On Jul 12, 2005, at 9:09 PM, Alan Walker wrote:

Bob: Not quite standard technique. Usually you angle your chop
toward the back of the tree and bring up a bud or branch from the
front.

I have a wild collected crabapple tree which fortunately developed two
new leaders right at the top edge of the cut where I wanted them. The
front one is the new leader, and I pruned it back this spring to grow
out again. I have the rear one growing unencumbered to help the scar
heal over more quickly. That will be the sacrifice leader which I will
probably cut back next spring, depending on how much more healing I get
at the cut. It's progressing pretty well.

You can help a large chop scar heal faster by thread
grafting a thin branch from below through the heart of the scar.
In my climate these scars tend to heal fairly quickly whichever
way you go.

If you did this, would the thread graft come up in the middle of the
scar? I assume this would be a sacrifice, which you would have to leave
in place until the wood that "puddled" around the opening met up with
the growing edge of the new wood around the perimeter of the cut. Am I
getting this right?
Also, if it's a pretty large scar on your chop, it helps
to carve it convex. This provides a better transition taper.
Alan Walker
http://bonsai-bci.com http://LCBSBonsai.org


Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a Sunset 37

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