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Time for the Big Chop 3 years 2 months ago #65118

  • Ivan Mann
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I am about to make my first ever big chop, cutting off the top 2/3 of a yew tree. I want (of course) new growth growing in the right directions, and wonder if the chop should be flat, like the red marks, or slanted like the black marks.

It seems to me that the slanted chop is better, with the top of the slant pointing in the direction I want growth to go. Is that right?

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Time for the Big Chop 3 years 2 months ago #65122

  • leatherback
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You say that is a yew, a taxus?
Where is the foliage?

Normally I woudl expect healthy (!) yews to have all sorts of buds and growth on the trunk.

I would make a straight cut, unless you have clear growth to cut back to. Making a slanted growth COULD result in a bud to pop in the are where you want int. On the other hand, the tree might decide to will the tip and regrow lower down.

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Time for the Big Chop 3 years 2 months ago #65126

  • Ivan Mann
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You say that is a yew, a taxus?
Where is the foliage?

Normally I woudl expect healthy (!) yews to have all sorts of buds and growth on the trunk.

I would make a straight cut, unless you have clear growth to cut back to. Making a slanted growth COULD result in a bud to pop in the are where you want int. On the other hand, the tree might decide to will the tip and regrow lower down.


Here is full length, about 4 feet, 1.1 meter.

It has produced lots of buds and new needles at the tips of branches and I have not been able to get it to grow branches anywhere except in the top. It is really too tall, and I was hoping to get it to make branches lower down then chop off the top. It won't do that, so chop off the top before new branches is the next try. It also has a huge spot where a main branch was cut off and not sealed. Cutting of there solves a problem.

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Time for the Big Chop 3 years 2 months ago #65128

  • jdmids
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Whilst I’m no expert on yew, I’d be mindful of chopping this tree back just now, there is little foliage on the branches. if this was mine I’d try again to get some vigour into this tree in the year ahead - heavily fertilising and maybe light pruning some of the green tips to try and promote some back budding... just MHO :)

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Time for the Big Chop 3 years 2 months ago #65131

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What is a lot? For me, a healthy yew will grow 1+ foot in a season if undisturbed.

The reason I ask.. Yew are known to have small energy stores. To get a decent backbudding, you do need a strong plant.

If you do chop, consider leaving quite abit of deadwood, leaving options to make it work / reducing with the final design?.

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Time for the Big Chop 3 years 2 months ago #65257

  • Ivan Mann
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Reading other bonsai sites there is not a lot of agreement, but mostly they say taxus should not be cut back the way I was thinking because they won't backbud without some needles to keep sap flowing.

So, here is plan #2.

Plan #3 would be to cut the small branch off, cut of the biggest of the other two, and let the medium size branch stay.

In both cases the tree shortens and may back bud some, allowing me to shorten it some more. And, decent trunk movement and taper.

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Time for the Big Chop 3 years 2 months ago #65270

  • lucR
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Reading other bonsai sites there is not a lot of agreement, but mostly they say taxus should not be cut back the way I was thinking because they won't backbud without some needles to keep sap flowing.

.


I absolutely do not agree. Beginning of July last year i cut back a 2 meter tall yew that my father wanted to get rid off. It is about 25-30 years old and has been pruned topiary style ( a large cylinder). I cut it back from 3 meter to about 30-40 cm , with little to no needles left. 4 weeks later it had backbudded like crazy all over the old wood. It is now a green bush with green all over, and ready to be excavated in a month or so. I dont have a picture of how it looks now, but i'll start a topic as soon as i have it at home and potted up.

I think timing and a healthy tree is important. I would feed it hard, give it as much sunlight as possible in spring, and if it is really healthy ( this year or the next) just cut back hard to where you want, it will backbud.



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Time for the Big Chop 3 years 2 months ago #65282

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Now I think back to the first plan, but now the question is when. I would not think summer is optimal. The fact yours survived must mean that yews are tough, but it doesn't seem like the best time. Some sites said spring, some said fall, and some said winter, so I guess that means almost anytime will do.

Maybe tomorrow.

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Time for the Big Chop 3 years 2 months ago #65287

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Now I think back to the first plan, but now the question is when. I would not think summer is optimal. The fact yours survived must mean that yews are tough, but it doesn't seem like the best time. Some sites said spring, some said fall, and some said winter, so I guess that means almost anytime will do.

Maybe tomorrow.


In my garden, yews have a serious push of growth in spring. Then in summer I might get a second push. If I trim and pluck the branches in the mid of summer, I get bud-setting all over and sometimes breaking befor fall, but only branch ends that were not trimmed continue to show real growth.

In my street I have seen a yew been completely bared one late summer. An empty trunk. Nothing visibly happening. Untill about may the next year, when the tree started pushing and grew easily half a metre in one push. Mind you, this was a big tree that became small.

To me, it makes sense to align with the big spring push. Make sure well before bud-break you have cut. Give the tree time to wake dormant buds, trigger them into developing so near regular bud break they can push.

I think I mentioned it before: Be certain your tree really is healthy & well rooted if you take such steps.
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Time for the Big Chop 3 years 2 months ago #65313

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I am not worried about health. All summer it grows new buds and new twigs, with constant pinching back. It has been doing this for years.

So in a couple of days if it stops raining, chop.

For some reason I think I will make a lot of cuttings from existing branches. Like I need more trees.

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