Hi all! I joined Mirai about a month ago and have been really loving Ryan’s videos and reading through the various topics in the forum…all of it is super helpful & inspiring. I recently found this tree on sale at a local home depot and thought it would be a nice project. I have done some basic cleaning and pruning and would now love some feedback and suggestions from the Mirai family as I am thinking about removing the branches on the bottom left (under the bag). Do people agree, disagree, have other suggestions? All ideas, comments, welcome.
Thanks!!
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Welcome aboard. First of all unless l am totally off base it looks like a pine to me. l hope you did not prune any secondary branches off the main primary branches. We don’t want branches/foliage only at the ends of branches but along the primary branch too. As it stands now, fertilize the tree and let the foliage grow untouched in order to encourage new branches to develop along the primary branches. We have to do this with most new bonsai rough material. Good luck. The tree has a nice shape with taper, old rough bark and a number of primary branches along the trunk.
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I agree that it looks more like a pine than a spruce.
First of all I’d note that it’s your tree and you should do what you’ll be happy with.
That said, the internode above (branches 3 and 4 from the bottom) looks like it might need to be dealt with soon too. The branches look to be starting to become bar branches, even though they maybe technically started from a different junction. And with that, you probably don’t want to remove the lower branch as well as one of the the other two.
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how about NOT removing the branch on the left to have this as the first branch to counter the trees movement to the right and instead cut the lower right one?
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Thanks David. Yeah, I think it is a pine too and they mislabeled the tree on the tag. I didn’t prune any secondary branches (there weren’t any). I will follow your advice and start to fertilize and let the new foliage and new branches develop along the primary branches.
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David, do you mean that the tree should be fertilized to encourage back budding along the primary branches?
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I thought the same thing. The tree is wanting to go with a harmonious design. If you’re going for a bonsai shape, instead of a more natural shape, the branch on the left will be needed to balance the asymmetry. I would actually wait to and see if fertilizing will produce a branch of of the second branch on the right and then chop off that lower branch on the right. That’s just me though.
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That’s right. Fertilize heavily and allow branch tips to grow without pruning in order to stimulate back budding.
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That doesn’t leave auxin in the tips? I thought the tips were supposed to be pruned to rid the branch of auxin and that would promote back budding. Please forgive my lack of knowledge lol.
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It’s a two stage approach. You want fertilize and let the tip grow to create vascular tissue on the branch which will help with bud formation.
Once the buds are formed, you prune off the tip to reduce the auxin which will encourage those buds to then grow into shoots.
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nmhansen gave you the right answer. l would only add that you have to wait until the new back buds open and become viable energy producing needle count before you cut back at the tips. lf you did it too early the sap being drawn to the tip could withdraw from the entire branch killing the small back buds.
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