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European Beech No.2
http://weetrees.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=17197		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  Brahma [ 06 Dec 2017, 21:20 ]
Post subject:  European Beech No.2
Another European Beech - Fagus Sylvatica.

This one is from garden centre stock originally bought as hedging material - I chose this one because it had quite a good spread of branches all over. It's in reasonbale soil and at the beginning of last year was wired to give it some shape (I used guy wires and gradually tightened them over the course of 18 months - with normal aluminium bonsai wire - even 3mm - I couldn't get it to hold its shape!)

And then came the football! :mad: My lads were kicking the ball around in the garden and whack - my Beech saved a penalty! But in the process of making the save, it lost a few branches that were in key positions so now I've got to try and graft some new ones on. :1crybaby:

My plan is to start this soon. I know it goes against the rules with regards to carrying out root pruning at this time of year, but I have to try and get the donor sapling trees through holes in the trunk before the buds begin to swell otherwise I might not get them through. I'm going to try Keith's idea of wrapping the saplings in paper to get them through unharmed. This tree needs to be repotted - it's been in its current pot for 2-3 years now and I want as little disturbance as possible after the grafts go on. The roots were reasonbale when it was potted last time so hopefully won't need too much work this time around. Also, my donor tees are quite long saplings so I might be able to get one or two in the soil alongside the tree which will make them more stable.

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Author:  Brendan [ 07 Dec 2017, 00:43 ]
Post subject:  Re: European Beech No.2
Chop chop!

Although it is curvy it lack taper for almost the whole of its length. Also there is some inverse taper at the height of the pot rim and again at about the second branch.

I suspect you may be best served by chopping it at the lowest branch which you wire up as a new leader.

Alternately ground layer it where the lower bump is. You could probably do this really easily by building the pot up and filling it with a good medium to above the height of the area you remove the bark for the layer. May as well take a few layers higher up, too. Obviously not for a few months yet.
Author:  PeterBone [ 07 Dec 2017, 11:11 ]
Post subject:  Re: European Beech No.2
If you grow it in the ground for a few years then you could solve the lack of taper issues by allowing the lower branches to grow while keeping the upper ones pruned. Then you may not have to chop as low as Brendan suggests.
Author:  paulpash [ 07 Dec 2017, 11:45 ]
Post subject:  Re: European Beech No.2
The width of the base proportional to the height is important to convey a certain aesthetic. A height:width ratio of around 3:1 will convey a very powerful, 'Sumo' image whereas a literati pine or juniper that has feminine twists & curves can be 15:1. This style is really the only one you can believably portray as a 'mature' tree with stats of 15:1. 7:1 is often quoted as a good ratio for an attractive tree but this is a rough generalisation.

If you are after a realistic beech image they have impressive, thick trunks & wide, spreading canopies. You therefore have 2 options - chop for a very small tree now or grow on then reduce later.

Both options mean a considerable time growing on, the latter a lot more than the former. In a small container this time span rises a lot. Beech are slow to develop so you need the increased vigour that ground growing gives.

As regards the next branch for the leader you have a trunk moving to the right (last pic looks best to me) that then attractively changes to the left. On the outside of this bend you have a well placed first branch. If you use the first branch as the leader 2 problems arise: first, this branch is moving to the right too. Trying to wire it left will always look awkward & contrived. Keeping it moving right and we lose the feminine curve. Second, using the first branch & wiring it up as the new leader means we have no first branch anymore so we have to gamble on an equally well placed bud popping which we will then have to grow on. That first branch then is a 'managed keeper' - ie when you ground grow this you MUST treat this branch as a 'proper' bonsai branch, pruning it back & developing good structure. It must stay alive but held back otherwise in the years it takes us to form the trunk the first branch will be out of scale.

Beech are not easy to develop & maintain - their blanketing growth habit, used as a mechanism to out compete other plants on the woodland floor, also leads to internal buds dieing off. Ensuring nothing shades out our first keeper branch is important - we want it controlled but not weak to the extent it starts to abort the branch. Thinning of the outer canopy & leaf cutting will come later when it's time to put it in a training box.

I'd use the small branch just visible on the inside of the curve as the next eventual leader because:

It retains the nice bend
Is pointing in the right direction already - just wire it up
Is very thin so nice change of caliper
It allows us to keep the 1st branch.

Chop a few branches above it initially then chop again to this point when it gets stronger. Chopping low from the outset will really slow it down. Any buds that pop low down at the 'back' of your tree keep & use as a sacrifice.

Scarring from wire on Beech takes ages & ages to grow out. Don't wire while you ground grow - use guy wires or directional pruning.
Author:  Brahma [ 07 Dec 2017, 20:24 ]
Post subject:  Re: European Beech No.2
Thanks for your feedback folks. I reckon I lost 4 or 5 branches from the football incident - these were all low down and had been intended for sacrifice branches. That's part of the reason I was asking about grafting on Beech - I was thinking about grafting saplings low down purely as sacrifice branches? Once they take, whack it in the ground.

Great explanation Paul, thank you. I do like the first branch too - is this a "cut back to 2 buds" scenario? When is the best time to do this - is that another task for just as the buds are breaking or would you do this now?

Cheers,

Andy
Author:  paulpash [ 07 Dec 2017, 20:52 ]
Post subject:  Re: European Beech No.2
Brahma wrote:
Thanks for your feedback folks. I reckon I lost 4 or 5 branches from the football incident - these were all low down and had been intended for sacrifice branches. That's part of the reason I was asking about grafting on Beech - I was thinking about grafting saplings low down purely as sacrifice branches? Once they take, whack it in the ground.


Great explanation Paul, thank you. I do like the first branch too - is this a "cut back to 2 buds" scenario? When is the best time to do this - is that another task for just as the buds are breaking or would you do this now?

Cheers,

Andy


This scenario is grow the shizzle out of the rest of the tree, forming trunk section 2 and control the first branch. 2 bud cut back you can use on that first branch, just don't let it get too weak.
Author:  richardb [ 08 Dec 2017, 09:20 ]
Post subject:  Re: European Beech No.2
When you say grafting do attaching a slice into a cut area? An easier way for a nearly 100% success is thread grafting. If you do not have a long / flexible piece to pull round and thread then get a new beech (exactly the same cultivar)sapling and plant in your pot then thread the leader through a hole where you want the new branch and wait for it to expand and seal in.
Author:  Brahma [ 08 Dec 2017, 09:58 ]
Post subject:  Re: European Beech No.2
Hi Richard. Exactly! I've bought six saplings that are ready to go they are fairly thin and whiipy so should, hopefully be ideal for thread grafting
Author:  paulpash [ 08 Dec 2017, 11:36 ]
Post subject:  Re: European Beech No.2
I'd be very interested if you successfully thread grafted beech - in my experience it's been extremely difficult for me & I have failed a few times. Please post your method if successful.
Author:  Brahma [ 08 Dec 2017, 21:58 ]
Post subject:  Re: European Beech No.2
paulpash wrote:
I'd be very interested if you successfully thread grafted beech - in my experience it's been extremely difficult for me & I have failed a few times. Please post your method if successful.


Hi Paul. I've got my "No1 Bech" which is definitely the best of my beech trees - while I quite like this one and I will try and develop it, I think I might use it to try out some new techniques, like grafting. If it doesn't work, I won't panic too much and just try something else.

I'll take pictures along the way and share them with you on here.

Andy
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