Witch Hazel

This is the shrub I was asking about. What do you think and suggestions for pruning. Thank you very much! John

My daughter came and posted pictures for me.. I will let the masters see if this can be a bonsai or not !! please show the pruning places ect. thank you much take care john

Not a lot of pruning needed at this point. The first branch on the right is kinda large for being that high on the tree, though.

How large is it?

JIM,, The trunk base is 2 inches...heigth now is 25 inches.. i had to cut the height down to bring it home..hope this helps...thanks john

John

Keep in mind as you go forward with this species, you will primarily be displaying it in early spring/late winter when it flowers. The branches will be bare so having good twiggy branches that are proportioned well is going to be very important. When the witch hazel is in leaf your going to want to hide it as the leaves are large and in my opinion kinda ugly. I would begin with just establishing a trunk line and get rid of large branches as Jim suggests, style for a winter silhouette because thats what you'll be displaying.

Good luck I look forward to seeing how this tree progresses!
-Jay

Here's where I would probably begin If I had this guy on my bench.
might even try to get some of the smaller branches back in further, maybe even that bottom left branch if you think you could get a bud closer in toward the trunk to break for you.... but this is a rough idea. You might even be able to go in tighter than that on the apex.

DRGONZA Thank you very much for your comments and the places you would prune this one... JIM said the thick branch was too high,,i figured it was also... one more question please,, when would you prune this to hope for more branches to pop ?? i ment buds !! thank you take care john

moyogijohn wrote:DRGONZA Thank you very much for your comments and the places you would prune this one... JIM said the thick branch was too high,,i figured it was also... one more question please,, when would you prune this to hope for more branches to pop ?? i ment buds !! thank you take care john

I wish I knew , I would assume after its done flowering but I haven't worked with witch hazel yet, I would like to know as well.
-Jay

I treat my winter hazel just like any other deciduous tree, and prune in very early spring.

Couple of questions -
(1) Did you acquire the tree in this pot, or have you recently repotted it?
(2) Do you have any plans as to how big of a tree you ultimately want?

CRIS,,, It was in the pot when i got it ,,local nursery that is closeing down.. the height now is 25 ins. maybe i will stay with that ???? any suggestions for me ??thanks take care john

John:

Here is a nice witch hazel: http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?6916-Three-Friends-of-Winter

JIM ,, That is a really nice tree ! Thank you for posting it.. of course mine will not look like that but i do like the yellow flowers on bare branches. Thank you take care john

Just a thought I had for this tree. Maybe use the thick right branch as the new leader and lose the current top? That would help get some movement and taper into the trunk. Would require a slight change in the potting angle...and then cutting back a bit to promote some back budding of branches, etc.

Here is a quick virt of what I had in mind:

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Anyway, just a rough idea.

Though the improvement in taper would be negligible since the new leader is about as thick as the other one.

JESSE ,, Thank you for your suggestion and virt .. i wanted a strighter tree so the large branch is gone,,the cut sealed.. look at the virt. above see what you think.. thank you take care john

So the large branch is gone...did you remove anything else? Can you post an updated photo?

I like the idea of a straighter tree, but am thinking that maybe the overall height needs to be reduced a bit to encourage back-budding and eventually introduce more taper into the upper part of the trunk. Based on the virt Jay provided (don't have time to make my own), maybe cut above that 3rd branch? Looks like there might be some reverse taper above that area?

Caveat, I've not worked with this species and have no idea how they respond to pruning!

CHRIS,, I will get another picture up soon... i never worked one befor either but i like the little flowers so i will give this one a try..thanks take care john