my person preference.

Don’t tell me this is that nursery we talked about recently? (I know this wasn’t a recent purchase). It’s killing me that I can’t go down there.

i always try to make a tree look decent from various angles, so when i rotate them i still enjoy them and done get bored.
you have a couple good ones i passed on to you from the same nursery, they will be good trees.
but yeh you need to get down there

 

[BobbyLane]

Springing to life again..

 

[Lazylightningny]

Bobby, that's a beauty.

 

[Arnold_K]

Simply Terrific ...

 

[BobbyLane]

Cheers guys!

There will be a break from the intense sun this week so ive decided now was a good time to cut this back, to let light and air into the interior again. i didnt cut back into old wood because im going for a slightly larger crown. on the bottom right branch i cut back where it breaks into two and then just trimmed the tree to a silhouette.
then cut all the leaves in half or quarters...

before pruning..

after


over the next few weeks this work will stimulate interior growth and a tighter flush of leaves.

 

[BobbyLane]

Enjoy...

 

[BobbyLane]

Just had a light prune

 

[Patience is an Art]

I’m new, and don’t feel worthy to ask questions yet, but could you explain the idea of cutting leaves in half? I’ve read about defoliating. Similar purpose or...? Thanks!

 

[BobbyLane]

I’m new, and don’t feel worthy to ask questions yet, but could you explain the idea of cutting leaves in half? I’ve read about defoliating. Similar purpose or...? Thanks!

i use partial defoliation or trim large leaves in half to allow light to penetrate the interior twigs/buds.

i feel its less stressful than full defoliation.

 

[BobbyLane]

Before n after winter clean up, there's a few bits of wire here n there mainly to bring everything up n out. a few long, straight branches removed and a few cut back for movement, direction and taper.
this tree wont need to be fully wired again..

 

[BobbyLane]

 

[BobbyLane]

Tree is becoming very dense rather quickly.
I guess at some point i should remove the remaining nursery soil and 'bareroot' the tree.

 

[AlainK]

Very nice

Very.

 

[MrWunderful]

Love the uro on this one so much

 

[BobbyLane]

and these cuts were made a while back now, can we see much 'die back' ...


in one photo there is a teeny weeny incy wincy thin line of dead bark, i know its dead as its turned a reddish brown.
around the big uro there are some dead ridges of bark that have remained the same colour as the live bark and we can see also callus is forming in places.
over time a scalpel can be used to scrape away these minute areas of dead bark to allow callus to take hold. no biggy

more

so here ive ive just scraped away a small piece of bark so we can see the extent of 'die back' thats occurred...


no sealant was used here. i mean its so minimal

 

[MrWunderful]

Why are you expecting die back?

 

[BobbyLane]

Nope, that type of thing doesnt bother me. ive merely demonstrated that this Hornbeam has been worked pretty hard at various stages of the season, in spring, in summer and throughout winter. Die back has been minimal.