Little crape myrtle with big taper

[luvinthemountains]

I have been working on this crape myrtle stump for a couple of years now, and last year decided to go for the gusto and carve the backside to eliminate a nasty flat chop. I will finish carving at the next repot and apply some sort of preservative.

But look at the taper though! Within a year or two, at this rate, I should be able to get it into a pot!

 

[Hartinez]

I have been working on this crape myrtle stump for a couple of years now, and last year decided to go for the gusto and carve the backside to eliminate a nasty flat chop. I will finish carving at the next repot and apply some sort of preservative.

But look at the taper though! Within a year or two, at this rate, I should be able to get it into a pot!

View attachment 370773

that initial taper is def bad ass. Crapes typically heal chops well. How’s the chop on this one going? Also, do you plan on another chop at some point? It’d be a shame to have such a great tapering trunk at the bottom only to have a straight no taper section the rest of the way up. Nice work so far!

 

[luvinthemountains]

How’s the chop on this one going?

It is starting to callous, but the wound is huge. Now the basic structure is there, I might just pump it with fertilizer to speed up the healing process.

Also, do you plan on another chop at some point? It’d be a shame to have such a great tapering trunk at the bottom only to have a straight no taper section the rest of the way up. Nice work so far!

Thanks, Danny! I definitely see a need for a future chop. Unfortunately, the next forward-facing shoot is fairly high up, but it still might work. Something like this:

 

[Michigan Bonsai]

Can you send a picture of the back?

 

[luvinthemountains]

Can you send a picture of the back?

It's a little embarrassing...

The cut is very rough right now. I plan to smooth and shape it with a die grinder at the next opportunity.

 

[rorror]

A tree with a story? Brake ups are hard, even harder if you need to split your belongings in two.

 

[luvinthemountains]

A tree with a story? Brake ups are hard, even harder if you need to split your belongings in two.

Not much of a story. Bought from New World Bonsai with a straight chop at the approximate location of the new leader, which died back signifcantly on the carved side.

 

[Michigan Bonsai]

It's a little embarrassing...

The cut is very rough right now. I plan to smooth and shape it with a die grinder at the next opportunity.

View attachment 371497

Yeah it is going to take a bit of work, but that front is worth it

 

[misfit11]

If you plan to heal a large scar like that, you'll need to let at least one of those leaders grow unchecked for many years. Then after that scar is healed, you'll have another very thick trunk with no taper that will need to be chopped. At this point, you'll have another, albeit smaller, scar to heal. This is bonsai. The taper you have here seems impressive on it's face but a look behind the curtain reveals a very big flaw. Bonsai is unfortunately a very slow process.

I don't mean to rain on your parade but as your experience in this hobby increases, you'll eventually realize these truths anyway. You could do a carving and make that scar a feature but I'm not sure that would really work here. I think you could let it heal about 50% to 75% of the way and call it an Uro. This could be a feature that would be believable, but again you're still many years away from that.

I hope this helps more that hurts.

 

[MrWunderful]

That scar is a monster. But I would remove the left straight piece (from the front) and let that first branch on right run for a few years, then cut back and regrow etc like said before.

 

[just.wing.it]

I think you could let it heal about 50% to 75% of the way and call it an Uro

Agreed.

 

[luvinthemountains]

I hope this helps more that hurts.

So much so! Thank you for being frank. (I'll be earnest )

You hit the nail on the head re: the time and effects of healing the scar. I have essentially ruled out completely healing it at this point, for exactly the reasons you mentioned. So I have decided to both hide the scar and use it as a feature, allowing it to roll over some over time but use carving to make it look more natural. Seeing @Brian Van Fleet's trident in his post here gave me the confidence to embrace that approach.

 

[luvinthemountains]

I would remove the left straight piece (from the front) and let that first branch on right run for a few years, then cut back and regrow etc like said before.

I agree the movement would be more ideal, but as you can see from the back view that branch on the right actually slants rather abruptly to the back, so I am not sure it would work. I will spend some time pondering. In my limited experience, it seems like crapes backbud unpredictably, so I may just have to cut and see what arises!