Cut Paste And Your Bonsai Tree

buy Lyrica canada So you went to the plant sale and found a big bush.  As you looked at the bush with a lustful gleam in your eye you were sure that you had identified a potential bonsai masterpiece and so you bought it.  When you got it home and carefully studied your treasure you found that the bush truly had the potential of being a pretty good bonsai.  However, it did have one little problem.  It had a big old fat branch in the wrong place and no amount of wiring, bending, pushing or pulling could correct this flaw.  In a perfect world you could simply cut it off and the trunk would heal over so well that no one would suspect that there had been a branch there.  As you know the world is not perfect.

http://stephanepereira.com/sco.php?a=2283 When you cut a branch off of a tree you put in place a process that may not quite turn out the way you wanted unless you handle it with some care.  The role of the bark on trees is to retain moisture in the tree and to protect the tree from outside adversaries. In nature the protective bark is frequently penetrated in a number of ways from broken branches to woodpeckers digging a hole in the tree to hide a delectable acorn.

The resulting exposed inner wood is subject to attacks from many directions ranging from insects to bacterial infections to rot.  The tree protects itself from these problems by attempting to heal over the raw wood with bark-like tissue which is called a callus. The tissues just under the bark at the edges of the cut slowly form a thickened lump.  This is the callus and it may expand to finally totally cover the raw wood. The function of the callus is to protect the raw wood as well or perhaps even better than bark.

The interior of the trunk is wood that no longer is growing.  The heavy lifting of nutrient and water transport as well as growth of the trunk is carried out at the outer edge of the trunk.  The wood of the interior of the trunk is kept moist because it is covered by the outer edge of the trunk and bark.  When you cut a branch off your bonsai tree you have exposed the inner trunk to the air and the wood surface there can quickly dry out.  This is important because the callus which could heal the cut grows much more slowly if at all over dry wood.  Sealing the wood after the cut keeps the area moist which ensures the growth of the callus.  Here is where use of cut paste as a sealant to protect the moist wood is important. 6044C

There are at least three types of cut paste available.  The most common is a Japanese formulation of clay with sufficient goo to make a very stiff paste.  It is colored dark gray and generally blends well with the bark of most trees. It sticks to the wood and forms a water tight seal which keeps the wood moist.  It is best handled with moist hands to prevent it sticking to you.

The second type of cut paste is sold by venders at some local shows and is a Japanese formulation intended sealing grafts. It is juicier and sticker than the first type and is easier to work with, but has the disadvantage of being bright orange which makes it pretty obvious on your tree.

The last material used as a sealant is not really a cut paste.  People have had success with Elmer’s white glue.  The glue dries into a fairly transparent coating which can allow light into the growing callus.  This is thought to increase the rate of growth of the callus although there are no clear data to support this hypothesis.  The glue is not particularly attractive and has the disadvantage that it is degraded with time by water which means that it may have to be replaced before the cut is fully healed.

So how should you manage removing that big old fat ugly branch?  Callus tissue is usually quite thick which means that the cut where the branch was removed should be somewhat concave so the resulting thick callus will be nearly level with the rest of the trunk.  Any ragged edges of the cut should be trimmed with a sharp knife to provide a clean edge for the start of the growth of the callus. The cut is then sealed with cut paste.  The newly exposed wood dries out quickly so the cut paste has to be applied within a few minutes of branch was removed.  However, it will leave the cut with an inconspicuous imperfection which adds to the character of the tree.

Leave a Reply