How to get thicker branches

[DixyNL]

Hey,

Just a small question, i have a starter bonsai for i think 1 year or so. And i left 2 branches to grow a bit bigger ( i want to air layer them at some point when they get thicker). But they only seem to go up in length, one is about 1 M up at this point but only 2mm in width. I tried to layer it at the lower parts which were about 2.8mm but it just healed and nothing happens (obviously since its not big enough).

How do i get it to grow a bit more thick instead of long ?

 

[leatherback]

Just let it grow. What species? A palmatum perhaps (They fatten up very little in their first year for me)
In general, good fertilizer, sun, a decent sized pot and letting grow does it.

 

[Bnana]

Let it grow more. The more leaves it needs to bring water to, the thicker it gets.
And why would you air-layering a 2mm branch?

Photos would help to see what you want to achieve.

 

[Shibui]

Time along with growth are the critical components for thickening. You may be just a bit too impatient.
Different species react differently and you have not specified what trees you are using. Some species naturally grow long and thin while others thicken easily and quickly.

It can be difficult to layer really thin shoots because you are likely to much damage while ringbarking and kill the whole shoot.
I'd say give it some more time.

Photos are always good as they can sometimes give us clues that you have not even considered.

 

[DixyNL]

sorry for not adding pictures, if you are wondering why it's in a bigger pot. It came with a mayjor mite infestation in the bowl. So i transferd it to this one which was the only one i had at the time, and since it is growing up pretty good i decided to let it stay for a little longer.
As for the species ? i really dont know, it was a gift.. no card, no information, no help on how to, nothing in general.

 

[leatherback]

Looks like bougainville. These thicken up slowly. And under dutch conditions.. VERY slowly. You really need to let the branches grow very long before they start fattening up.

 

[sorce]

Carp says cut em back to make more small branches. More branching is supposed to make a thin branch thicker than just length.

Sorce

 

[DixyNL]

Carp says cut em back to make more small branches. More branching is supposed to make a thin branch thicker than just length.

Sorce

so if i cut the tip, it's going to grow sides more. Wil that speed up the thickness or is waiting and growing in general better ?

 

[sorce]

it's going to grow sides more. Wil that speed up the thickness

They say so, I don't keep any. But Carp is that Fish!

Sorce

 

[Just Rosie]

Are you keeping it inside 24/7? I noticed a huge growth spurt in my trees when I started keeping them outside during the warm-enough months. I feel like, as a general rule, trees grow mostly up at first, and thicken as they get older.

 

[Adair M]

If you want to know about how wood develops, I refer you to this:

Wood Formation in Trees

Wood is the most important natural and endlessly renewable source of energy and therefore has a major future role as an environmentally cost-effective alternati

www.plantphysiol.org

It’s very complex. And even now, the process is still somewhat of a mystery. But, there are interactions between hormones that seem to dictate when and how the wood is created. And, one of the primary hormones is auxin. Cutting the tip removes the primary source of auxin. The terminal tips of branches are the strongest source of auxin. Secondary branches have auxin producing tips, but the terminal tip of the primary leader produces the most. Remove it, and you remove the auxin. The presence of auxin, or rather, the flow of auxin from the growing tips to the roots, is the trigger for the tree to build xylem to support and maintain that flow. Remove the auxin, you remove the stimulus for the tree to sustain the flow. The xylem functions as the method for the tree to send water and nutrients up from the roots to the branches. It also forms the bulk of the “wood”. Leaves don’t generate the auxin, the growing tips do.

To recap: if you want to thicken the branch, let the terminal tip grow.

If you want to create taper in your branches, cut back and let a new leader grow. Repeat.

 

[leatherback]

To recap: if you want to thicken the branch, let the terminal tip grow.

If you want to create taper in your branches, cut back and let a new leader grow. Repeat.

It almost sounds like it is easy

 

[Adair M]

It almost sounds like it is easy

It is easy. It just takes time.

 

[leatherback]

It is easy. It just takes time.

I do not like that. I want it NOW.
What, you say, bonsai is not for me then? Unless I have lots of gold coins?

Ah well. I'll wait.

 

[DixyNL]

It is easy. It just takes time.

though a year was pretty long, seems i was mistaken. Well i'll keep it on for another year or 2 then just to thicken it up a bit. Thanks for al the information!!

 

[Adair M]

though a year was pretty long, seems i was mistaken. Well i'll keep it on for another year or 2 then just to thicken it up a bit. Thanks for al the information!!

Bonsai is a marathon, not a sprint.

Increase your thinking of time... substitute “weeks” for “days”; months for weeks; years for months; decades for years; lifetimes for decades.

I watched a video of a guy digging a JWP out of a field and putting it into an oversized training pot. It had been planted in the field by his great grandfather!

Think about that for a moment...

 

[Adair M]

I do not like that. I want it NOW.
What, you say, bonsai is not for me then? Unless I have lots of gold coins?

Ah well. I'll wait.

I can sympathize.

I have been fortunate to be able to aquire a number of “legacy” trees that do have age and provenance. Some of them are as old as I am. As bonsai. That means they’ve been watered, fertilized, wired, unwired, repotted, trained, pruned, and generally fussed over for nearly 70 years!

In most cases, the people who sold the tree to me weren’t “selling a tree”, they were choosing an adaptive parent. Someone to nurture the tree for the next 20 or so years.

Alas... I must be getting old...

 

[leatherback]

Alas... I must be getting old...

But also skilled or else

the people who sold the tree to me really weren’t “selling a tree”

 

[Adair M]

But also skilled or else

Well, yes, they were familiar with my skill level, and they felt comfortable I’d provide a good home fir their babies.

 

[hinmo24t]

almost looks like cornus kousa (dogwood) leaves, but they want to be outside.

i can see bougainvillea as well