Brazilian Raintree Flat-top Progression. Lots of Pictures - please wait to load

deepbonsai wrote:sweet great info. now I'm just waiting for things to warm up. you say get a branch, set it in position and then let it elongate to get some girth. Don't let it get too thick though because the other branches after it will also add to the thickness. how do you stop it from getting thicker?
thanks brandon

Basically wire it loosely when it's green and elongating. Don't touch it afterwards, in order for it to lengthen and thicken to your hearts content then cut it back when you think it's thick enough. Cut back to above the bud you want to keep, this is the only hard rule with BRT. If you don't cut to a node you will suffer dieback to the next node. Sometimes it'll go to the trunk, so to avoid that, again, cut to a node/bud. I play it safe and cut as far away from the bud as possible; most of the time cutting just underneath the last bud/node I'm removing. I'm working on this tree with Boon in a couple of weeks, I'll try to remember to take some pictures so I can explain that part better.

Does that help?

Thanks!
Sam

Doug, did you sign up for Boon? It looks like the workshop is sold out

No I did not sign up for Boon this year. And you need to be careful -- you may end up with a stick on a slab. And take pictures before and after.

PS cannon is coming out with a EOS Rebel t6, looks pretty good for a high entry level. Check it out.

I trust Boon quite a bit

I used a Rebel for about 6 months and REALLY liked it. A lot. Enough to make me question my loyalty to Nikon. Ultimately, I had too much money invested in Nikon to switch but it was really close. I even wrote a pros and cons list a la Breaking Bad style. The 5d Mark III is a beast

DPreview rates it very highly. That'd be good enough for me.

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/canon-eos-rebel-t6s-t6i

doug !
thanks for the link !

used to be a nikon guy when i was film...
now i'm canon

Basically wire it loosely when it's green and elongating. Don't touch it afterwards, in order for it to lengthen and thicken to your hearts content then cut it back when you think it's thick enough. Cut back to above the bud you want to keep, this is the only hard rule with BRT. If you don't cut to a node you will suffer dieback to the next node. Sometimes it'll go to the trunk, so to avoid that, again, cut to a node/bud. I play it safe and cut as far away from the bud as possible; most of the time cutting just underneath the last bud/node I'm removing. I'm working on this tree with Boon in a couple of weeks, I'll try to remember to take some pictures so I can explain that part better.

Does that help?

Thanks!
Sam

yeah I believe I get what your saying About die back. I tried do as much research as I could online. After you cut and it dies back do you cut back what died or do you leave it? Will cutting it cause more die back. Thank you
Brandon
P.S. You'be helped me alot thanks

deepbonsai wrote:

Basically wire it loosely when it's green and elongating. Don't touch it afterwards, in order for it to lengthen and thicken to your hearts content then cut it back when you think it's thick enough. Cut back to above the bud you want to keep, this is the only hard rule with BRT. If you don't cut to a node you will suffer dieback to the next node. Sometimes it'll go to the trunk, so to avoid that, again, cut to a node/bud. I play it safe and cut as far away from the bud as possible; most of the time cutting just underneath the last bud/node I'm removing. I'm working on this tree with Boon in a couple of weeks, I'll try to remember to take some pictures so I can explain that part better.

Does that help?

Thanks!
Sam

yeah I believe  I get what your saying About die back. I tried do as much research  as I could online. After you cut and it dies back do you cut back what died or do you leave it? Will cutting it cause more die back. Thank you
Brandon
P.S. You'be helped me alot thanks

Hey Brandon,

On page 3 of this thread you'll see a progression with dates. Look at the right side, lowest branch. At one time I thought to leave that branch to eventually fill in on the design but the more I looked at it the less I liked it. I didn't take a picture of it during this process but I cut it back very hard, about 1.5 to 2 inches from the trunk because there was a node there. That node sprouted from there and I just kept weakening it by rubbing the buds off and taking the leaves off because I knew eventually it would go away but I couldn't risk cutting it to the trunk. It eventually did die back beyond the node but was still green close to the trunk and I cut it right at that point which is what you see as a little nub in my latest picture with the black background. It's now turned brown all the way to the trunk and the branch collar has revealed itself. I could cut it back to this point right now, but I'm taking it to work on it with Boon on Monday and I'll probably cut it back then. Because it's brown all the way to the trunk, it is now safe to remove like you would any other tree and it will heal over in the future.

Unfortunately, this long process is the way to work with Brazilian Raintrees or you'll suffer severe die back. For example, if I had removed it from the beginning (when I knew it wasn't going to be kept) and cut it all the way to the trunk like a Maple, it would have died back quite a bit on the trunk. I'm not sure where that die back would end but I wouldn't want to find out on this branch and on this tree. I learned on the roots the hard way.

For those wondering why use this species for bonsai with this weird issue, the answer is very simple. This tree grows ungodly fast; you can almost see trunk and branches fatten as you sit in front of it Because of that, designs can be achieved much quicker so it's very rewarding in this slow game. For me anyway

If someone else has different experience please chime in. I'm also learning with BRT's and would appreciate the input.

Have a great week!
Sam

Hey thanks for all of the info you gave me back in march Sam. Now with the info you gave me and the research I did its a lot easier to care for the tree. An it is doing great. I have it in a training pot  right now and it is begining to flower again much to my surprise. Thanks Brandon.

Good progress. thank you for sharing.