AusBonsai

Hi everyone , I acquired this tree from a sale and have recently gave it a big prune. My preferred front however has a big cut from pruning in the front and I am wondering if there are any dead wood techniques that can be used to make it look presentable? If not there is another front I can use .

The first photo is my desired front but as you can see there is a big mark where I had cut a big branch off. I will cut it more flush this weekend. Would the wound over time heal into itself and create like a circular hole ? Or if I carved inside it and made it look hollow if that would work.
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The second photo is the other front of the first won't work. The noticeable cut branches will
Be cut more flush in the future
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I also front a hollow inside with ants inside.. is this a bad sign??

Thanks!!

Wounds will eventually heal over but this one looks quite big and will probably take quite a few years to heal right over.
There's no problem making a scar a feature and I think this is even more appropriate in Australian natives because we see it so often in our trees where termites and or fire have created hollows in trunks in the bush.
Peter H has used this in his Eucalyptus nicholii which was on show at Canberra last weekend. My photo is not as clear as I'd like but you can probably still make out several (artificial) hollows on the trunk. Just hollow the wood a little below the natural bark level and paint the wood black to simulate a dark hollow.

Ants will take up residence in any suitable hollows. They are a nuisance but not a desperate problem. They can be a pain when you are working on the tree though so I'd try to get rid of them. The hole is probably not a problem, many of our native trees live long and productive lives with hollow centres. Nearly all the business is done in the layers just below the bark so a hollow interior does not significantly affect the tree.

Thnk you very much for that shibui ! I think I might try the hollow. Hopefully it isn't too large and displace the overal look