Liquidamber trunk chop

[Drekula]

Hi guys,
I saw this liquidamber (sweet gum) and couldn’t resist its unique trunk shape. Im satisfied with the current trunk thickness and am thinking of doing a trunk chop to start developing more taper after the first bend.
This is my first deciduous tree and I want to make sure I’m doing everything right before I pull out the saw.

Do liquidamber’s typically recover well from a major trunk chop? Is this the right time of year? Any specific precautions I should take?

 

[Gabler]

A couple of things:

Firstly, your tree needs more nitrogen and/or iron. I had chlorosis in mine earlier this spring, and I resolved it with Holly Tone fertilizer. Any acid fertilizer should do the trick.

Secondly, to actually answer your question, I find they often die back to a bud below the chop, so make sure you cut back to something to prevent dieback.

Third, I would wait until spring, just as the new buds are opening, to perform a chop. Give your tree a chance to absorb some nitrogen and iron and build up its energy reserves. If you do, your tree should recover from the chop with explosive growth.

 

[Drekula]

A couple of things:

Firstly, your tree needs more nitrogen and/or iron. I had chlorosis in mine earlier this spring, and I resolved it with Holly Tone fertilizer. Any acid fertilizer should do the trick.

Secondly, to actually answer your question, I find they often die back to a bud below the chop, so make sure you cut back to something to prevent dieback.

Third, I would wait until spring, just as the new buds are opening, to perform a chop. Give your tree a chance to absorb some nitrogen and iron and build up its energy reserves. If you do, your tree should recover from the chop with explosive growth.

To clarify, I was planing on chopping below the first branch. Is that a bad idea for this type of tree?

 

[Gabler]

To clarify, I was planing on chopping below the first branch. Is that a bad idea for this type of tree?

Why would you want to chop it so low?

 

[Drekula]

Why would you want to chop it so low?

I’m dealing with a weird fork here and kind of want to start the main trunk over before the bifurcation. I like the flared base of this tree, but need to work around the problems.

 

[Drekula]

The struggles of nursery stock…

 

[Gabler]

Remove the ugly side of the fork and slightly hollow out the wound so there's room for the callus to roll over and close the wound smoothly. I find they heal reasonably quickly when healthy and growing vigorously.

 

[Drekula]

Remove the ugly side of the fork and slightly hollow out the wound so there's room for the callus to roll over and close the wound smoothly. I find they heal reasonably quickly when healthy and growing vigorously.

Ok will do, thank you so much for the advice!

 

[BonsaiDTLA]

Is it me or do the leaves look like the tree is suffering from chlorosis

 

[Gabler]

Is it me or do the leaves look like the tree is suffering from chlorosis

Yeah. We discussed that.