Sakura clump future design input

[Alcam]

Hello to everyone who reads this and contributes!

I live on Vancouver Island in Victoria, BC, Canada (zone 8/9, 300+ days of sun, mild winters, drought summers, etc.), and I recently received a field collected Sakura clump - six trunks - from a friend's yard (see photos). Although the clump was collected around 30ish ft away from a mature cherry blossom tree, I'm fairly certain it's a clump of shoots from that parent tree. Regardless, it has pushed out lots of growth since its potting and has also started to extend. It's main root is a large, dense clump, so it likely has lots of stored energy, and it still has lots of great feeder roots (yada yada), so I believe it's enjoying its new home quite a lot and should servive all year and into 2021 and beyond.

Given that it does servive, and given that I'm still quite new to the artform, I'd love some styling input from all of you, as well as some thoughts on a clump of shoots and whether or not they even make for good growing? My research leads me to believe it will, but I always enjoy as much info, insight, and tips and tricks as possible. It's potted in pumice and peat moss with a bottom layer of half inch beach rock for better drainage, so it's got good water flow while still retaining moisture (my research also told me Sakura prefer slightly acidic and moist but not wet soil, hence the mixture).

Lastly, I won't be styling or touching it for at least a year, likely two, and I understand it's still a little premature to even be thinking about future design, but I still find value in visualizing its future potential. Below are photos of both angles that I hope help, although it can be a little difficult to see all six of the trunks and movement. At the very least, we can all just enjoy and cheer it on to good health!

 

[Alcam]

@Wires_Guy_wires, I just came across the other thread about the flowering cherry sucker, and it seems like you have some good experience with them, so I'm hoping maybe you can help me out a bit with mine?

I'm less interested in thinking about a future styling on direction and all that, as that's merely mental masturbation to waste time during this pandemic, but I'm wondering more about its current growth. The entire clump is doing very well, likely due to how independent of a root system it came with, and each tip is extending around 2 to 4 inches right now. But, any thoughts on pinching the tips and sending that energy into lower growth? The top leaves are much larger than everything the rest right now.

As a fairly recently collected clump, I don't know if this year is literally just let it grow untouched, or if pinching is even worth considering? I'm guessing the former. I mean, will the lower leaves even grow that much more, and will that be beneficial to have larger and more dense foliage in its first year, or is it better to just let the tip foliage do its thing and the lower foliage will naturally over time start to fill out as well?

Honestly, what I'd really love is some literature to read up on about the flowering cherry with regards to it as a deciduous tree, as I'm having a hard time finding anything useful on the interweb aside from full sun this, spring blooms that, and I love to research.

Lastly, the parent tree doesn't appear to be grafted, which I know is always very common, although I could be wrong. Assuming it isn't, the parent is finally now starting to flower, and judging by its foliage and flowers and time of flowering, my research leads me to believe it's a fugenzo 'shirofugen', which would be amazing. The foliage on my clump matches that of the parent as well, so fingers crossed. Anyways, sorry for the long read, but any insight would be fantastic. Thanks!

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

My experience is pretty limited. I have one adult cherry tree, one almond, two prunus, and a few cherry suckers.
I pinch in mid summer, but only to get more lower growth in the next year. My stone fruits do one flush of growth per year.
The suckers have never flowered.

I cut the foliage in half when they're healthy, this reduces the foliage size in the next year but doesn't do much else. I fold every leaf and cut a piece off so that the remaining leaf holds the original form, but smaller.

Grafts can be hidden very well on cherries, because their bark is universally the same. I see no union on our 30 year old tree, but I know it's grafted. This can be misleading.

I'm not sure if that covers all of your questions, but it's a start ;-)

 

[Alcam]

My experience is pretty limited. I have one adult cherry tree, one almond, two prunus, and a few cherry suckers.
I pinch in mid summer, but only to get more lower growth in the next year. My stone fruits do one flush of growth per year.
The suckers have never flowered.

I cut the foliage in half when they're healthy, this reduces the foliage size in the next year but doesn't do much else. I fold every leaf and cut a piece off so that the remaining leaf holds the original form, but smaller.

Grafts can be hidden very well on cherries, because their bark is universally the same. I see no union on our 30 year old tree, but I know it's grafted. This can be misleading.

I'm not sure if that covers all of your questions, but it's a start ;-)

This is great, so thank you!

 

[sorce]

drought summers,

I decided to go back and read this climate information more carefully after scanning through it thinking, "maybe this does matter".

It didn't really matter I guess, but this part bothers me, "drought summers". Since it is rather incomplete information, it doesn't mean anything.

And THAT fact DOES mean something.

I feel like explaining it, because you were recently reported, which means you have that wit, that ability to "get it", as opposed to those reporting, who have a hard time figuring out concepts a little deeper than a pumice raft.

The information we need for that to be informational is what "drought summers" means to you.
If we have a drought, we get water restrictions, which means you better have x amount of gallons capacity in your rain holding tank, use grey water, etc...
There can be a thousand variations of that.
What is yours?

The level of control that you will actually have through that drought makes large differences in every choice you make, from soil to shade net, what trees you'll keep, where they come from, etc...

This matters in regards to styling that tree, because it's about seeing these new doors that you must open to find answers to your questions.

In the same way "drought summers" means nothing without more information, us, seeing that tree, and having this conversation means nothing, or more accurately, something not as true as you can go find more true yourself. Just as I can ask you what "drought summers" will actually mean...

You can go to your friends house, travel that 30ft circumference in search of others like it. See what they've done. Futz with the mom tree, or better, see if you can scrounge up some old photos of it, maybe there are yearly birthday photos showing progression?

Your truest information will be found there.

I have to care what "drought summers" means to actually help.

And you have to go study that tree to actually help yourself.

Thanks.

For me, the stuff that actually helps, always comes about in conversation about stuff no one thought mattered!

I won this week for getting reported.
I had 2!
You and 2 others tied for 2nd with one!

Sorce

 

[Alcam]

I decided to go back and read this climate information more carefully after scanning through it thinking, "maybe this does matter".

It didn't really matter I guess, but this part bothers me, "drought summers". Since it is rather incomplete information, it doesn't mean anything.

And THAT fact DOES mean something.

I feel like explaining it, because you were recently reported, which means you have that wit, that ability to "get it", as opposed to those reporting, who have a hard time figuring out concepts a little deeper than a pumice raft.

The information we need for that to be informational is what "drought summers" means to you.
If we have a drought, we get water restrictions, which means you better have x amount of gallons capacity in your rain holding tank, use grey water, etc...
There can be a thousand variations of that.
What is yours?

The level of control that you will actually have through that drought makes large differences in every choice you make, from soil to shade net, what trees you'll keep, where they come from, etc...

This matters in regards to styling that tree, because it's about seeing these new doors that you must open to find answers to your questions.

In the same way "drought summers" means nothing without more information, us, seeing that tree, and having this conversation means nothing, or more accurately, something not as true as you can go find more true yourself. Just as I can ask you what "drought summers" will actually mean...

You can go to your friends house, travel that 30ft circumference in search of others like it. See what they've done. Futz with the mom tree, or better, see if you can scrounge up some old photos of it, maybe there are yearly birthday photos showing progression?

Your truest information will be found there.

I have to care what "drought summers" means to actually help.

And you have to go study that tree to actually help yourself.

Thanks.

For me, the stuff that actually helps, always comes about in conversation about stuff no one thought mattered!

I won this week for getting reported.
I had 2!
You and 2 others tied for 2nd with one!

Sorce

What do you mean I have the ability to get it?!!!!!



Oh, man, you got 2 and a game misconduct for that?! Do I also get a 2 minute penalty for hurt feelings? Hmm, I mean, it was all tongue-in-cheek, of course, and well-after myself and others tried to genuinely help, so any cheekiness was certainly in response to the unwarranted snarkiness, which I'm still quietly lol'ing about inside. Oh, well, I digress.

Allow me to definitely clarify drought in our part of the world. We don't get any water restrictions where we are, (we have lots of natural watersheds and supply areas here in Beautiful British Columbia), we just get very little rain here in Victoria from now until, say, late September, with lots of potential for forest fires, and so lots of fire restrictions and all that. Basically, I leave my trees outside, of course, but not in the open with hopes to rely on the weather as my main source of watering, as we just don't get much at all in the growing season and too much in the off-season. I have a south facing patio with the easy ability to baby my few trees I have with full sun, or shade from a row of hedge. And I do baby them, because, as I said, I only have a few trees right now. I'm a star at the bonsai shuffle already. As I only have a few trees, I also have the ability to give them nice clean filtered water from my fridge, as it takes no time to do. However, because of how dry the growing season is, I've decided to use the pumice with a bit of peat moss with my mixture to help retain a little more moisture, as I didn't plan for covid to keep me indoors so much, and I normally am not around so much to water them so much during the dry growing season - had I known in advance we'd be isolated indoors, I would've stuck with pumice. But, everything is growing great so far. We're all very happy together in isolation so far.

I did speak to my friend recently and it sounds like the fifty or so other clumps (they're all over the place in a very large circumference) are pushing out leaves, but not nearly as much as mine, so that's a good sign, for me, anyways. It sounds like all the clumps near the parent tree are likely draining the life out of the parent, as it doesn't seem healthy and he's thinking of removing it. It might be a good chance for me to get some more later in the year. He doesn't pay close attention to them, so he isn't sure if they bloom or not. There are shoots on the tree that do, but he doesn't know about the large number of clumps; he's going to keep an eye on them and try to send me pictures eventually.

I've been looking at this clump every day, though, without worrying what I'll do with it. I just like studying trees and their shapes and letting it wash over me. Eventually I'll know. And, besides, I won't be wiring it for a while, anyways. I'm just going to let it do its thing and see where it goes. The less fussing right now the better as it continues to settle in and grow. The more information I can gather on best pruning practices the better, and I'm starting to learn it deserves typical deciduous care, so I'm going to see how the new growth hardens off (if it does) and how well the lower foliage is doing at that time to make any further decisions. I'm just exciting that its doing so well so far.