I borrowed this mesmerizing ancient black pine trunk from Andy Rutledge’s ‘the bonsai journal.’
Trunk chopping 101 for deciduous trees
There’s an excellent article on trunk chopping at Andy Rutledge’s bonsai journal. Andy bills it as trunk chopping for beginners, but I suspect there are experienced bonsai people out there who might also benefit (like me, for example). I’ll just show you an illustration and a little text here, and encourage you to visit Andy’s site to see the whole article (and plenty of other useful stuff).
Cutting back to an existing leader
Here we have a likely candidate (above). This tree already has pretty good taper, but it is too tall for bonsai purposes.
Until now, you’ve been growing the trunk for size and you’re ready to begin its transformation into a bonsai. You’ve decided to cut back the trunk to an existing small branch that will be the new leader (indicated by the red arrow).
Use the saw and cut a little bit above the branch. Be careful not to damage the branch that will become the new leader.
Visit the bonsai journal for the whole article
Another great trunk. Also from the bonsai journal.
More than just a labor of love
If you read Andy’s whole article, you’ll see that there are at least two tools you’ll need for successful trunk chopping; a sharp saw and a grafting knife. Needless to say, the folks over at Stone Lantern (that’s us) would be happy to help you with these. At a sizable discount, no less.