First Hornbeam - slip potting, general care and back budding

[hidefrom_sun]

I almost killed my jap maples with them being my first trees - learned my lesson and they're growing again so I'm leaving them to develop well over summer and build a good root system and they'll be well protected over winter in a tall cold frame over winter so I'm hoping they'll make it through.

I was at a nursery browsing today and I found a couple of trees at a steal. One is Hornbeam with an amazing trunk. Around 2" diameter. Lots of movement. Really healthy vigorous growth and it was £5... I couldn't believe the price. Good branching. Nice taper - decent flair at the base but it could definitely use some improvement. The upper canopy has some nice movement and branching for potential air layering in the future.

So first question. Can I encourage lower branching? It seems to have popped out a few new shoots this year. There's some decent lower branches but the growth is so strong at the top I can't see it favouring lower trunk development, growth is fairly uniform from top to bottom.

How apically dominant are hornbeams? Should I prune any of the top growth to encourage lower branching or just leave it in peace to grow out? Obviously I'd like to encourage a thicker trunk, alongside improving the roots is should have a nice base in a few years.

Should I prune anything at all night now? I'm in a 9a area in Yorkshire, UK.

It was pot bound - I haven't done a proper repot, I've just slip potted it into a larger nursery pot. Drilling holes in my jap maple containers seemed to help them reoover well. Will the Hornbeam benefit from the same treatment? I slip potted it with some of the nursery soil I cleared to expose the lower trunk, lots of grit, some fine fluffy pine bark and a load of perlite to aid with aeration.

This will be a multi year project. I'm finally learning a little bit of patience so beyond exposing the trunk I'm leaving it in peace for now without some experienced advice.

 

[RODERLO]

One is Hornbeam with an amazing trunk. Around 2" diameter. Lots of movement. Really healthy vigorous growth and it was £5... I couldn't believe the price.

Pictures or it didn’t happen.

Regarding slip potting; unless the tree is losing an alarming amount of vigour there is really no reason to do this and can often cause more harm than good. The new soil is often more permeable and will therefore create a water bypass, leaving the root core devoid of hydration.

The hornbeams pruning window was late may/early june. That’s the post hardening-off prune, allowing enough time for a new flush of growth before fall.
Right now is the onset of summer dormancy, and therefore unlikely a second flush of growth will happen.

Keep the foliage intact and let the tree use it to feed itself. In fall, just as the leaves are starting to drop, you can perform pruning.

 

[AshleyMammal]

Hornbeams are amazing, a definite favourite of mine. Get some pics up and we’ll have a look

 

[hidefrom_sun]

Pictures or it didn’t happen.

Regarding slip potting; unless the tree is losing an alarming amount of vigour there is really no reason to do this and can often cause more harm than good. The new soil is often more permeable and will therefore create a water bypass, leaving the root core devoid of hydration.

The hornbeams pruning window was late may/early june. That’s the post hardening-off prune, allowing enough time for a new flush of growth before fall.
Right now is the onset of summer dormancy, and therefore unlikely a second flush of growth will happen.

Keep the foliage intact and let the tree use it to feed itself. In fall, just as the leaves are starting to drop, you can perform pruning.

haha well maybe closer to 1.5". Still. Lovely curve in the trunk. I'm hoping it will make a good project. I'll wire out the lower branches to bring in a little more light in that case.

Those two chonky roots will need dealing with. I don't think they add to the tree but I'll leave that for another season or two - can I encourage some root growth without layering it/removing bark? It seems eager to root anywhere below the soil.

What do you think to encouraging some more lower branching or will that come naturally with good care? The interesting part and likely the front is a little bare right now but it sems to have put out plenty of new shoots from top to bottom this yeah..

 

[Jrmcmich]

Root base looks a mess but assume you could do a ground layer just above area. If price is good could be fun project and learn something in process.

 

[hidefrom_sun]

Root base looks a mess but assume you could do a ground layer just above area. If price is good could be fun project and learn something in process.

Price was great... it was £5! I couldn't believe it when I saw it.

Yeah the root base is awful. I'll chop those massive ugly roots when it get it's first proper repot. Hopefully they will heal over the years and they aren't at the front. Can I improve the roots at the base without removing bark/cambium as a proper air layer. It seems more than happy to send out roots anywhere subsurface.

 

[AshleyMammal]

Price seems reasonable at a fiver, it’s definitely worth having some fun pushing the tree (and yourself).

There looks (from 2D pics) to almost be some reverse taper just below those thick high roots. I’d do a ground/airlayer just above the thick roots. Decide how tall of a tree you’re going to want and concentrate on thickening the trunk to the required thickness first - this’ll probably take a few years. If it were my tree I’d be looking to eventually trunk chop right above that very first tiny branch to get some movement and taper low down (a ground/airlayer will also help reduce the straight section at the base by shortening the distance between chop and nebari) and I’d be aiming for a shohin.

I have a similar sized hornbeam that I’ve developed from a stump and now has three ‘new’ trunk sections in a few years. I find them personally the most fun deciduous species to work with.

 

[hidefrom_sun]

Price seems reasonable at a fiver, it’s definitely worth having some fun pushing the tree (and yourself).

There looks (from 2D pics) to almost be some reverse taper just below those thick high roots. I’d do a ground/airlayer just above the thick roots. Decide how tall of a tree you’re going to want and concentrate on thickening the trunk to the required thickness first - this’ll probably take a few years. If it were my tree I’d be looking to eventually trunk chop right above that very first tiny branch to get some movement and taper low down (a ground/airlayer will also help reduce the straight section at the base by shortening the distance between chop and nebari) and I’d be aiming for a shohin.

I have a similar sized hornbeam that I’ve developed from a stump and now has three ‘new’ trunk sections in a few years. I find them personally the most fun deciduous species to work with.

I'd like to keep the curve at the bottom. It's not quite inverse take but fairly uniform all of the way up - which is why I was asking if I could thin out the top growth during this growing season but it looks like I've missed my opportunity.

Let me know if this is a sensible plan - I've decided to just leave it to grow out this summer. Build a nice strong tree and rootg system. Fertilise and a little bit of pruning/wiring out simply to to allow more light to help growth below the canopy.

Next year thin out the top or take an air layer to make a small formal upright from the top - one more tree, another skill learned.

Heavy pruning up top after leaf drop in autumn so next spring so the tree puts energy into back budding and growth further down. Spend a couple of seasons improving the trunk with sacrifice branches. There are decent ones already in place but they might need pruning before they get too thick.

I don't wanna cause too much stress next year. Would heavy pruning this autumn then ground layering next year be too stressful for the tree? My plan is to eventually trunk cop it once I'm happy with it and it's a strong tree that will pump out loads of new growth. At least I have a few years to think about it.

 

[99 Mile Creek]

I don't wanna cause too much stress next year. Would heavy pruning this autumn then ground layering next year be too stressful for the tree? My plan is to eventually trunk cop it once I'm happy with it and it's a strong tree that will pump out loads of new growth. At least I have a few years to think about it.

I would think the more tree and leaves -- more energy -- (e.g., photosynthates, sugars) above an air/ground layering would mean a higher success. These techniques can fail.

If it were me, I would forgo any pruning at all, if you're set on air layering. Let it grow all it can and use all its stored resources for new root growth instead.

Edit: Hornbeams are among my favorite so far.

 

[AshleyMammal]

I'd like to keep the curve at the bottom. It's not quite inverse take but fairly uniform all of the way up - which is why I was asking if I could thin out the top growth during this growing season but it looks like I've missed my opportunity.

Let me know if this is a sensible plan - I've decided to just leave it to grow out this summer. Build a nice strong tree and rootg system. Fertilise and a little bit of pruning/wiring out simply to to allow more light to help growth below the canopy.

Next year thin out the top or take an air layer to make a small formal upright from the top - one more tree, another skill learned.

Heavy pruning up top after leaf drop in autumn so next spring so the tree puts energy into back budding and growth further down. Spend a couple of seasons improving the trunk with sacrifice branches. There are decent ones already in place but they might need pruning before they get too thick.

I don't wanna cause too much stress next year. Would heavy pruning this autumn then ground layering next year be too stressful for the tree? My plan is to eventually trunk cop it once I'm happy with it and it's a strong tree that will pump out loads of new growth. At least I have a few years to think about it.

The trunk building you describe can be done, however, always remember that for a sacrifice branch to thicker lower portions, it must become thicker than the upper portion - by which time you’d have been better off using the sacrifice as your new leader and chopping back to it.

Here’s a small hornbeam I’ve been playing with, in three years I’ve reduced it right back to a stump, grown out three sections of trunk, each slightly thinner than the previous. Yes, it’s definitely got plenty of faults but it’s fun. I’ve reduced top growth right back to set me up for ramification and let the first branch thicken before eventually chopping it right back