Like last week’s post, here’s a GIF to help visualize pruning. 

With the Chojubai last week, we pruned the bottom more than the top. Here, with a beech, the top is pruned more, with some extensions left on the lower branches to help fatten them. 

As a general guide for undeveloped bonsai (but often useful for developed bonsai, too):

• Prune shrubs harder in the lower half
• Prune trees harder on top

The thick branch stubs left on this tree will be cut back to a clean profile in the next growing season. 

December 2023 Bulletin Board

• New offering: Aesthetics Class, co-taught with Andrew Robson. Learn to create and display bonsai with a refined eye—one weekend, two gardens, in late April in Oregon—come join us!