Several decades ago when I was teaching bonsai at Cornell my
plant
physiology professor took my Introductory Bonsai course. He
corrected
all my mistakes after class, including this myth. Once when
talking
about forests I mentioned what John said about removing
branches and
roots on the same side of the tree. He said there IS cross
movement
within a tree, and a root on the right side of the tree may
help to
feed branches on the left side. I tend to believe my professor,
rather
than bonsai myths which have been going around for ages.

By the way, I passed my plant physiology class and my professor
passed
my bonsai course....

I don't think this can be stressed too much.

Bonsai books (and demonstrations or workshops) are NOT where you
go to learn botany.

They teach the craft (or art, if you will) of bonsai design. As
often as not, the science is dead wrong.

Leave teaching how plants grow and why they grow as they do to
the scientists -- or at least to the horticulturalists. ;-)

This is NOT to say that experience doesn't leave you with
perfectly valid anecdotal knowledge about plant _behavior_ under
certain conditions (light, fertilizer, water, etc.); but HOW they
do what they do is best left to the docs. (And for many bonsai
situations, you don't really _need_ to know that stuff. It's
just interesting, and it is always nice to learn something new.)

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The phrase
'sustainable growth' is an oxymoron. - Stephen Viederman

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Do bonsai (or trees) with muscular trunks (e.g., American hornbeam) have
less likelihood of transporting nutrients laterally? It appears that their
roots lead to feeding the branches directly above them with a large root
usually leading to a correspondingly vigorous branch. This might be mere
coincidence, but it seems the roots and branches are related in directional
growth based on their radial location.

I can see that a sacrifice back branch would have little purpose if it only
drew nurtrients & created adding wood directly underneath it & behind the
tree's profile.

The original question for this thread (I think) asked if it was okay in a
styling session to cut a branch both above and below if the cuts didn't meet
though they would overlap in-depth. I think the branch will die beyond the
second cut no matter how far apart the cuts are placed, but other
respondents seem to think otherwise. I either don't understand the question
or need to broaden my knowledge-- probably both... :-)

Best wishes,
Chris... C. Cochrane, , Richmond VA USA

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Do bonsai (or trees) with muscular trunks (e.g., American hornbeam) have
less likelihood of transporting nutrients laterally?

Muscles have nothing to do with it. It depends on the number of
pores in the sides of the elements, compared to pores at the ends.
Gymnosperms (pines, ginkgos, etc.) have a more primitive hook-up of
vascular elements, and I'd expect them to have have more lateral
spread (relatively speaking) than modern angiosperms (maples, beech,
etc.), which have very specialized xylem elements. There are
actually books devoted to wood anatomy (check the nearest Forestry
school).
--
Nina Shishkoff

Frederick, MD

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Thanks for the great replies!

I think I will try one cut now, and if necessary, a cut further up next
year.

Jim

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