AusBonsai

Hi Folks

I have the above potensai. However the main trunk has died. I would like suggestions of how to proceed with it.

My thoughts are:
(1) Cut of the main truck at the second trunk and restyle as an Informal upright;
(2) Cut the main trunk back to a stub and jin that;
(3) Keep the main trunk, strip it of leaves and bark and use the whole structure as a jin.

I realise that the second trunk was probably too high to be considered a twin trunk by the purists.

What do you think?

I have attached a pic

Fred

Not sure if you have but first I would be trying to work out why the main trubk died. Maybe position and watering/soil

I think the best future for this tree at the moment is growth

Scratch a bit of bark off the main trunk. If there is any green underneath, it may still be alive.
If and when you are convinced that it is dead, consider chopping it just above the first ring of wire at the same angle as the wire. Splinter the stub and jin. The secondary trunk will lend itself to be utilised in the Literati/Bunjin competition.

Hi Folks

Thanks for your replies. I am going to pull the plant out in a day or two.

To answer your queries: The drainage is fine as the whole plant would be dead if it wasn't. The cambium layer under the bark is no longer green and so I can safely say the main trunk is as dead as a dodo.
Both trunks received the same light. The tree was never let dry out completely or been water logged.

Could the tightness of the wire on the main truck have affected the sap flow?

Stymie when you say cut off at the first twist of the wire on the main trunk, that would leave very little or no trunk to jin. Did you mean the second turn?

Fred

i think that trunk even if it does have cambium under the bark is very much in trouble. i dont think it will come back from that sorry. your best bet is to do as advised, get some good growth on the left hand side and to jin the right. always jin bigger than orignally planned size as you can always take more off later if you dont like the look of it, you cant put wood back on, unless you can rewind time. man i wish i could do that! but seriously get the tree into a grow box as soon as it is possible with the right time etc to put strong growth on the live trunk.


and yes don, it would lend itself to the bujningi contest and disucssion in the styled tree section as this will be a makeover, i could see this tree coming up trumps in not to long at all, especially if it is bunjingi that you go for

regards jamie

ps, since you just replied before i posted- i dont think the wire would of cut of the sap flow, i have seen wire cut in that deep in the bark with wire and the branch still thriving. it was something else.

i recommend jinning at a higher point then that to start with then work down to a height your happy with. and shape. remember you can bend jin with a flame and hold it in position and it will set there.

With regard to the proposed jin. I was thinking Bunjin and a long jin wouldn't fit the bill but Jamie has the answer. Start big and whittle it down if needed.
addition:- I favour breaking the branch/trunk and tearing it downward to get a natural effect.

Both trunks received the same light. The tree was never let dry out completely or been water logged.

Could the tightness of the wire on the main truck have affected the sap flow?

I would confidently say no. It is a common ailment of wire cutting into bark and it almost never causes the death of that part of the tree.

The usual cause for something like this would be a stress that has caused most of te tree to die but it has managed to just hang on. It is a dire warning that it needs time to rest and build up it's strength again.
It could be an almost unlimited reason for this stress. Bad watering, bad soil, bad light, bad repotting, insect damage, poison mishap and I am sure many more. Without knowing the history of the tree it is hard to deduce what has happened.

If this tree came into my care like this I would cut the old trunk of about half way just in case I wanted to use it later(to strip like Stymie said or whatever) but to remind me that it is going whenever I look at it. Since it is the right time of the year I would repot into an extra gritty mix that can not be over watered, Just in case it lags, and nurse it for a year to make sure it has plenty of energy before I start work on it.