The fastest way to develop deciduous bonsai: Walter Pall's hedge pruning method explained
- Thread starter Rafael Najmanovich
- Start date
Lazylightningny
Masterpiece
Educate me please
leatherback
The Treedeemer
Lazylightningny
Masterpiece
How is this hedge pruning? He's selectively pruning each branch.
leatherback
The Treedeemer
Comon. The info is out there. Walter has gone great lengths trying to explain the difference between "just constantly at random trimming back" and what he does - in winter clean out the canopy for the ideal shoots, and in summer just profile trim the trees.
Dzhokar
Mame
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
Walter has stated over and over that his method is for quick development the fine stuff Ryan and Bjorn describe is for maintaining near finished trees. I believe that the use of both is the wave of the future.
erich_raudebaugh
Shohin
This is a good point, and I've been attempting this on some of my maples. One thing that I don't think that many people are considering is that Walter Pall is creating naturalistic trees where serendipity counts for a lot. When twigs are all crammed in together they will go in unexpected directions, then back to the light. It's really hard to replicate this randomness by carefully selecting each bud shoot or twig one at a time while the tree is growing. It's possible though, I've seen Dennis Votilla do it, but he's been doing bonsai longer than I've been alive.
I think people would do well to consider the end goal when deciding which methods to employ. I haven't seen Walter's trees in person, but they do appear to have fine twigs, short internodes, and everything that you look for in quality deciduous bonsai.
oh I’m bad, sorry in advance, i thought this was funny
love to all and especially to the trees!
Lazylightningny
Masterpiece
I'm not disparaging your method, but I am obviously not understanding it either. The term "hedge pruning" seems to indicate that you take shears and prune your tree as you would a hedge. That is, indiscriminate shearing of the outline of the silhouette. What I'm seeing in the video is selective pruning of one branch at a time. So what am I missing?
Walter Pall
Masterpiece
The video does not show what I do. It is not my video.
And this is problem. I’m sure Raffy had good intentions when he made the video. When I watched it, I could tell that he didn’t really understand the technique. The video should be titled something like, “My attempt to use the Walter Pall hedging technique”.
Lazylightningny
Masterpiece
He claims to have gotten your approval on this video. Is this not correct? If so, that's a big problem.
Walter Pall
Masterpiece
He got my approval.
LanceMac10
Imperial Masterpiece
I think I've got a good candidate to try this out....but I'll spare ya'll the video!! 
Well... I wouldn’t. Here’s why: it appears that the trunks are all about the same caliper. It would be better if some were thicker, and some thinner. Obviously, we can’t make them thinner, so that means that to make them different, you need to selectively let some grow more than others.I think I've got a good candidate to try this out....but I'll spare ya'll the video!!
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I would choose to let an apex sacrifice grow on one or two of the tallest trees to let them thicken up.
I’m doing exactly that to a couple of my forests.
Maybe careful hedging, and making sure not to cut the sacrifice! I don’t know...
I’m personally in the “non-hedging” school, more like Bjorn’s technique. But, if I were trying the hedging school, I think it would work better on a different bonsai.
Rafael Najmanovich
Mame
It doesn't matter how you cut it. It matters when you cut it and most importantly what you do in the fall. If you want to cut with a chainsaw, a hedge pruner or with a feather it is all the same. If you want cut carefully or carelessly, it is all the same. What is important is that you prune to the silhouette or perhaps a little less each time the tree has had enough time to return to an energy positive state and that is approximately twice in a growing season and then select branches in the fall. Whoever don't understand that don't understand the technique. I think I fully understand the technique. What I don't understand is why people keep coming back to make the same points they made before or others made. Is there anything new to say here or are we going to keep going in circles for ever?
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
Carelessly could get you a piece of bark that lifts up and tears back to the trunk.
It could have you pull your tree right off the stand and break a pot.
You can cut your damn self!
Never be careless.
Sorce
Rafael Najmanovich
Mame
sure but you understand what I meant, we're talking only with regards to new growth.
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
I'm not the only one here!
Don't you get more views every time these threads get bumped?
Sorce
