Twisted Pomegranate Help Needed

[manlion89]

I picked up this twisted Pomegranate at bonsai a thon yesterday from Ed Clark of Round Valley Bonsai Nursery. The tree was dug from the field on Friday and is still in its grow bag. Tomorrow I’m going to work the roots as the buds are just starting to swell.

In addition to reducing about a third of the roots on Ed’s guidance, I want to address the 3 large branches coming out of the top of the trunk that will lead to a reverse taper. Ed also suggested I use a chemical to reduce transpiration as pomegranates leave out faster than the roots can keep up in his experience.

3 questions for the pomegranate experts out there:

1. Where do you suggest I cut down the 3 strong branches too and what one or 2 would be best to completely remove? I know pomegranate are known to die back and I don’t want lose any of the beautiful trunk twists. I’m not scared to cut hard but am also trying to avoid an expensive lesson learned by overdoing it.

2. What do you think would make the best front? I include a bunch of photos of tree. I understand that everything could change when I uncover the roots tomorrow.

3. Any suggestions on a good anti-transpiration spray you use for the first month after repotting?

Also, I don’t know what I don’t know so any other tips or best pomegranate practices are welcome.

 

[leatherback]

Love this tree. To be honest, I have found pomes to not die-back at all. Even cuttings taken did not die back. But @boone might be good to have in the conversation as he has a umber of very impressive ones and I think is in your whereabouts.

 

[manlion89]

Love this tree. To be honest, I have found pomes to not die-back at all. Even cuttings taken did not die back. But @boone might be good to have in the conversation as he has a umber of very impressive ones and I think is in your whereabouts.

Thank you for the lead. I think you tagged the wrong user but I figured out who you where referring to.

@bonhe Any suggestions or guidance on my initial questions? I read through your pomegranate thread and am very impressed by your trees. I find my self in Riverside for work a few times a month and would love to see your garden in person if you are open to it.

 

[leatherback]

aaahh. you are right

 

[AlainK]

Wow !

I like the first one, and also
105B5E0F-CAAB-4A6D-995A-B90F674FCF91

For tips, as others said, Bonhe is the first one that came to my mind, but I'm sure others can help with such a nice trove.

 

[manlion89]

Wow !

I like the first one, and also
105B5E0F-CAAB-4A6D-995A-B90F674FCF91

For tips, as others said, Bonhe is the first one that came to my mind, but I'm sure others can help with such a nice trove.

Thank you! I agree that the front is somewhere between the first picture and the sixth picture given the beautiful twists at this angle. I’m going to turn this into a progression thread to track this one at is evolves!

 

[AlainK]

the sixth picture given the beautiful twists at this angle

That's what I meant. Maybe the root that makes a circle outside the soil can be pruned without harming the jealth of the tree, but the sides with scars are a complette no-no to me.

I’m going to turn this into a progression thread to track this one at is evolves!

Yes, please !

 

[bonhe]

Thanks for trusting me Leatherback and AlainK

In addition to reducing about a third of the roots on Ed’s guidance, I want to address the 3 large branches coming out of the top of the trunk that will lead to a reverse taper. Ed also suggested I use a chemical to reduce transpiration as pomegranates leave out faster than the roots can keep up in his experience.

3 questions for the pomegranate experts out there:

1. Where do you suggest I cut down the 3 strong branches too and what one or 2 would be best to completely remove? I know pomegranate are known to die back and I don’t want lose any of the beautiful trunk twists. I’m not scared to cut hard but am also trying to avoid an expensive lesson learned by overdoing it.

2. What do you think would make the best front? I include a bunch of photos of tree. I understand that everything could change when I uncover the roots tomorrow.

3. Any suggestions on a good anti-transpiration spray you use for the first month after repotting?

Also, I don’t know what I don’t know so any other tips or best pomegranate practices are welcome.

First of all, congratulation. It is very nice specimen.
1- I see this one as a front . If you decide to choose this front, then you have to remove all the small branches ( in circle) to expose the trunk line. Whatever branches you want to keep, you need to prune them down to 5-6 nodes . Whatever branches which go straight upward, you can wire them down later on. At this phase, we need to keep the tree surviving and being healthy at first. Because you will prune the rootage, you can remove big branches ar same time. I never saw dieback on my tree, even though with big root or branch pruning .



2- I never used anti-transpiration agent. I just use the plastic bag to cover the whole tree to keep environment around the leaves in optimal humidity. If there is good humidity in the air around the leaves, the transpiration through the leaves will be reduced significantly! If you have a overhead misty system , you can place the tree there without the plastic bag coverage. With large pomegranate, I place them in the north side of the garden where it does not have direct sunlight, it will be fine , too (they are too big for me to move them into the overhead misty system area.
Sorry my garden is not open !
Thụ Thoại
P/s: what kind of soil do you use?

 

[manlion89]

@bonhe Thank you for the guidance. It is extremely helpful. You, @AlainK, and myself all agree on the same front. Tomorrow I’m going to be able to cut back to the trunkline, root prune, and repot.

I do have a small greenhouse tent. For post repot care, would placing this tree in the tent in an area of my yard that receives morning sun and afternoon shade be a good strategy to minimize transpiration until the tree recovers?

As far as soil, I use Boon mix. Any suggestions on soil mixes for pomegranate?

 

[bonhe]

I do have a small greenhouse tent. For post repot care, would placing this tree in the tent in an area of my yard that receives morning sun and afternoon shade be a good strategy to minimize transpiration until the tree recovers?

As far as soil, I use Boon mix. Any suggestions on soil mixes for pomegranate?

You are very welcome
Greenhouse tent should be fine.. I don’t have greenhouse, it is why I use other methods
I rarely used akadama for the big bonsai ! For pomegranate, I use inorganic: organic with ratio 1:2.
-Inorganic: pumice, perlite or lava cinder . With big pot, I use perlite at the bottom and middle , pumice on the top third
With small pot, I use lava cinder or pumice
-Organic: orchid seedling ( it is sold as 2 cu ft bag at Orange Farm supply ) and Tee-N- Tuft (forest ground product - excellent - also sold at above store in 2 cu ft bag). Ratio is 1:1
After I mixed above soil contents, I add active charcoal with ratio soil/ charcoal is 2/1. Active charcoal is in 50 lbs bag. If you look it up on the eBay, most stores sell it in expensive price, but one has really cheap price ( around $30 I think- and you can pick it up in Gardena, CA to avoid shipping fee)
After that, I sprinkle humid acid granule to soil mix. That soil mix is ready for use
Humid acid granule is sold in 50 lbs bag at the above store, too.
Good luck to you.
Thụ Thoại

 

[manlion89]

Last night, I repotted, removed unnecessary branches, and wired down some branches that were growing straight up. These were some tough roots!! I’m very happy with the nebari and twists that were below the soil in the grow bag.

I potted the tree in an old unglazed Japanese round that was the perfect size. Down the road, I’m thinking a blue round or oval. Thank you all for the help in setting the future plans for this tree!

 

[leatherback]

Lucky you. Such a great trunk!

 

[manlion89]

Update. Leafing out nicely and trunk twists really popping now! Included a photo of it from my quarantine office as well.

 

[ChristianDGreat]

Update. Leafing out nicely and trunk twists really popping now! Included a photo of it from my quarantine office as well.

any update on this tree?

 

[Stella]

this is such a nice trunk. would like to see an update

 

[LCD35]

Second for the update

 

[Hack Yeah!]

@manlion89 , please report to the principle's office immediately for failure to update your awesome tree

 

[Crazy Diamond]

manlion89 Last seen Jun 10, 2021 ​