How long can you leave a sacrifice branch ?

[JoeH]

Principals are the same, essentially. Conifers and deciduous broadleaf trees do respond somewhat differently, so timing and length of time a sacrifice is kept vary.

You only need to strip leaves if it is shading or crowding growth you want to keep.

Deciduous, the sacrifice usually is removed and replaced more frequently than a pine. In part because deciduous like elms and maples grow faster than pines.

shading is not an issue they are both close to the base so I just stapled them down to the soil so they wouldn't grow up and interfere in the canopy.

 

[my nellie]

@Leo in N E Illinois Would you mind explaining to me what @crust had posted above (#7) about "conifer sac growth" (because I don't see him post lately).
What exactly is it? Does this regard to the very first branches after germination?
You see the language barrier makes me kind of... stupid
Thank you in advance!

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

@Leo in N E Illinois Would you mind explaining to me what @crust had posted above (#7) about "conifer sac growth" (because I don't see him post lately).
What exactly is it? Does this regard to the very first branches after germination?
You see the language barrier makes me kind of... stupid
Thank you in advance!

"sac" is Crust's abbreviation for sacrifice branch. Substitute "sacrifice branch" for "sac" and his post makes helpful sense.

Crust often is too busy to spend time on BNut, but he will be back, eventually.

 

[my nellie]

Thank you very much @Leo in N E Illinois !
Your reply made me look more stupid though
It was easy to conclude it was "sacrifice" abbreviation

 

[my nellie]

May I also share @Eric Schrader 's article on Sacrifice Branch Reduction from his blog.

 

[Bonsaikev1985]

Well Wigerts Bonsai in Florida seem to leave theirs on until they feel the timings right !!! Hahahahahahaha

 

[M. Frary]

sac

I was thinking a whole different thing.

 

[Drokz360]

Hi, this is a very informative thread. I just bought this radiata pine and I wanna get rid of the very straight leader probably after 2 years. Do I just thin out its needles to allow the lower branches to thicken and develop more? And if I decide to chop the sacrifice leader, do I chop it slowly in stages? Thanks.
David

 

[Potawatomi13]

How long can the sacrifice branch stay on ?

As long as desired to get big trunk. Definite shortage of usable low branches on boring straight trunk.