The 5 Year Zelkova Challenge

[Brian Van Fleet]

Here is a quick update on the zelkova. I might stick it in the show this year, so I took a chance and defoliated it just a bit earlier than normal. The leaves were hardening off, and it hasn't been repotted this year, so hopefully it will be full again in 4 weeks' time.

For this photo, I trimmed it back to a profile before defoliating and pruning...

 

[Ang3lfir3]

where is the defoliated pic those are the best ones! good lookin tree !!!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

where is the defoliated pic those are the best ones! good lookin tree !!!

Thought you'd never ask...actually, she still looks better with clothes on. I'm probably going to write a bit more about this on a blog soon, as I've done some tidying up on old pruning scars, etc...But here ya go...

 

[evmibo]

Brian,
Do you usually defoliate more than once through the growth season?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Brian,
Do you usually defoliate more than once through the growth season?

Yes, twice last year with no problems. I suspect it will be twice again this year.

 

[fore]

What a great transformation Brian! I like what you've been able to achieve in this 'short' time period. Good Luck showing it!

Btw, Do you think that scoring the cambium over the old scars will help the healing and minimize the scars? I've read it does, but I haven't read if it works on quite old pruning scars?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Btw, Do you think that scoring the cambium over the old scars will help the healing and minimize the scars? I've read it does, but I haven't read if it works on quite old pruning scars?

More than anything, it's smoothing out the chunky bark around the outside of the wounds, most of which are nearly closed. To finish closing the wounds, expose the cambium on the inside of the callous (which can be seen on the right callous).

See the top left callous for the before and after:

 

[fore]

Great pictures Brian! I hadn't realized how much of the scar tissue is removed; the inside, the top of the rolling scar, and the perimeter too. Did you take the top off the middle scar by now or did you leave it alone for a reason? Thanks!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Great pictures Brian! I hadn't realized how much of the scar tissue is removed; the inside, the top of the rolling scar, and the perimeter too. Did you take the top off the middle scar by now or did you leave it alone for a reason? Thanks!

Not 100% sure what you mean, but the second photo in post #47 shows the "after" shot. New cambium pushes bark up in rings around the outside of the wound during the healing process. Shaving that down smoothes out the area, and new bark won't be as rough. Since this may become the front one day, the goal is to have a scar-free trunk, so it will be best to keep it healing as smoothly as possible.

 

[tanlu]

That's a useful technique! Does this apply for JBP and non-grafted JWP as well?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Probably wouldn't worry about rough bark callouses on a black pine as much, but you could do it.

 

[fredtruck]

What great material this is, and all in one place!

 

[daygan]

Just for clarification for fore, and he may have figured it out already, it looks like that the inside section on that middle scar that you're (fore) referring to wasn't scored because it wasn't bulging out like the areas around it (i.e. the outside of that callous) and will fit with the final desired curve of the trunk.

 

[fore]

Not 100% sure what you mean, but the second photo in post #47 shows the "after" shot. New cambium pushes bark up in rings around the outside of the wound during the healing process. Shaving that down smoothes out the area, and new bark won't be as rough. Since this may become the front one day, the goal is to have a scar-free trunk, so it will be best to keep it healing as smoothly as possible.

Got it! Thanks Brian for the explanation. I understand now, and have saved those photo's to my computer for future reference. (my 'package' is finally arriving today btw!)

 

[tanlu]

How about on a zuisho JWP? I have two large chop scars that are healing over, but I would like to speed up the process as they don't have the same rough bark as JBP.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

How about on a zuisho JWP? I have two large chop scars that are healing over, but I would like to speed up the process as they don't have the same rough bark as JBP.

Yep, definitely expose the cambium on the inside of the "roll" (as shown more clearly in that right side scar) to keep it rolling...otherwise the get lazy.

 

[tanlu]

Thanks Brian. I was thinking the same thing as I looked at the scars on the trunk today. This is a great progression! I'll be sure to post progressions on some of my pines. This has been extremely informative!

 

[gergwebber]

that is truly an epic progression! I like hearing the stories of those trees that bounce around from person to person especially when it ends up as a bonsai "fairy tale" ending!

 

[tanlu]

So I carved out bits of the scar tissue on my zuisho and covered it with cut-paste. The scars are about an inch wide. I'm not going to pinch the branches surrounding the scar. I hope this works, otherwise I just caused myself to wait an extra 2 years for the scars to heal over!

 

[Adair M]

tanlu,

On your zuisho, do you have an escape leader that you're just letting grow? If you do, the scars heal faster. Of course, you'll have a new scar when you cut IT off!