FreedomFighter

I've had this shimpaku 6 years now and was wondering what I should do in the near future? Once, or twice a year I do very light trimming/ pruning and not much more. I cut some of the height off and some of the new growth on the senior branches yearly and about a 3rd of the root mass.

Last night I had to re-pot, because the plastic pot split all the way down and had to be replaced. I trimmed the roots about 1/4th of what can be seen in the photos.

Should I leave this guy alone for a few more years before wiring, or what?

Thanks!

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philgrayser

Hi there freedom fighter, i would leave the tree alone for a while to recover from its root trimming. Looks a nice healthy tree and if it were mine i would try a semi-cascade style maybee? as the longer branch on the left looks like it could be wired downwards.Cheers Phil G.

treebeard55

As Phil said, it looks very healthy. A shimp under serious stress will sometimes respond by throwing spiky juvenile foliage, something shimps don't normally do: but I see no hint of that in your pictures.

I would wait until early spring to do anything else. As for what to do then -- is this tree at the final height you want?

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Treebeard 55
Steve Moore
http://hoosierbonsai.blogspot.com

The most important bonsai tool is your brain.

FreedomFighter

Hey Phil, I'll do what you guys say and leave it alone until spring. I like the semi-cascade look to. When you say for me to wire it downward, you mean wire the branch below the top of the pot, or wire it to keep growing level and outward?

I have a few other questions.

The 1st photo shows the long limb you are talking about wiring downward. It may be hard to see in the pic's but the lower foliage all around the tree is less than a 1/4 in from the soil. When I was doing the re-pot the mosquitoes were horrible and I had to do a very fast re-pot and the tree isn't as level as I wanted. I used paint program to show the other limbs coming off the main limb that's hidden by the foliage. I'm not sure what to wire, even if it was time to do so. If I wire any of the lower branches, they will have to be wired over the side of the pot. Foliage is already touching the soil and I haven't done any wiring.

2nd photo shows a noticeable empty space from the trees 5 o'clock position. How would I manage something like that? Should I next year, wire the top and bottom limbs towards each other to fill in the gap, or what?


Treebeard55, the tree is not the size I really want. I took measurements earlier and it's 8 1/4 in. tall, 13 1/2 in. long and 11 1/2 in. wide. To be honest I would like to see it twice that size in the next 15 years and not much bigger. What do you think?

Thanks again.

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treebeard55

Best thing to do is put it in the ground, Fighter. I'd do that in spring, unless fall is typically a good time for in-ground planting where you are in TX. You want a spot with morning sun and afternoon shade, if possible.

Let it grow in the ground until it's a least half again as big as you want. Then, once it's lifted and ready to style, you'll be able to cut back and achieve good proportions and a good image. (But don't plan on styling it for at least a year after it's lifted.)

__________________
Treebeard 55
Steve Moore
http://hoosierbonsai.blogspot.com

The most important bonsai tool is your brain.

philgrayser

Hi freedom fighter, if your are going for the semi-cascade look then i would wire the long branch on the left downwards over the rim of the pot. i would then leave it for a while and see what the tree does. If you are not sure about the other branches then leave them for a while and then go back and have another look at whats going on. Sometimes you need to leave things form a while to see what you can do. If im stuck with my trees i sometimes wire into the basic style and then look at books or the internet to see of i can find a tree that looks similar or a tree that gives me inspiration . Cheers Phil G

FreedomFighter

I'll do what you guys say and plant it in the ground come spring and not right now to be on the safe side. It's true that the more a person decides what to do with a certain tree, the more confusing it can be, so I'll plant it in the ground and let nature take it's course.

Thanks again, CHEERS!