Ideally the trunk and branches of a bonsai should have no major pruning scars, however this is impractical if you are creating a bonsai from nursery stock, or removing a branch to re-style a tree.
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Wen cutters bite into the tree, removing a dimple of wood. This will heal over better, A flush cut with a saw will produce an unsightly mound as the bark grows over it |
| Sap flowing up and down the tree in the upper example of the illustration to the right, will find it difficult to get into the 'dead' area above the cut. A cut like this will take longer to heal than the lower example, where the cut allows a smoother flow of sap. |  . |
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The quickest way to get a wound to heal is
to allow the tree unrestricted growth. this may however have an adverse effect on the
shape of the tree, causing the structure to become coarse. The best way to overcome this
is to grow what is termed a 'sacrificial leader'. Allowing a shoot at, or near the top of the tree to grow on for a few years, will not only increase the sap flow, healing the cut, but also has the added benifit of thickening the trunk. When the sacrificial leader has done its work it is cut off, or air layered if desired |
© Allen. C. Roffey 23:42 21/12/2002
