Crabapple Clump Project

[nickbachman]

I've had this Crabapple (don't know the variety, sorry) for a couple years now. Started as a little shrub of prebonsai material, which I selected for its trunk movement and nice lower branching (the radial rooted flaring base was a nice surprise). In my vision, this will be the center trunk of a larger clump. I took some cuttings from the crab last year and only one struck roots and still lives. I took more cuttings this spring and if all goes to plan, I'll be able to add 3-4 smaller trees around the base next year to fill the clump out a bit. I've also been training lower sucker- type growth into new trunklines. I accidentally let one get too big, but I've left it for now until a suitable replacement bud appears. As of now, I count two more low branch buds popping. Now, as with most my trees, I just need to fill in the space between the low branches and the apex. That's tough!

Trimmed, but pre-repot this year:

The base:

Repotted:

Back:

Big branch from back of trunk (whoops).. at least it fattened up the base!

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Nice start, you are on your way. That sucker you pointed out is serving you well in terms of thickening the trunk. Let it go wild another year, get that trunk thicker. Tree will look awkward, but the ''sacrifice branch'' will help thicken the trunk,

Wire bends, twists & curves in branches the first year, before they get woody. Usually middle or late summer is when you would do this, Autumn at the latest. Remove wire when you see it starting to cut in. Branches with long straight sections, can be chopped back to the last curvy part, and they will back bud.

Clump styles are difficult to execute, because they tend to look shrub like. In twin trunk styles the secondary trunk tends to be either 2/3rds or 1/3rd the height of the dominant tree, avoid 50% the height of the dominant trunk. I encourage you to ''go for it'' and continue in the clump style, but if in the future you get frustrated, you can always reduce it to a single trunk, the low branches of the clump style will have served to thicken your trunk.

 

[JudyB]

Good thought process, keep updating please.

 

[BJJ&Bonsai]

Any update on this? I'd love to see the progression!