Branches

The nice thing about taking workshops is that you get exposed to ideas that you normally wouldn't find by yourself. You also get to discuss the pros and cons of different techniques to achieve the same goal. This is one of the things that I really enjoy about Jim Gremel's monthly workshops. Starting next month, I hope to post a report on whatever tree I take to the workshop. In the meantime, here is the essence of a discussion that I had with Jim about branch formation last month.

First of all, there is no dispute between Jim and I about growing the trunk first. Once the trunk is finished or nearly finished, then you begin work on the branches, at least for most deciduous trees. I pointed out to Jim that most of the trees that come from Kathy Shaner's workshops (and thus appear in the REBS Show), have relatively young thin branches that are wired to form curves right down to the tip. While the individual trees are pleasing to the eye, seeing so many trees dealt with in the same fashion is unsettling to me. Whereas the trunks are all different and wonderful, the branches are all pretty much the same. Part of the problem is that, as bonsai, these trees are still relatively young, with most branches formed only in the last five years or so. In some cases the branches were grown and wired in just the last two years.

I mentioned this to Jim and asked his opinion about forming branches like this as opposed to the clip and trim technique of adding one or two branch sections a year by pruning back these young branches. Now, I'm talking about major branch formation here and not ramification which is the creation of the tertiary branches on the finished major branch pattern. Jim said, yes, you can do it like that, but it takes too long.

I am not so sure. I have always taken the long view of bonsai anyhow, and forming branches in the same way that I grow trunks seems like a natural process to me. On the other hand, Kathy and Jim have a whole more experience than me when it comes to finishing trees. So, I am doing it both ways. On some trees, especially the ones I take to the workshop, I am following Jim's lead. On other trees, that are solely my own creation, I am, for the most part, using clip and trim for the major branching. When it comes to creating the apex and the secondary branching, I agree that it is just as easy to wire new shoots into place and be done with it.

Interestingly, when Walter Pall was here last Febuary, he leaned more toward the clip and trim method, and specifically recommended that treatment for my large sumo type cork bark Chinese elms, Ulmus parvifolia cvs. On those trees Bob and I headed back all the branches this spring leaving a stub, as Bob describes in one of his Blog posts. It won't be too long before winter is here and the trees are naked again so we can get a feel for how that is going to go. I will post some pictures and an update of those trees.

My trees suffered a long hiatus while the big move was going on. I pretty much just neglected them for six years. I kept them alive, but just barely in some cases, and all branch work just came to a halt. Oddly, this has had some beneficial results. It has made some really fabulous deadwood, the kind of wood that would be impossible to carve. It is extremely fragile and will need hardening. But it is wonderful to be working with these trees again, nursing them back to health and inducing the vigor necessary to get the growth to finish them. They still need a better permanent display area, but that may be coming next spring. Now it is in my interest to learn finishing techniques, and I hope to be able to give it the same kind of attention that I have given trunk growing for the last twenty years.