Bonsai Development Series #12: Avoid growing trunks with straight sections

I’ve set a simple goal for a group of cutting-grown plums: avoid straight growth.

The idea is to produce trunks with undulating movement. Each year these plums produce new shoots in spring. I typically wire these shoots in summer and then shorten them in fall. If I find anything straight, I shorten it or wire it.

I’m not sure how large I want these trees to become, but I’ll have some flexibility as long as the trees have interesting movement and taper.

The plums below were trimmed and wired by students in a recent Development workshop. After getting comfortable with the pattern, the students worked quickly. Here are the trees after cutback and limited wiring.

Tree #1

Tree #2

Tree #3

Tree #4

Tree #5

Tree #6

Tree #7

Tree #8

This seasonal work will continue for the next several years until I’m happy with the size of the trunks. At that stage I’ll shift focus to the branches and work to better ramify the trees.

Related Post

Fall cutback on young Japanese plum bonsai

See more posts in the Bonsai Development Series here.