Bottle brush question

[Nemoose]

Picked this up on the $5 clearance rack. I love the trunk but not much nebari. I think I am going with oak style. Should I remove the low trunk or any of the low branches on that trunk? I pruned about 8 inches of the top and cleaned out some deadwood.

 

[Starfox]

I would prune out any branch that you don't want there, spend some time identifying what to lose first. It will probably back bud after chopping anyway.

I'd be more concerned about getting it in to some better soil first, nursery compost tends to lead to overwatering especially in rainy season.

Also not really sure what oak styling is and how you can keep a bottle brush in one, they have a naturally weeping form.

 

[JoeH]

agreed on the repot and you will probably find a better root structure further down. Most Nursery stock has been potted too deep sometimes

 

[Nemoose]

I was thinking something like this

 

[Craigm]

Start off by picking a "line" or "front" and go from there, be it Multi trunk or thinning down to less.I sorta like this type of line but you can follow your own desires.Also take off the really thick branches higher up because they will never look right.This is a quick virtual with the supplied pics ,have fun.. Repot early Spring.

 

[Nemoose]

Start off by picking a "line" or "front" and go from there, be it Multi trunk or thinning down to less.I sorta like this type of line but you can follow your own desires.Also take off the really thick branches higher up because they will never look right.This is a quick virtual with the supplied pics ,have fun.. Repot early Spring.View attachment 204072

I think this could be the front

 

[JoeH]

you really need to see if there is a trunk flair under there first before you pick a front. may be hidden character underground

 

[Nemoose]

Repotting will be my project for the day

 

[JoeH]

Repotting will be my project for the day

you should look into good repotting times for the specific tree.

 

[Starfox]

Now is as good a time as any. I would not hesitate.

 

[Nemoose]

How much can I cut the roots back
It looks prety root bound

 

[Starfox]

To be on the safe side about a third and any big ones you can get at. I would just try and wash as much of the old soil out as you can so you get better drainage with the new stuff. That is at least what I did with mine and it is doing alright now.

 

[Nemoose]

Ok. I might just put it back in the nursery pot and not try to get it into a bonsai pot until next repotting

 

[Nemoose]

It does have some root structure to work with. It is about 24 inches now. Should in chop it more, wire or just leave it for now?

 

[Starfox]

If you know what you want to chop and wire then you could do that now, or you can thin it out just a bit, maybe get rid of that low branch as a minimum.
You can do it over the next few days slowly if you like so you don't rush any decisions. If you leave it alone until next spring/summer you may even get another flush of flowers this year and then cut back after that.
They are fairly versatile.

 

[Nemoose]

I was thinking about some guy wires to pull the branches out and down rather than up. The local live oaks have a wide drooping shape. And many do have low branches almost on the ground so I may leave that one for now.

 

[Nemoose]

I was thinking about some guy wires to pull the branches out and down rather than up. The local live oaks have a wide drooping shape. And many do have low branches almost on the ground so I may leave that one for now.

 

[Nemoose]

If you know what you want to chop and wire then you could do that now, or you can thin it out just a bit, maybe get rid of that low branch as a minimum.
You can do it over the next few days slowly if you like so you don't rush any decisions. If you leave it alone until next spring/summer you may even get another flush of flowers this year and then cut back after that.
They are fairly versatile.

Final pruning and wired.

 

[Nemoose]

I was wondering. I have many cuttings from the bottle brush. Would it be possible to get them rooted and then possibly fused? I know they tend to be slow growing so I wasn't sure if this was a viable idea