This tree was grown from a cutting I took in 2004. When it was large enough, it was planted in the ground and fed and watered well. It was pruned hard to encourage lots of side shoots to grow off the main trunk, to help it to thicken faster.
After several years the main trunk was shortened, the new growth allowed to extend and then pruned back hard. This was to create an enlarged top to the trunk, to give the impression of an old pollarded tree.
After six years the tree was then dug up and planted in a large container and everything was cut off or pruned back to 3 cm in length.
Some light wiring was done in first few years, to create the image of a nice open broom style that I had in mind. This was mainly done in the winter to avoid leaving any wire marks.
The shape was mainly achieved by directional pruning, each year the extended new growth was cut back to about 3cm. This slow building of the branches creates a nice taper and changes of their direction.
The tree was root pruned every two years and the pot size gradually reduced. It was potted up in Akadama and fed on Chempak no 8. The pictures show it is still being grown in an over sized pot. I find this helps to increase the speed of development but still keeps the internode length reasonable.
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