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Old 27-08-2003, 03:05 AM
JOEL MCCORMICK
 
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Default [IBC] Will hitting the trunk with a hammer help?

I have read in a bonsai book that hitting the trunk of a pine with a hammer, softly will cause cell damage and as the tree repairs this damage the diameter of the trunk is increased. The book continued to say that one should only do one side of a tree at a
time.

I am interested in if the hitting the trunk with a hammer really works. I have a Japanese Black Pine that I am growing in the ground. I have about 2 1/2 inch trunk maybe 3. I have good sacrificial branches all the way down to the ground. I have a good curv
e in the trunk and I have a new top picked out. The problem is that through out the trunk I have very little taper. This spring I will cut it back from 5 foot to 2 foot. My problem is I have little taper from zero to 18 inches then the taper of the new top
. I plan on the finished plant being around 28 - 32 inches so I may not even need to be concerned at this time.

If the hitting the trunk with a hammer at the base causes the cells to break and then swell to repair themselves it may be worth it, giving me a little better taper at the base. This is not a small seedling in a bonsai pot. This is a 5 ft Japanese black pi
ne in my yard.

Thanks Joel

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Old 27-08-2003, 03:05 AM
Jim Lewis
 
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Default [IBC] Will hitting the trunk with a hammer help?

I have read in a bonsai book that hitting the trunk of a pine
with a hammer, softly will cause cell damage and as the tree
repairs this damage the diameter of the trunk is increased. The
book continued to say that one should only do one side of a tree
at a time.

snip

============

What book? I want to NOT buy it.

There aren't any shortcuts. Really. You can poke the bark with
a sharp knife or a needle, scour it with sandpaper, wrap it
tightly with string, or whap it with a hammer and you _may_ get a
slightly fatter trunk, but you're likely to get an UGLY fatter
trunk, too.

Trees don't say "Ouch! You're hitting me too hard." So you may
also end up with a severely damaged tree.

Part of bonsai is the care you take in developing a tree slowly
so it reaches its potential.

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

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Old 27-08-2003, 06:02 AM
Kitsune Miko
 
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Default [IBC] Will hitting the trunk with a hammer help?

I have heard of creating jin with a hammer, but not to fatten a trunk. If
the tree is still pliable you could try doing the strong wind bending
technique. This loosens the cambium a bit and this promoted girth. How
about some sacrificial branches instead?

Kitsune Miko

At 06:53 PM 8/26/2003 -0400, Jim Lewis wrote:
I have read in a bonsai book that hitting the trunk of a pine
with a hammer, softly will cause cell damage and as the tree
repairs this damage the diameter of the trunk is increased. The
book continued to say that one should only do one side of a tree
at a time.

snip

============

What book? I want to NOT buy it.

There aren't any shortcuts. Really. You can poke the bark with
a sharp knife or a needle, scour it with sandpaper, wrap it
tightly with string, or whap it with a hammer and you _may_ get a
slightly fatter trunk, but you're likely to get an UGLY fatter
trunk, too.

Trees don't say "Ouch! You're hitting me too hard." So you may
also end up with a severely damaged tree.

Part of bonsai is the care you take in developing a tree slowly
so it reaches its potential.

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

************************************************* *******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Dale Cochoy++++
************************************************* *******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ:
http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++


************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Dale Cochoy++++
************************************************** ******************************
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http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++
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Old 27-08-2003, 04:22 PM
Theo
 
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Default [IBC] Will hitting the trunk with a hammer help?

JOEL MCCORMICK wrote:
Hi Joel
I read that too .. but it also said that is NOT for pines as it
loosen the bark & will kill the tree , the twisting method does the same
bad result.. some books advice pinching teh trunck woth a spike and
teh holes cicatrizing will make it thicker , or scaratch it with a fork
to make it enhance its texture with cicatrization .. all hogwash! you
just spoil a tree

The moment in which the bark is most sensitive& dangerous is may
and june..as it mught loosen from the cambium ;
anyway I would not use that method on a nice/or whatever tree I
spent already time for training ..
If you wire a branch of a pine and you keep this for a while in a
position and than loosen and bent into another position for a while
again (x months anyway)
the connection point of the branch to the main trunk will fatten in
size and become unnatural as as big as the trunk

read and experienced personally :-(
Theo


I have read in a bonsai book that hitting the trunk of a pine with a hammer, softly will cause cell damage and as the tree repairs this damage the diameter of the trunk is increased. The book continued to say that one should only do one side of a tree at

a time.

I am interested in if the hitting the trunk with a hammer really works. I have a Japanese Black Pine that I am growing in the ground. I have about 2 1/2 inch trunk maybe 3. I have good sacrificial branches all the way down to the ground. I have a good cu

rve in the trunk and I have a new top picked out. The problem is that through out the trunk I have very little taper. This spring I will cut it back from 5 foot to 2 foot. My problem is I have little taper from zero to 18 inches then the taper of the new t
op. I plan on the finished plant being around 28 - 32 inches so I may not even need to be concerned at this time.

If the hitting the trunk with a hammer at the base causes the cells to break and then swell to repair themselves it may be worth it, giving me a little better taper at the base. This is not a small seedling in a bonsai pot. This is a 5 ft Japanese black

pine in my yard.

Thanks Joel

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Dale Cochoy++++
************************************************** ******************************

-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --


+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++




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Old 28-08-2003, 12:12 AM
Evergreen Gardenworks
 
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Default [IBC] Will hitting the trunk with a hammer help?

At 03:40 PM 8/26/03 +0400, JOEL MCCORMICK wrote:
I have read in a bonsai book that hitting the trunk of a pine with a
hammer, softly will cause cell damage and as the tree repairs this damage
the diameter of the trunk is increased. The book continued to say that one
should only do one side of a tree at a time.

I am interested in if the hitting the trunk with a hammer really works. I
have a Japanese Black Pine that I am growing in the ground. I have about 2
1/2 inch trunk maybe 3. I have good sacrificial branches all the way down
to the ground. I have a good curve in the trunk and I have a new top
picked out. The problem is that through out the trunk I have very little
taper. This spring I will cut it back from 5 foot to 2 foot. My problem is
I have little taper from zero to 18 inches then the taper of the new top.
I plan on the finished plant being around 28 - 32 inches so I may not even
need to be concerned at this time.


Joe

Cambium wounding does have its place in correcting faults, but this is not
one of them. First of all, I would never use the hammer method, it is much
too dangerous. Making small vertical cuts is my preferred method, but this
is for correcting small areas of reverse taper or getting a little bit of
swelling in the nebari on a small plant.

A plant your size needs major work to achieve taper. You say you have
sacrifice branches all the way to the ground, that is the proper and
fastest way to achieve taper, but it is still going to take several, if not
many, years. I use low sacrifices like this to gain caliper and taper.
Often the sacrifice is several times larger than the 'tree', to give you
some idea of the scale of work that you need. While doing this, leave it in
the ground or use large training pots, the faster the sacrifice grows the
better.

You can cut down the 'tree' and begin working the apex area and the other
branches. Identify the trunk area that already has the right caliper for
that height. You should not grow sacrifices higher than this, indeed, above
that point you will want to _diminish_ growth. Sacrifices below that point
will help you achieve taper, but for a trunk this large, probably a single
sacrifice in the base section is all you will need. However, keep all the
other low branches alive for possible final branch selection and/or future
sacrifices. It is amazing how your vision of a tree can change over the
course of the years.


Brent in Northern California
Evergreen Gardenworks USDA Zone 8 Sunset Zone 14

http://www.EvergreenGardenworks.com

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************************************************** ******************************
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