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Growing cuttings

  • Buddingbonsai
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Growing cuttings was created by Buddingbonsai

Posted 1 year 7 months ago #80283
Hi all,

As you can see, my cutting is growing nicely, just moved it outside to give it a few hours sunlight. One issue I have is that it seems to be growing straight upwards and therefore the main stem is drooping under all the weight. What is the best way to get this cutting to grow into a trunk in a curved fashion, should I cut it back to the first few leaves and snip one side to get it to grow out of that side or should I use a wire to twist the main stem into a curved pattern? Or is there another way to achieve this? It seems to be growing taller and taller but not really thickening into a trunk.

Apologies if the question seems obvious to those more experienced, the 2 cuttings pictured are my very first cuttings.

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Replied by Tropfrog on topic Growing cuttings

Posted 1 year 7 months ago #80284
A tree grows naturally upwards. If it cannot support it's own weight it is caused by too low light.

If you want to create mowement there are two methods. Wiring or clip and grow. The latter one is the only one that will create taper by itself. When wiring, sacrificial branches needs to be kept for tapering.

Some people prefer one method, some the other. I like to use both of them.
Last Edit:1 year 7 months ago by Tropfrog
Last edit: 1 year 7 months ago by Tropfrog.
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Replied by Buddingbonsai on topic Growing cuttings

Posted 1 year 7 months ago #80285
Great, thank you! I will probably use wiring for this cutting and then use the clip and grow technique for the main bonsai which is also visible in this image. It's going to really hurt to cut the branches back and create 1 or 2 new leaders but I believe it needs to be done and will benefit it in the long run and hopefully I can use the cuttings to make lots of new babies!
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Replied by Tropfrog on topic Growing cuttings

Posted 1 year 7 months ago #80286
OH, yes. Your main tree also suffers from low light. If your nights is safe above 10 degreed just leave them outdoors until authum. That will make a big change.
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Replied by Buddingbonsai on topic Growing cuttings

Posted 1 year 7 months ago #80287
That's the unfortunate thing about living in the UK haha. Nights here are currently between 8 and 10 degrees (just checked and looks same for rest of the week), so I have been moving them outside during the day when the sun is out and then bringing them in at night and have moved them to the conservatory to get a little more light.

Will probably trim back branches (except 2 leaders), trim back trunk to where branches are and cover all in cut paste to help it heal and allow the leaders to grow.

Thanks for your advice, will definitely move outside permanently once it gets a little warmer.
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Replied by leatherback on topic Growing cuttings

Posted 1 year 7 months ago #80288
Let all your trees grow for a bit before you do any pruning. They first need to build up some mass. The only way to get them to bulk up are growth. Lots of it. If you continuously prune them back you will slow down the development of a trunk.

Maybe this helps?
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Replied by Buddingbonsai on topic Growing cuttings

Posted 1 year 7 months ago #80292
I have just watched the video, would you agree to leave both cuttings and the main plant to grow for a year and then prune? I have attached the image again for your reference. Thank you for all your help :)

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Replied by Tropfrog on topic Growing cuttings

Posted 1 year 7 months ago #80294
I would let it grow for a while. It is hard to say right now what the situation is in a year. You will need to evaluate your options when time comes.
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Replied by Buddingbonsai on topic Growing cuttings

Posted 1 year 7 months ago #80295
How will I know when it's time to make that decision? Last question I promise :)
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Replied by Tropfrog on topic Growing cuttings

Posted 1 year 7 months ago #80296
There are no fix answer to that. Some people grow trees fast, cut late and have a wound that takes long to heal. Some people grow tree slowly with a lot of pruning. Takes a lot more time, but wounds heals faster meanwhile.

Your best guideline is a sketch of how you want your tree to look in the future. Final size beeing the most important.

I tend to cut earlier on places that will become the final front and later on the final back. Healing wounds is just not that big issue for me If they are not.visible and letting grow always speed up trunk development.
Last Edit:1 year 7 months ago by Tropfrog
Last edit: 1 year 7 months ago by Tropfrog.

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