Dwarf burning bush dig

[aml1014]

Today I went over to @abqjoe 's house to check out his new trees and get a dwarf burning bush out of the way of where his new greenhouse is going to be. All his new trees are pretty badass, they need a little work but don't they all?

It was a pretty easy collection as it was planted only between 8-10 years ago and it was in some rich Sandy soil so I only cut maybe 3 large roots.

I got home and recuduced the trees foliage to the first branches on each low branch and trunk. It had tons of feeders so I reduced the roots a little more and barerooted the outer third.

Well here it is
It's 11 inches to the highest chop and has a 3.5" fused base
And there's a little hollow under the far left tree
Overall an interesting little tree.

Obviously this is not the ideal time to be digging up deciduous plants but like I said he had to make space for his greenhouse, so why not give the little guy a shot at continuing life, as a bonsai.

Let me know what you think!

Aaron

 

[Wilson]

Looks like it will be a fun project, it's definitely a good price!

 

[Soldano666]

Looks great. Only disadvantage to them is the single flush of growth per season. Makes progress a little slow. Aside from that I've been having some fun with a couple. Good luck with it

 

[aml1014]

Looks great. Only disadvantage to them is the single flush of growth per season. Makes progress a little slow. Aside from that I've been having some fun with a couple. Good luck with it

Are they tough in your experience?

Aaron

 

[Soldano666]

Are they tough in your experience?

Aaron

I wouldn't say tough, however the branches lignify quite quick so wire while shoots are still supple, the back bud profusely, however they only have one flush of leaves a year, so save cutting back til late winter or the tree won't replace leaves while in active growth. And they're hard as ef to kill. I had bought some nursery material a few years back that I completely neglected and it still wouldn't die. I since moved on to the larger landscape stuff that had bigger trunks and had some better luck as far as styling and having something bigger and looked older

 

[aml1014]

I wouldn't say tough, however the branches lignify quite quick so wire while shoots are still supple, the back bud profusely, however they only have one flush of leaves a year, so save cutting back til late winter or the tree won't replace leaves while in active growth. And they're hard as ef to kill. I had bought some nursery material a few years back that I completely neglected and it still wouldn't die. I since moved on to the larger landscape stuff that had bigger trunks and had some better luck as far as styling and having something bigger and looked older

I'm familiar with their one flush, BUT, at the nursery I've pruned some after their foliage hardened, and they did flush again but not from the same areas, oy new buds that did not grow in spring.

I'm glad to here their hard to kill. That gives me more hope for this guy. I'm not to worried, I got a ton of feeders and there's not much foliage left.
I guess I just play the waiting game and see if it wakes up next spring.

Aaron

 

[Soldano666]

And you've left enough green I'd bet your good to go. Odd I've never seen a second flush, I have seen new shoots emerge late in the season but in my case it was not due to pruning. Oh and I have noticed some leaf reduction due to many buds left coming out of dormacy. Seems if its cut back hard with less buds in the spring the leaves get quite large, but having some left to recovery and not Pruned the leaves reduced quite a bit. Kind of a conundrum it's hard not to cut back to keep shape, at the same time more active buds the leaf size seems to reduce. Good luck with this guy seems it's got a good start. they're kind of fun but slow going because you can't prune and shape throughout the season

 

[Giga]

Interesting,ive had a couple of these in the past but I got rid of them because they break ez, don't always behave the way you hope, shorter lifespan and slow in development. Normally I like odd ball trees and welcome the challenge but it's one tree I tend to avoid. If I saw a free large one I would grab it but I won't spend bonsai money on them. Good luck as they can be made decent bonsai.

 

[aml1014]

decent bonsai.

Even if it comes out subpar, you gotta love the fall colors! Thanks for the advice guys!

Aaron

 

[jeanluc83]

Looks great. Only disadvantage to them is the single flush of growth per season. Makes progress a little slow. Aside from that I've been having some fun with a couple. Good luck with it

The trick is to work with the tree. You only get one flush a year but each bud becomes a shoot. Branching needs to be built one year at time. Once you have a plan going forward they can progress fairly quickly.

I collected a large burning bush a couple of years ago. I'll see if I can get an updated picture later today.

http://www.bonsainut.com/threads/euonymus-alatus-burning-bush-spindle-tree.14592/page-2

 

[aml1014]

The trick is to work with the tree. You only get one flush a year but each bud becomes a shoot. Branching needs to be built one year at time. Once you have a plan going forward they can progress fairly quickly.

I collected a large burning bush a couple of years ago. I'll see if I can get an updated picture later today.

http://www.bonsainut.com/threads/euonymus-alatus-burning-bush-spindle-tree.14592/page-2

I remembered your thread when I went to dig this. I figured it lived for you maybe it will for me to lol any special advice on these?

Aaron

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I remembered your thread when I went to dig this. I figured it lived for you maybe it will for me to lol any special advice on these?

Aaron

They never close wounds, never trunk up in pots, and never have many problems.
Wire the green branches, get exaggerated movement, but don't knock off the buds. They won't get woody until year 2-3.
Mine had great fall colors and berries. I probably should have kept it; wonder what it would look like now, 15 years later.

 

[coh]

Oh man, Brian - that looks like a fabulous trunk! Do you know where it wound up? It would be really interesting to see what it looks like today. I'd love to find one with that kind of trunk.

I have one that I've got in a pot. My experience so far - primarily single flush (*see below). Branches are somewhat resistant to wiring, i.e. they have a tendency to return to their previous position...so as Brian suggests, over-bending is a good approach. Fall color is reliable and spectacular and there is usually at least some fruit which hangs on after leaves drop, making a nice display. Root systems are very vigorous. Wounds heal slooooowwwwly.

(*) I've seen plants in the ground respond with a second growth flush after either very heavy pruning, or defoliation by caterpillars. Have not yet seen my potted specimen throw secondary growth in response to summer pruning, but I usually only remove a little growth.

 

[aml1014]

This thing never even skipped a beat. There's new growth popping in random spots.
Aaron