Lonicera nitida ‘Baggesen’s Gold

Having now got a little bit more confident i thought i would post another of my trees .

What are your thoughts on it , maybe a new pot. I'm trying to get something to grow on the bend near the top ,i would rather it grew on the outside but over time i will get it over there. That bit has always been a bit weak.
I'm sure someone will say remove the little one but my wife likes that one so i'm not allowed to remove it.

I like your tree Smithy. The “baby” looks natural to me as that is what happens in nature. Here is another tree with a “baby” and it looks just fine. I don’t know who the owner of the tree is. Good luck with trying to grow a branch on the outside curve.

thanks Jaco, that is a really nice tree, shame its not yours.

wow Jaco, great tree... really natural style and the 'little' tree gives a great feeling of scale.

Smithy... your tree has lots going for it... be careful that the foliage clouds do not end up looking like a trimmed poodle. I have the same 'problem' with Escallonias... you need to work hard to maintain a 'natural' appearance.

Wales eh! where abouts?

Tony wrote:wow Jaco, great tree... really natural style and the 'little' tree gives a great feeling of scale.

Smithy... your tree has lots going for it... be careful that the foliage clouds do not end up looking like a trimmed poodle. I have the same 'problem' with Escallonias... you need to work hard to maintain a 'natural' appearance.

Wales eh! where abouts?

Hi Tony,
Yes i do end up trimming it like a topiary garden plant. I think i need to get in there and reduce it all and select a few branches .

I'm in Hay on wye ,the town of books, only just in Wales but originally from Brecon.

Hi Smithy. Can you tell us the dimensions of your tree please as I'm not getting a real idea from the pic.

Reason I am asking is because I was wondering about air layering at the bend you talk about to get a decent Shohin (poss Mame depending on size of original tree) while retaining the "mother and baby" now with a bit of deadwood jin instead of that longish straightish trunk.


I wish I could do photoshop to show you better what I mean. Sorry.

Hi Fiona,
The tree is 30cm tall, it doesn't look so lanky in real life . Funny you should say about separating the two i had looked at that and here is a photo i had taken before just to try it out.

Smithy, to get a branch started on that outside bend I would attempt a thread graft from the pad on the opposite side.

Or (if you can) bring a branch back to the right and in line with the curve and create something as follows:

It's not clear from either photo which trunk carries the lowest branch. So this may not be doable immediately, but they bud on old wood profusely, if cut back hard. That would allow you to select the best positioned shoots and train new lower branches.

Justin Hervey wrote:Smithy, to get a branch started on that outside bend I would attempt a thread graft from the pad on the opposite side.

Yes thats an idea.

Jaco Kriek wrote:Or (if you can) bring a branch back to the right and in line with the curve and create something as follows:

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thanks for showing what it looks like. I've been waiting for this piece to grow for a couple of years . it started out badly as a small twig which got damaged and ihad to seal it back on so its a bit slow.

Kev Bailey wrote:It's not clear from either photo which trunk carries the lowest branch. So this may not be doable immediately, but they bud on old wood profusely, if cut back hard. That would allow you to select the best positioned shoots and train new lower branches.

I keep looking at the photos and it would a hard decision to do it. i've been tempted before but I'm not sure yet.