Reducing old scars and callouses?

[cheap_walmart_art]

Hey bonsai nuts. I’ve been looking at some of my developing trees, most of which I’ve had since my first year or two of practicing bonsai. I have several deciduous trees that weren’t cut properly, or treated properly after, and have some pretty big callouses and scars.

I haven’t been successful in researching any techniques for callous or scar reduction (if any exist) so I thought I’d hit up the community to see what has been tried out there. I’ll post some examples below.

My biggest problem trees with this tend to be my trident and field maples.

 

[William N. Valavanis]

Ugly large scars can often be eliminated on Trident Maples if cleaned up and recut in early autumn. They, and so many other deciduous species grow so fast in spring the wounds build up a lot of callus tissue. Simply remove it. Good luck!

 

[neogenix]

Ugly large scars can often be eliminated on Trident Maples if cleaned up and recut in early autumn. They, and so many other deciduous species grow so fast in spring the wounds build up a lot of callus tissue. Simply remove it. Good luck!

I've read / seen mentioned that if you do so on large cuts but you do not properly fill / flatten the scar the bark will roll into a lump. I'm not sure how real / true this is, what do you usually do with medium to large chop scars Bill?

 

[Cadillactaste]

Ugly large scars can often be eliminated on Trident Maples if cleaned up and recut in early autumn. They, and so many other deciduous species grow so fast in spring the wounds build up a lot of callus tissue. Simply remove it. Good luck!

Good solid vault info there Bill! Good to know.

 

[cheap_walmart_art]

Ugly large scars can often be eliminated on Trident Maples if cleaned up and recut in early autumn. They, and so many other deciduous species grow so fast in spring the wounds build up a lot of callus tissue. Simply remove it. Good luck!

Thanks for chiming in on this one - that's great to hear! I'll pencil in the work for next year. Do you have any favorite techniques for this kind of callous cleanup? I'm thinking cut them out and go a little deeper into the trunk so they heal flush?

 

[August]

Ugly large scars can often be eliminated on Trident Maples if cleaned up and recut in early autumn. They, and so many other deciduous species grow so fast in spring the wounds build up a lot of callus tissue. Simply remove it. Good luck!

Can you explain a little bit more why Fall is preferred to spring for cleaning up scars and stumps? Is that wisdom specifically for trident maples or does it extend to most deciduous trees? I have heard that spring is always the ideal time for cuts, as the trees are "charged up" (energy positive?) And thus recover and heal quicker.

You also mention removing callous tissue, does that not leave an additional scar and promote and endless cycle of callousing / bulging wound formation?

Thank you for taking the time; this is just one of those parts about bonsai I dont quite fully understand yet.

 

[Bill S]

Hey bonsai nuts. I’ve been looking at some of my developing trees, most of which I’ve had since my first year or two of practicing bonsai. I have several deciduous trees that weren’t cut properly, or treated properly after, and have some pretty big callouses and scars.

I haven’t been successful in researching any techniques for callous or scar reduction (if any exist) so I thought I’d hit up the community to see what has been tried out there. I’ll post some examples below.

My biggest problem trees with this tend to be my trident and field maples.

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Concave cutters and sharp knives, the seal with jin seal.
Aggressive growers need to be " concaved" a bit more than others.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Concave cutters and sharp knives, the seal with jin seal.
Aggressive growers need to be " concaved" a bit more than others.

Hey @Bill S! Good to see you around! It's been a while!

 

[shohin_branches]

One thing I learned when working through the masters course with Ted Matson two decades ago is that your concave cutters shouldn't be the last thing that touches your tree. Always follow up with a clean sharp knife to tidy up the edges. I use X-acto #22 blades because you can rest the back against your thumb and rock it back and forth to cut with more control.

The V carving router is also nice for doing wound maintenance. Once the wound has stopped rolling tissue over the cut site you use a sharp blade to reopen the scar tissue on the edge so it keeps healing. You may have to do this multiple times. Not all species are very good at compartmentalizing though.

X-acto blade matrix
Good blade reference so you're getting the right ones for your handle.