AusBonsai

Pup took the words right out of my mouth, the cut paste is way too thick.
Try to get the new leader up more it may be that you have to work it up over a number of months. Remember that cedar just snap you get no warning.
That first branch on the left needs to be dropped so it leaves the trunk at a slight downwards angle, you may need to undercut it a bit at the juncture of branch and trunk..
Later in the spring when it really starts moving give it a good feed of D/L.
Your tree is going to be a good one, well chosen
Craigw

Pup wrote:If you want the scar to heal over the paste should be applied as thin as you can, and should be kept of the edges as you have it now.

Start wiring now with those branches while they are young.

Cheers Pup

Hi Pup, just checking what you mean about the cut paste. Do you mean that it shouldn't be wrapped down onto the trunk? I was once told to do that but I did wonder if it would interfere with new buds shooting right next to the wound. Surely you must fully seal the cambium though, which mean coming right out to the edge and just slightly over to get it to seal it all up???

Thanks Pup, I am using this putty type of paste much more now since seeing here that it makes for a less lumpy ugly wound heal on softer wooded species.

neal.

is this what u meant with the paste?
and didnt want to go overboard with wiring but yeah bit better.
thanks

this pic isnt that good but i only use a thin layer of paste,out to the edge of the cut and only thin ,as you can see ,it,s so thin you can see thru it..saves on paste, looks neater and works,,

Take the paste to the edge of the scar but not rolling over the side, you need a little spit on your fingers to get it really thin it still look a bit thick, the scar will heal much better if the paste is thin.
The top of your tree looks so much better but that left hand branch needs to be dropped some more and also needs some movement if possible. Try a guy wire to lower it.
Craigw

I think both Craig's have answered your query Neal . Craig's is a little thin but, Ricardo's is still too thick.

As Craig 60 suggested a bit of moisture IE spit does help to get it thinner.

a bit more wire on that and as Craig 60 said a turn buckle to bring it down gently.

The two branches are looking like bar branches are they?. If so you will have to watch for swelling at that point,.

Cheers Pup

Thanks all. I think I need more spit! Its not easy to get that stuff to to thin out and not tear and then to stick down and not lift up again when you pull your finger away. A little more practice I guess Is it ok to put just a drop of water into the tub to soften it a bit?? Also surely Craig from perth's pic is the softer tube stuff not the pot of putty stuff.
Cheers
n.

G'day Neal if your finger is moist you can put as much pressure on it as you need, I find saliva is better than water.
Craigw

The one i have is in a yellow tube with green cap, its not a putty ,but you can still smooth the putty ones out as stated

hi thined out as much as i could and yeah the branches come out from same point but dont reall have much
to work with at the moment so think just gona let it be for a few months then do a better job wiring

On the seal issue, about two years ago was experimenting with sealing cuts, also on an atlas cedar as it turns out. I found that grafting mastik worked much better than cutpaste (putty version or cream version) on the resulting wound. (However I found the opposite to be true for a maple in the same fit of experimentation....) OK, it's not a perfect controlled environment and not very scientific. Could have been the result of a number of factors unrelated to the chemistry of the sealer, but the results were what they were....