I’ve been pruning and wiring my young quince twice a year – once in spring and once in fall or winter. I’ve been doing this work to set the shape of the trunk before I let the trees grow on and thicken up.
Five year-old Chinese quince
Reducing sacrifice branches early keeps wounds small so they heal quickly. I start by shortening these branches but leave small stubs that I can clean up later.
After cutback
Sometimes I leave the stubs in place for up to a year before removing them. Other times I remove them right away. I generally leave stubs that are near the base of weak branches or along thin portions of the trunk. If the trunk is big enough in relation to the stub, I remove it.
Branch reduced to a stub
After removing the stub and cleaning the wound with a grafting knife
After applying cut paste to the wound
Here’s the quince after cutback and wiring a few branches.
After wiring and cleaning wounds – 13″ to top of highest wire
I’ll let the tree grow freely until May or June at which point I’ll repeat the process.
The post Cutback on young quince appeared first on Bonsai Tonight.