JLDoggett

After a couple of bad weeks leading up to the passing of a good friend I decided a new tree would perk my spirits. As the friend was always interested in fruit trees I though the cotoneaster would lend itself to be styled similar to most apple trees found in the orchids in this area.

I stopped at my favourite nursery and spotted this tree and its zigzagged trunk, which immediately made me think of an old apple tree. There was some major sucker growth that needed to be removed.

As each was removed the main trunk moved closer to my plan. I know that as the tree grows the sharp angles of the trunk will soften...

Attached Images

	cotoneaster-001.jpg (50.3 KB, 20 views)
	cotoneaster-002.jpg (82.5 KB, 10 views)
	cotoneaster-003.jpg (64.4 KB, 7 views)
	cotoneaster-004.jpg (68.6 KB, 8 views)
	cotoneaster-006.jpg (64.9 KB, 18 views)

__________________
"Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and wrong....because sometime in your life you will have been all of these"

And I further resolve to click on an ad, each time I visit, to help support the site and to be welcoming to lurking guests when you join! After all, you're already here.

JLDoggett

After the suckers were removed the 3 main branches had to be cleaned up. A certain amount of growth was left on the end of each branch for future foliage. Wire was applied to some of the existing foliage, but very little.

Attached Images

	cotoneaster-007.jpg (67.8 KB, 7 views)
	cotoneaster-008.jpg (38.7 KB, 6 views)
	cotoneaster-009.jpg (54.5 KB, 9 views)
	cotoneaster-010.jpg (60.6 KB, 3 views)
	cotoneaster-011.jpg (40.4 KB, 13 views)

__________________
"Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and wrong....because sometime in your life you will have been all of these"

And I further resolve to click on an ad, each time I visit, to help support the site and to be welcoming to lurking guests when you join! After all, you're already here.

JLDoggett

Lastly the new trunk and apex were wired. Now it will be given some light fertilizer and a while to recoved. Next year it will be further refined and in late spring it will be moved into a grow-box.

Attached Images

cotoneaster-012.jpg (42.0 KB, 27 views)

__________________
"Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and wrong....because sometime in your life you will have been all of these"

And I further resolve to click on an ad, each time I visit, to help support the site and to be welcoming to lurking guests when you join! After all, you're already here.

philgrayser

Hi there, Cotoneasters are my favorite trees because they flower and produce berries. I do know they dont like their roots to be wet so watch when your watering as they loose leaves quickly. Keep us informed with more pics please cheers Phil G

Ml_work

JL, I like were you are going with the tree, looks good

Keep Lookin Up!
Michael

Pup

G, day Jim I would like to see it some what smaller like these two pyracantha. They were started 6 months ago after huge cut back.

Attached Images

	P1070148.JPG (47.7 KB, 12 views)
	P1070149.JPG (47.2 KB, 21 views)

__________________
G, day I live in western Australia I have been trying for the last 20+ years with some success to grow Bonsai. I am a perpetual learner and an advanced beginner

Rick Moquin

Jim,

Having had large successes in my climate with Cotoneasters, care and growing. I would reduce the tree to the first branch not dissimilar to what Pup has shown with his Pyracanthas.

Cotoneasters are extreme bud breaking little suckers and take well to radical pruning. May I be so bold to suggest that you fell in love with the zigzag. The top portion of the tree is useless, but not waste. Cotoneasters propagate rather well as well. Treat the top as a cutting and you haven't wasted it.

Because of their rapid growth you will achieve easily what your vision in in 3-5 years. However, the top will never be in proportion with the rest of the tree.

Cut it back know and it will backbud like mad and leave it be. This will force natural budding down low in the trunk which with careful selection becomes your sacrifice branches.

As a new leader emerges, you will be on your way to a "new" zigzag, this one proportionate. You will also get budding close the the branch that remains behind, this in turn will need to be preserved as one of those buds should be allowed to grow unhindered with the apex to become the primary branch.

Clip and grow is the best method to deal with these and wiring when young. As time goes by the foliage is too compact to be easily wired.

Every spring prior to bud break prune back hard to stubs (defining your silhouette. There will be so much energy stored in the roots that the tree will do a "wheelie" when it takes off. Allow this new growth to go unhindered until it slows. Remove all unwanted buds and branchlets and do light directional pruning during the growing season. All new growth is clipped back to 2-4 leaves. If you have one that grows in a hearing bone patter "rockspray" you will have to alternate so two branches do not emerge from the same point. Maybe not needed but directional pruining with these is the new branch will go in the opposite direction from the leaf. IOW if the leave is on the left, the new branch will be heading right. During the season clip any branches growing down or up (redistributes energy to where it is needed and not wasted were it is not) Because these grow horizontally, choose appropriate top growing branches judiciously for future design considerations.

In spring (late March), give it a dose of 30-10-10 at full strength. Followed by the next 4 weeks with 10-10-10 at full strength. The remainder of the growing season any rose or flowering fert weekly is good enough. Come late summer there will be a need to change its feeding regime but we have lots of time to go there.

I hope this was helpful. Check trees under development in my blog for several cotoneasters that have come a long way in such a short period of time.

Cotoneasters make beautiful shohin and are extremely easy to care for. They grow like weeds and in doing so could be maintenance intensive to some.

The first pic is Apr '08, the second 2 weeks ago.

Attached Images

	dscf0022r.jpg (74.0 KB, 10 views)
	DSCF0027r.jpg (28.2 KB, 10 views)

__________________
Bonsai is the journey, not the destination
Bonsai Wonders

Rick Moquin

I believe next spring that I will be cutting off the apex off first pic, to the second left branch. Edit: just before the trunk goes straight up, forming my zigzag.

... and here is a close up of the trunk.

Attached Images

	dscf0032r.jpg (81.6 KB, 9 views)
	dscf0031r.jpg (81.6 KB, 7 views)
	dscf0028r.jpg (56.8 KB, 8 views)

__________________
Bonsai is the journey, not the destination
Bonsai Wonders

JLDoggett

As the growing season here is waning, any further work will have to wait until next May when the snow is gone.

__________________
"Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and wrong....because sometime in your life you will have been all of these"

And I further resolve to click on an ad, each time I visit, to help support the site and to be welcoming to lurking guests when you join! After all, you're already here.