Pruning Maple Bonsai
I probably do more landscape pruning of maples than bonsai.
Pruning maple bonsai. Carefully removing branches can reduce or eliminate structural issues in a tree. We want each. My japanese trained japanese garden teacher insists best to prune after leaf drop. Gardeners trim maple trees for a variety of reasons.
Trimming of shoots and twigs can be done year round. Maple pruning basics assessing your tree s shape. Waiting till february or march bud swell will only lead to uncontrolled bleeding. For this trident maple i just want to maintain its look and prune it to get more fuller foliage.
If you haven t pruned it lately it may look like this bushy and green. I plan to get some cheaper bonsais to experiment with trunk chopping and pruning to get more comfortable working with bonsais. In doing so you force the tree to grow new leaves leading to a reduction in the size of leaves and an increase in ramification. The bonsai tree will be put in a bonsai pot in early spring 2010.
Regular maple tree pruning helps keep a tree the desired size and stops a tree from encroaching on its neighbors. This video shows how to perform creation pruning and maintenance pruning on a japanese maple pre bonsai tree part 1. Pruning also assists the tree develop a sound branch structure. Without doubt the most important way to train a bonsai is to prune it on a regular basis.
Maintenance pruning to maintain and refine the existing shape of a bonsai and structural pruning which involves more rigorous pruning to give a tree its basic shape or style. Pruning leaves to induce a new flush of growth bonsai defoliation involves cutting all the leaves of a tree during the summer. The pruning of strong branches should be done in autumn to prevent excessive bleeding or in the summer when callus growth is quick. Essentially there are two different techniques.
Since i m really new to bonsais i don t feel that comfortable cutting major branches let alone trunk chopping a tree. So i have adopted that mentality with my bonsai.