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Spring cutback on Chinese quince

May 15, 2020 by Jonas Dupuich

Last December, I decided to take a big step to improve the branch structure on a Chinese quince. I cut off most of the branches.

The tree was fairly ramified, but the size and arrangement of the branches didn’t convey the gnarly character that I associate with quince bonsai. The remedy, although severe, is the fastest way to make improvements. Here’s what this work looked like.

Fall color

Chinese quince – December, 2019

Winter silhouette

After removing the leaves – note the angular branch structure

New planting angle

After reducing the branches

I liked the movement at the base of the branches so I cut them short instead of completely removing them. Cutting back also made it easy to see that the tree looked better at a new angle.

I repotted the tree after cutback to preserve the angle change. Since then, the tree has been growing vigorously.

Spring growth

New shoots on Chinese quince

To get the tree back into shape, I made two kinds of cuts. I first reduced the spring growth back to 2-3 buds. Next, I removed any branches that wouldn’t be part of the final design (new shoots growing from the trunk, downward growing branches, and branches growing inward back toward the trunk).

Here’s the tree after spring cutback.

After cutback

Chinese quince – 8″ tall

The remaining branches were short enough that they didn’t need wiring. I’ll let the tree grow freely through summer and look to prune again in fall.

✕

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Filed Under: Uncategorized, Bonsai Development Tagged With: Chinese Quince

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gary McCarthy says

    May 15, 2020 at 4:46 am

    SWEET little tree!!!

    Is that a Sara Rayner pot?

    • Jonas Dupuich says

      May 15, 2020 at 1:45 pm

      Thanks Gary! And good eye – it is a Sara Rayner pot, one of her squared ovals.

  2. Grant says

    May 15, 2020 at 9:07 am

    Beautiful Jonas! The new growth is so vigorous and lush – did you fertilize as well? Spray or soak with fungicide?

    • Jonas Dupuich says

      May 15, 2020 at 1:47 pm

      Thanks Grant! I’ve fertilized the tree a little with DynaGro and fish emulsion. I haven’t applied any fungicide.

  3. Lars Grimm says

    May 15, 2020 at 11:23 am

    Lovely little tree. Why not let the branches grow a little longer to better thicken up. From the photos, it seems like the new branches need much more caliber before they can be included in the final design.

    • Jonas Dupuich says

      May 15, 2020 at 1:50 pm

      Thanks, Lars! Because branches thicken so quickly on Chinese quince, I’m focusing on creating branch density first. Once There is a better primary and secondary branch structure I can let branches run to thicken as need be. Depending on how the tree grows over summer, I might leave a few long shoots at the end of the season.

  4. Yaroslav says

    May 17, 2020 at 2:08 pm

    Hi! Do I understand correctly that you don’t wait until the branch becomes the desired thickness before cutting it? In other words, are you developing a branch ramification without waiting for the primary branch to be thick? Some masters use this to achieve the desired thickness of the primary branches, and don’t touch them, allowing them to grow. And only then do they develop branch ramification.

    • Jonas Dupuich says

      May 18, 2020 at 1:55 pm

      Great question Yaroslav! I usually wait until the branch is thick enough before cutting back, but because Chinese quince branches become thick quickly, and because the base of the branches on this tree are already thick, I wanted to prune the new shoot to generate more branch division. It’s easy to add thickness later.

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