Prunus mume questions

[namnhi]

Chopped down again. Getting some nice movement in the trunk and base has widened some more. Next spring I will dig it up and check the roots. The decision will be whether to put it back in the ground for a few more years or pot it up and start working on branching. Should really go back to the ground but I want to see it in a pot.

This one is a Usuiro Chirmen variety and produces white flowers. I pruned this one constantly not letting it grow freely which was a mistake but let it go last season. I have an omai no mama variety that I let grow freely as well that I have owned for less years. I'm not sure if certain cultivars are more vigorous but the omai was vigorous and is almost the same size as this tree which has been in the ground longer.

Very nice movement you got there. I like it a lot. Much improved compare to the pic from last year.

 

[Nybonsai12]

So five years since I started this thread and I decided to dig this one out of the ground. I have another I will let get bigger and start playing with this one, reducing the large roots little by little and starting on branching. I really love the trunk movement. My thought now is two of the three thick top branches will be removed completely, leaving only the most left one reducing it to a stub. I left them because I chopped a lot off when I dug and I wanted to see the few flowers bloom. The existing smaller branches will be left to try and start ramifying, but as this is really my first venture into developing ume, I’m open to thoughts, suggestions and advice on how to proceed.

 

[RobertB]

Great job. So what would say you started with and ended with as far as trunk caliper while growing in the ground. I'm guessing 1/2 inch to about 3 inches in 5 years.

 

[RobertB]

I plan on starting a bunch from seed next year.

 

[Nybonsai12]

Great job. So what would say you started with and ended with as far as trunk caliper while growing in the ground. I'm guessing 1/2 inch to about 3 inches in 5 years.

Probably about right as far as the starting point. Trunk is little less than 2 inches a few inches above the soil line. root spread is about three inches. It would have grown further but I didn’t let it grow freely unchecked which slowed it down. Good luck with your seeds!

 

[Nybonsai12]

It’s been in this colander since last spring when I dug it from the ground. I think it could use a repot to further reduce the heavier roots that came as a result of all those years unchecked in the ground. I was extra cautious when digging and leaving some of the larger roots, which is why it is in such a wide colander. I just don’t want to go to hard and ruin it. I also suspect it’s time to start branch work and will require some removal of branched and pruning back of others. I will wait until after flowering or perhaps even until after it leafs out to prune back to two sets of leaves. Any advice/suggestions are welcome. For now I await the show!

 

[LanceMac10]

One, two, three.....



Nice movement and I'll bet it will look great once you sort out your trunk line and branching!
Like!

 

[BackyardBonsai]

Oh my... Should be a show in another week!

 

[bonhe]

Wow, very nice ! I can not wait to see it be in bloom! Thanks for sharing.
Thụ Thoại

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Well done, it is on its way

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Gonna be a great show!

 

[Nybonsai12]

 

[Nybonsai12]

Getting there....a few more days and it should be blowing up.

Hey @Brian Van Fleet tell me if I'm on the right track. Once it's done flowering i will likely repot to reduce the remaining coarse roots again after digging last season. I was then thinking i would cut back to two leaf buds on each branch that i intend to keep and remove the heavier upward branches that have no place in the design(although I'm curious if i should keep them to ensure the tree remains vigorous). Then wire new growth in a few weeks while still pliable. Sound about right or too much work? Thanks for any input.

 

[my nellie]

Lovely! Adorable snowflakes!
If I am not mistaken did it take the tree six years to flower or more @Nybonsai12 ?
Do you know how old it was when you bought it from Evergreen?
Excuse my questions but the reason I ask is because I have spotted some Prunus armeniaca seedlings in the garden (I assume they are last years germination) and I am thinking about digging them

 

[Nybonsai12]

Lovely! Adorable snowflakes!
If I am not mistaken did it take the tree six years to flower or more @Nybonsai12 ?
Do you know how old it was when you bought it from Evergreen?
Excuse my questions but the reason I ask is because I have spotted some Prunus armeniaca seedlings in the garden (I assume they are last years germination) and I am thinking about digging them

I'm not entirely sure how old it was when I purchased it. It was a cutting grown out in a one gallon container and about as thick as my thumb or so when it came into my possession.

It flowered in the ground i want to say at least 2 years ago. The first few years i foolishly cut back throughout the season and didn't let it run wild like I should have. I imagine this would have impacted flowering those seasons. I'm not familiar with prunus armeniaca but i'd suggest to let them run wild as long as you can to get some size to them before you dig.

 

[my nellie]

Thank you very much for your reply.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Hey @Brian Van Fleet tell me if I'm on the right track. Once it's done flowering i will likely repot to reduce the remaining coarse roots again after digging last season. I was then thinking i would cut back to two leaf buds on each branch that i intend to keep and remove the heavier upward branches that have no place in the design(although I'm curious if i should keep them to ensure the tree remains vigorous). Then wire new growth in a few weeks while still pliable. Sound about right or too much work? Thanks for any input.

Start here: If you’re wiring last year’s canes, do it before bud break so you don’t knock any buds loose, and try to concentrate movement in the first 2” or so. Bend carefully, because they’re brittle. But if you break one, and it’s still attached, just put some cut paste over the break, and it will likely live. You’ll get a little movement from green canes, and 3-year old branches. Some of those 1-2 year old lignified strong canes aren’t going to bend; best to remove or shorten them later.

Next, the trick with Ume is that the proximal leaf buds aren’t always viable, and you can’t really tell until they start to grow. So, if you prune back now, leave at least 3-4 buds, and cut again to leave 1-2 growing buds per branch when you know what’s alive.

Then, repot just as vegetative buds are swelling, and don’t let it freeze after you repot. Don’t prune the roots much, mostly perform a soil change.

Finally, you can wire new growth in late April/early May. At this time, also defoliate the first and second leaves of each shoot. It will make wiring easier, and will prompt leaf buds to set at the petiole, rather than flower buds. Let flower buds form at the 3-5th nodes. When the tree finishes the summer growing season in June, you can prune each shoot back to 5 nodes (2 bare which will produce leaf buds, and 3 with leaves which should produce flower buds). Here is a photo showing this technique, but leaving only 3 nodes, 2 bare and 1 with a leaf. You can always leave more if you want more flowers.

 

[Nybonsai12]

Just about peak

 

[just.wing.it]

Killer!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Nice! Smell good?