Dawn redwood, when and where to cut trunk?

[Arnaud]

Hello all,

I’m new here, I got several bonsais but Dawn Redwood is completely new for me.
i got this tree for 6 months already and it looks very healthy.
I didn’t prune at all.
I want to make a nice big old straight up bonsai trunk with nice branches.
Where and when should I cut the top?

Thanks

 

[Shibui]

Your tree has leaves so I'm assuming you are northern hemisphere but some bonsai technique timing can change depending on even more local climate. Adding a location to your profile will very likely get better advice for your particular location.

You can prune Dawn Redwood any time of year. Summer pruning will usually get quick response while later autumn and winter prune probably won't see new shoots until the following spring but I have not found any time of year to be detrimental.
Where to cut depends on what trunk you aim for. Lower chop followed by repeated chops over following years will usually give better taper. If you don't care so much about taper a higher initial chop will build the trunk a bit quicker.
New shoots will only come from the nodes where there are leaves or stems but you have plenty of nodes and reasonably close together so that should not be an issue. The new extension of the trunk can either be a new shoot that emerges after you prune OR an existing branch if you prune just above one. What you choose depends on what is available and what ultimate size and taper you want. Neither appears to be better than the other.

The biggest problem I have had is maintaining a straight trunk after pruning. Any new leader grows from one side of the trunk so there will always be a slight bend, at least until the trunk thickens further and the bend smooths out. Best results seem to be where the new leader is wired up as straight as possible which means pruning above thicker branches is probably not the best plan.

 

[StickyGecko]

Your tree has leaves so I'm assuming you are northern hemisphere but some bonsai technique timing can change depending on even more local climate. Adding a location to your profile will very likely get better advice for your particular location.

You can prune Dawn Redwood any time of year. Summer pruning will usually get quick response while later autumn and winter prune probably won't see new shoots until the following spring but I have not found any time of year to be detrimental.
Where to cut depends on what trunk you aim for. Lower chop followed by repeated chops over following years will usually give better taper. If you don't care so much about taper a higher initial chop will build the trunk a bit quicker.
New shoots will only come from the nodes where there are leaves or stems but you have plenty of nodes and reasonably close together so that should not be an issue. The new extension of the trunk can either be a new shoot that emerges after you prune OR an existing branch if you prune just above one. What you choose depends on what is available and what ultimate size and taper you want. Neither appears to be better than the other.

The biggest problem I have had is maintaining a straight trunk after pruning. Any new leader grows from one side of the trunk so there will always be a slight bend, at least until the trunk thickens further and the bend smooths out. Best results seem to be where the new leader is wired up as straight as possible which means pruning above thicker branches is probably not the best plan.

I have a similar question about a dawn redwood I just picked up at a nursery. I’ve attached photos. The base of the trunk is maybe a little over 2”, and it tapers nicely not too far up. What are some ways I could plan to approach this? I’d like to at least get it out of the nursery pot, it looks like roots are trying to escape, but big roots.
Would you put it in the ground for a while and maybe do some layering from the top next season, to start to bring it down (?)(I’d love to reuse/replant as much as possible!) all advice welcome. Also if anyone is located in WNC even better lol
Thanks!

 

[harshadg]

Arnaud: If you want to make it a substantial tree it needs to go in the ground, and grow for a few years. These grow like weeds capable of putting 2-3 feet a year easily (here in zone 7). And what Shibui said.

StickyGecko: you probably have a couple of layers of roots in the pot. Nursery DawnRedwoods - especially if they’ve been growing in the same pot for a while will rapidly fill out the bottom of the pot with roots, and then readily ground layer and form a new layer of roots close to the surface where they have access to oxygen. So my suggestion is to repot this next spring to first figure out what the roots look like. You can bare root it and aggressively cut back roots when you repot. You probably have roots going straight down, and you may need to put it in a flat tub that is kept soaking wet. You can drill holes at the edges so that the roots can escape into the ground. It will be a lot easier to transition it back into a smaller pot. Look up bald cypress techniques and they should work well.

You’d be fine to airlayer next year as soon as the leaves flush out in early spring. They airlayer very readily. If you do that tho, you’ll be setting back the increase in base of the trunk - so you may want to think about whether next year is the appropriate time for you to airlayer, or if you want to wait. Airlayering in two or three years after moving it into a flat tub (or the ground) will give you a not only faster root flare, but also an already fattened airlayered top. For the rest of this season, feed well.

(Also, maybe start a progression thread for this tree.)

 

[StickyGecko]

Thanks so much for the info. I’ll keep it happy through the year and have a plan for repotting in the spring. A progression thread is a good idea, thanks.

 

[Shibui]

2" base is already substantial in my book. Any increase in thickness will also increase trunk thickness above so your eventual chop will also be bigger - and therefore take longer to heal and longer for the new trunk extension to match the stump. I'll definitely take a thinner trunk with good form over a thicker hacked trunk any day.

2" to 1 1/2" over 16-20 inches of height doesn't seem to be 'tapers nicely'. How tall do you plan on this tree being when finished?
Rather than trying to grow the trunk fatter another option may be to layer closer to where the taper is better.
Beware of trunk bulges where there are more than a couple of branches growing close together. Could just be the camera angle but it looks like there's already some inverse taper where those branches are growing just below the fork?

Not sure if putting it in the ground will achieve much except maybe getting a thicker and taller trunk with the same issues.

 

[StickyGecko]

One avenue of thought I had was to air layer below the fork somewhere and put that in ground to grow more. There are individual leaves down low on the trunk, so I should get branching eventually.
I just went out to check the branches under the fork, there’s 3, but I did see bulging where another branch had been removed previously, so I would layer below there. (Sorry for the head tilt!)
I’m in no major rush, but I do want to have a plan in place instead of figuring it out too late next season, and make sure he’s happy until then.