maverickheath
Mame
Ok guys I hear a lot about taper on a tree and I'm comfused can you explain it to me and tell me what it's all about
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taper , tapering help me with taper
- Thread starter maverickheath
- Start date
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
When you think about it.....
Taper is the only thing "pretend" that we do.
Leaves happen, roots happen, bark happens, twigs, seeds, flowers.....
They all just happen....
Taper is what we build to make a good tree....
Horticulturally....
It's easier to heal a wound right next to a highly active branch.
When creating taper....
Cutting to a thick branch will help the wound close faster....
Cutting to a bud means the wound will be exposed longer....
Neither is inappropriate....
They serve different goals..
But should be taken into consideration..
Sorce
Taper is the only thing "pretend" that we do.
Leaves happen, roots happen, bark happens, twigs, seeds, flowers.....
They all just happen....
Taper is what we build to make a good tree....
Horticulturally....
It's easier to heal a wound right next to a highly active branch.
When creating taper....
Cutting to a thick branch will help the wound close faster....
Cutting to a bud means the wound will be exposed longer....
Neither is inappropriate....
They serve different goals..
But should be taken into consideration..
Sorce
To taper is to gradually grow smaller or inversely bigger and bigger. The rate of taper and the character of taper of a trunk from the very base is the single most determinant factor of evoking stability and power. Usually great bonsai have great taper.
JoeR
Masterpiece
Bald Cypress bonsai.
THAT is taper.
THAT is taper.
maverickheath
Mame
That is cool
markyscott
Imperial Masterpiece
Bennett juniper.
Scott
Scott
fredman
Masterpiece
Windswept formal upright... See how it tapers?
maverickheath
Mame
Yep I get now thanks guys how would I go about doing that to a tree with no taper at all
aml1014
Masterpiece
Chop, grow out, repeat. It's fastest in ground to get girth in the trunk or a large grow pot.
Aaron
Anthony
Imperial Masterpiece
Type of tree ? @ Mr.MaverickHeath
Good Day
Anthony
*Mark / Scott --------------- made my day !!!! Wow !!
Good Day
Anthony
*Mark / Scott --------------- made my day !!!! Wow !!
thumblessprimate1
Masterpiece
That looks like Dan Robinson's work
maverickheath
Mame
A ficus it's huge but dont want to chop it really
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
Being a ficus......Indoors I assume as you're in a flat.....
The hoticulture thing becomes very very important......
There is nearly no way to balance healing it and making your next segment without an elaborate light system....
On top of that......even if you could put it outside......you have NO SUN there!
Pics.
Sorce
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
In priority order what takes longest, and is most difficult, to develop on a bonsai:
(1) Nebari (the point where the trunk meets the soil, including surface roots)
(2) Trunk (including trunk line and taper)
(3) Primary branches (location and line)
(4) Secondary branches (including ramification)
If you start working on things lower on the list, before the things higher on the list are addressed, you are just wasting time.
(1) Nebari (the point where the trunk meets the soil, including surface roots)
(2) Trunk (including trunk line and taper)
(3) Primary branches (location and line)
(4) Secondary branches (including ramification)
If you start working on things lower on the list, before the things higher on the list are addressed, you are just wasting time.
Anthony
Imperial Masterpiece
Ficus, [ Maverick Heath ]
will normally respond to long branch extensions.
Ready to grow the lowest branch to 6' or 10'
Good Day
Anthony
will normally respond to long branch extensions.
Ready to grow the lowest branch to 6' or 10'
Good Day
Anthony
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
Is that a garden gnome?
eferguson1974
Chumono
How many times has this tree been grown out and chopped? And how long has it taken? I like the short squat look of it a lot. Cool tree.
I'm assuming you're asking about the JBP...
15 years. I've had it 3 years. It's been out of the ground 4 years. It was grown by Telperion farms. They tell me it was once 15 feet tall, the had to prune them standing on a step ladder.
When I bought it, the primary sacrifice trunk had been cut, and the stub carved back leaving a peg. There was a second sacrifice branch on it about 6 feet tall. They cut that back to about 3 1/2 feet to be able to ship it.
Over the past couple years, I've been able to remove it by using a Ebihara technique of V cutting 1/2 way thru the crotch, letting it heal, doing another V 3/4 the way, and finally removing it the third year.
Meanwhile, I let new sacrifice branches grow and the apex to build some girth there. And once they did their job, removed them.
While all this was going on, I was refining and shortening the low branches that were on the tree, and grafted on some branches where I needed them. I need to graft on at least two more, and I'm going to graft a secondary branch onto an existing primary branch.
This is what it looked like when I got it. You can't see the sacrifice branch from this angle.
Later I potted it into a large bonsai pot. Using the same front as above.
After potting, in a workshop we decided that another front was better. Only problem, no first branch! So, we grafted one on.
From this angle, you can see the sacrifice branch (since removed).
It had been thinned, and needles pulled, etc. all part of the "ugly duckling" phase they have to go through.
I put a chopstick in the soil to indicate the front. That way I don't have to figure it out each time. Sometimes, however, a better front is found. And the chopstick gets moved.
I plan on repotting into a shallower, oval pot this spring, and tilting it back just a little. The nebari is actually wider than this picture implies. I buried it down when I potted it. I think I'll lift it up a bit at the repotting.
Later I potted it into a large bonsai pot. Using the same front as above.
After potting, in a workshop we decided that another front was better. Only problem, no first branch! So, we grafted one on.
From this angle, you can see the sacrifice branch (since removed).
It had been thinned, and needles pulled, etc. all part of the "ugly duckling" phase they have to go through.
I put a chopstick in the soil to indicate the front. That way I don't have to figure it out each time. Sometimes, however, a better front is found. And the chopstick gets moved.
I plan on repotting into a shallower, oval pot this spring, and tilting it back just a little. The nebari is actually wider than this picture implies. I buried it down when I potted it. I think I'll lift it up a bit at the repotting.
