Trying to wrap my head around trunk thickening

[sorce]

There's like 6 carts and 6 horses.

Sometimes you can put all the horses in front of the carts, sometimes you can put all the carts in front of the horses.

But with the wrongs trees .....

Sometimes you end up wrecking the carts and find yourself needing glue.

So where then, does the glue come from?

Sorce

 

[dbonsaiw]

and find yourself needing glue

Good thing we have horses!

 

[Attmos]

I think the answer to your question, which may have already been said (I can't find it)... is that, once a tree in the ground reaches a certain trunk thickness, it's cut down to maybe a foot tall (or whatever height the owner chooses).

The trunk is then left to grow new branches which are styled as the trunk cut heals. Eventually the trunk heals and the branches grow thicker, giving it the appearance of a miniature old tree.

I'm new, but this is my understanding of the process.

 

[Attmos]

Hey guys, beginner here.

I keep hearing that in order to thicken the trunk of a tree, you have to put it in the ground.

What is keeping it from forming branches too high on the trunk as if it was growing normally?

For example I see some 10-15 foot tall redwoods outside near my house, and the first branch is like 5 feet up the trunk.

How do you plant a tree in the ground to thicken the trunk while still being able to make it a bonsai later?

I should have tagged you in my previous comment.

It's a process they call chopping the trunk. To me it seems like cheating to accomplish a goal quickly.. but growing trees doesn't happen very quickly.. and there are a lot of fantastic results. I have one I hope will start growing new shoots from next spring. It looks dead, but it's green inside.