Junk trunk on the trunk. What to do?

[August44]

I can't believe we are still talking about this. Just cut the damn thing off, put cut past on it, and be done with it!

 

[I_I_am_not_a_cat]

I can't believe we are still talking about this. Just cut the damn thing off, put cut past on it, and be done with it!

This is the "New to Bonsai" section of the forum, right?

Better to have some discussion to help educate than blanket "Do this" statements, IMO.

Here is what I have learned, and some options:

• When cutting, normal horticulture says leave the branch collar which helps with healing
  • this may leave a swollen area
• In bonsai it is more usual to cut as flush as possible with the trunk and even hollow the cut a little so as it heals it will end up reasonably flat.
• Dead wood is also possible. Dead wood helps give a visual reason for scars so very useful in species that heal slow.
• Could carve it to leave a very short jin. It is also possible to add a longer jin.
• Could peel the bark off to make it an interesting deadwood feature.
• Working on a dead or inactive part of the tree can be done at anytime.
• Healing starts as soon as you make the cut.

 

[August44]

This is the "New to Bonsai" section of the forum, right?

Better to have some discussion to help educate than blanket "Do this" statements, IMO.

Here is what I have learned, and some options:

• When cutting, normal horticulture says leave the branch collar which helps with healing
  • this may leave a swollen area
• In bonsai it is more usual to cut as flush as possible with the trunk and even hollow the cut a little so as it heals it will end up reasonably flat.
• Dead wood is also possible. Dead wood helps give a visual reason for scars so very useful in species that heal slow.
• Could carve it to leave a very short jin. It is also possible to add a longer jin.
• Could peel the bark off to make it an interesting deadwood feature.
• Working on a dead or inactive part of the tree can be done at anytime.
• Healing starts as soon as you make the cut.

Just unbelievable! Do you live in Bend, Or? If so, there is a club there and you could get good, hands-on experience with things like this.

PS: Don't over think this bonsai stuff or you will be nuts like the rest of us.

 

[BobbyLane]

This is the "New to Bonsai" section of the forum, right?

Better to have some discussion to help educate than blanket "Do this" statements, IMO.

Here is what I have learned, and some options:

• When cutting, normal horticulture says leave the branch collar which helps with healing
  • this may leave a swollen area
• In bonsai it is more usual to cut as flush as possible with the trunk and even hollow the cut a little so as it heals it will end up reasonably flat.
• Dead wood is also possible. Dead wood helps give a visual reason for scars so very useful in species that heal slow.
• Could carve it to leave a very short jin. It is also possible to add a longer jin.
• Could peel the bark off to make it an interesting deadwood feature.
• Working on a dead or inactive part of the tree can be done at anytime.
• Healing starts as soon as you make the cut.

Deadwood helps to tell a story, maybe a tree in the wild that suffered some trauma at some point, maybe a lost branch, a branch that died off that now is a feature of the tree. Which is sorta why I asked to see the whole tree to form a picture. Maybe look at some old Cedars, there are literally 1000s of images on google, even on facebook.

 

[August44]

Deadwood helps to tell a story, maybe a tree in the wild that suffered some trauma at some point, maybe a lost branch, a branch that died off that now is a feature of the tree. Which is sorta why I asked to see the whole tree to form a picture. Maybe look at some old Cedars, there are literally 1000s of images on google, even on facebook.

Ya Bobby I agree that dead wood, via Shari or gins can be as you say and pretty cool, but this ugly, very short piece of a branch hardly qualifies as that IMO.

 

[BobbyLane]

Ya Bobby I agree that dead wood, via Shari or gins can be as you say and pretty cool, but this ugly, very short piece of a branch hardly qualifies as that IMO.

Not at this point, needs a tool like this to scrape the bark away and burn the wood. I doubt the OP will take the plunge though.

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with material like this, the first steps would normally be to cut down the top of the nursery pot and visualise your preferred front or look for the front which offers the best potential with everything considered. Brush away the top soil to see what you have, visualise the starting point. Will this side be the eventual front? I dont think the OP even knows.

 

[I_I_am_not_a_cat]

Not at this point, needs a tool like this to scrape the bark away and burn the wood. I doubt the OP will take the plunge though.

Bonsai Shop - Trees, pots, soil, tools for sale - Kaizen Bonsai

Kaizen Bonsai are specialist suppliers of Bonsai trees, tools, pots, soil and gifts accompanied by a huge archive of videos and information on Bonsai care

www.kaizenbonsai.com

with material like this, the first steps would normally be to cut down the top of the nursery pot and visualise your preferred front or look for the front which offers the best potential with everything considered. Brush away the top soil to see what you have, visualise the starting point. Will this side be the eventual front? I dont think the OP even knows.

Already cut back the elephant trunk, scraped some bark away and covered it in cut paste.

Pretty sure this will be on the back side of the tree.

 

[August44]

Already cut back the elephant trunk, scraped some bark away and covered it in cut paste.

Pretty sure this will be on the back side of the tree.

View attachment 497558

Looks way better! Way to go!

 

[Tieball]

Elephant trunk is a good descriptor. Rhino trunk would be another.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

My solution is to take the whole tree from the front position and repot it into a cascade that follows the same trajectory as the "elephant trunk".

Then deadwood carve consecutive but longer deadwood segments that get longer as they get further on the trunk. As if the older deadwood nubs have just had more time to erode/rot them away.

Gives interest, explains the story of the tree, gives design direction, and purpose to the tree. Right now just standing straight up, the overall design reminds me of a criminal with a flacid dong in a police lineup.

 

[August44]

My solution is to take the whole tree from the front position and repot it into a cascade that follows the same trajectory as the "elephant trunk".

Then deadwood carve consecutive but longer deadwood segments that get longer as they get further on the trunk. As if the older deadwood nubs have just had more time to erode/rot them away.

Gives interest, explains the story of the tree, gives design direction, and purpose to the tree. Right now just standing straight up, the overall design reminds me of a criminal with a flacid dong in a police lineup.

U should eat a sandwich for lunch verses smoking the funny stuff. Ur gunna have the OP thinkin we all nuts

 

[Orion_metalhead]

No smoking here. Just the endless drift towards madness.