I’ve got a few mame larch. One seems particularly interesting to me and able to twist into something cool. Pictures are of the tree and then last picture is a sort of inspiration pic.
I like how it’s really compacted and such. Now, should I use all available branches? Take it down to 1-2 branches… thanks in advance
by masterianwong
4 Comments
Can’t help with the look but I’d like to know how you got these? I’ve tried propagating but every time they die.
Nice
If you truly want a Jerry-style small shohin, you gotta be brutal. Cut off everything back to the lowest green *that is actively extending*, something like this (though can’t quite make out the green in the pic, so could be overly aggressive). Twist the hell out of anything left to foreshorten it. Then, crucially, as the little “paintbrushes” extend in spring, pinch them back as they grow with your fingers, leaving only about a cm. This should shorten your future internodes, which is really important in a small larch.
Alternatively, this one might be easier to let it get to larger shohin, as the core growth is already quite far out and the internodes that are there a bit long.
https://preview.redd.it/hcwolbzt7nqg1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c7216728ce91d2236aac47455f48dec50798295e
To build the base and branching, in the spring before it starts to leaf out prune heavily. Then let it grow wild all summer. Rinse and repeat, unless you repot it, in which case no pruning.