how to prune windswept silver birch bonsai (using clip and grow) to develop branch structure

[@Bonsaicrazy]

Great looking trees Tony your sister will be very pleased 👍👍

[@TonysBonsai]

Yeah she loves that beech mate. In a nice pot it's going to look great I reckon

[@jimbob6348]

I have ordered just the perfect pot! X x

[@TonysBonsai]

@@jimbob6348 nice one. That tree deserves a nice one. I'll be interested to hear what you chose

[@Bonsaicrazy]

@@jimbob6348 hi r you Tony’s sister?? 👍

[@jimbob6348]

I am!! Jen here. Hi X x I actually went against all of Tony's advice and ordered a couple of plastic bonsai pots. Only £20. I'm sure it ll look fab. Hopefully be able to put an updated KZbin video in the years to come of some of his amazing trees 🥰

[@joegarland4885]

Gladdens the heart to see you working with your dad on trees using the cut and grow method, which is very time consuming but will give you the results you are aiming for. I watch your videos mainly on the big projector screen but it not easy to comment so then go to my ipad watch again on that and comment as I have on this video. All the best to your family Tony.

[@TonysBonsai]

Thanks Joe. Good to hear mate. Im a big screen kinda guy 😎 Agree about the clip and grow too. It's time consuming but the results down the line will be better

[@joegarland4885]

@@TonysBonsai A bit scary if the truth be known Tony seeing you life size on my wall even the cat ran off. 🙀Stay cool mate😢🥴

[@sueb1317]

Fabulous sinuous trunks on the silver birch - love the layering and overall effect of the windswept branches. Kind of magical when the bark starts transitioning to its mature colours. I love working with this species using clip and grow because it always presents so many options and opportunities. Beech nebari is really special - your sister has a lovely tree there. I'm with her regarding the naturalistic beech style - one of nature's true jewels!

[@TonysBonsai]

Hi Sue. Yeah there is something special about birch I agree. I love the trunks, but I think it's the delicate foliage in spring that I appreciate the most. Lovely

[@Ad_DOOM]

Your family are ace Tony. Such a good group of people. I love a beech tree. I'd love you to chop Jens back to a low branch but I can see why she wouldn't want that

[@TonysBonsai]

Cheers Adam. My family is brilliant. they are going above and beyond especially indulging me in my daft bonsai every day. You 100,% need to come round to dig up one of my ground planted beech in the spring. There are loads to pick from and they're all in great shape now after a very strong growing season. Loads of potential with thick trunks and really nice branching too! I'm doing well still so with a bit of luck I'll be knocking around in late December early January time and I could film it which would be great fun.

[@oachkatzlsmum]

Love this silverbirch,Tony. I cut mine last week and it already startet to shoot out new buds and leaves. 😍 Enjoy your day 😘 Cheers 🙋‍♀️ Martina

[@TonysBonsai]

Thanks Martina. Sounds like your tree was full of energy which is ideal, and it should continue to push for the next couple of weeks now. Nice job!

[@oachkatzlsmum]

@@TonysBonsai a compliment from Bonsai Master 🥰

[@gloriablanco7856]

Dad's a natural with the scissors... cheers mate and thank you 😊

[@TonysBonsai]

Thanks Gloria. My dad needs holding back once he's got the scissors on the go. He's a pruning machine 🤣

[@Mr10russ10]

I can see the future of the channel, your dad, Rick and Gen...like the top gear of bonsai 😁

[@TonysBonsai]

🤣 well I did once face an over from Freddie back in the day. I scored 4 bys ,🤣

[@shanewatson8581]

Loving watching both you and your dad Tony. Keep up the amazing work. I prefer clip and grow with deciduous trees as i always miss 1 when theres wire involved lol. Cheers from down under

[@TonysBonsai]

Cheers Shane. I'm definitely beginning to come around to the virtues of using clip and grow, but I think it's still wise to have good wiring skills when needed. Just tweaking the odd branch can make a massive difference to the overall structure that I think we have to use both techniques in harmony to produce the best bonsai.

[@StevesBackyardBonsai]

Plenty to do Tony! Nice windswept, and terrific work on your sister’s Beech.

[@TonysBonsai]

Yeah, I love this time of year Steve. So many trees need pruning. I love working on the ones that had the structure set in place wire in the winter, and now the styling is more subtle with lots of decisions to make so that the they progress naturally over the coming years

[@raymondbirds2392]

Lovely job Tony, loving the videos

[@TonysBonsai]

Thanks Raymond. I'm really enjoying turning my attention to clip and grow techniques. It's such a lovely way to relax and literally move the trees in the right direction

[@raymondbirds2392]

@@TonysBonsai thanks for the video, i do be really looking forward to them

[@brianbower5320]

Learned a lot from this Tony, I need to get a silver birch now

[@TonysBonsai]

Cheers Brian.bi absolutely love working on silver birch. After hawthorn, I'd say that they are the most fun. Hopefully you can pick something up in the spring

[@TonysBonsai]

Also thanks for the reminder. I've got an absolutely ridiculous and really quite pointless birch air layer that I need to check on 🤣

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Lots of natural decisions that sit in with nature today. Funny how we were both working on Silver Birch yesterday. Keep enjoying family, sun and bonsai Tony :)

[@TonysBonsai]

They say that great minds think alike it Must be true 🤣

[@kevinwilkes5969]

Nice one Tony. Plenty of progress there. I personally like pads but each to their own.

[@TonysBonsai]

Yes it's an interesting subject I think it's probably those long deciduous branches wired out horizontally that I don't like most. My aim is always to create a natural looking structure if I can. To be fair I wouldn't be at all surprised if the beech in this video does really well being pruned for a couple of years by my sister. That more random approach might be a bit more Walter Pawl like and help to develop some nice ramification in the canopy

[@tacobonsai]

love those silver birch and yes i absolutely remember them. the beech is looking great. the structure reminds me of the great white oaks along rivers here

[@jimbob6348]

My second favourite Tonys Bonsai tree 🌳 my all time favourite being my Hornbeam forest which can just be seen in the background of this video. Definitely going to be trying hard to keep them alive 💙 x x

[@markweaver3497]

What a nice clip and grow.

[@TonysBonsai]

Cheers Mark. I'm really enjoying transitioning to clip and grow, and I think this one will be all the better for it

[@luigiluigi2098]

Oh - your Dad was getting a bit scissor happy to begin with. 😅 We don't normally cut off what we just worked on. You said. Lol. Loving those trees, second one was rhe besr imo. With thar bend in trunk mirrored in branches above .

[@TonysBonsai]

He definitely needs keeping in check. Given a free license he'll prune a tree right back completely defoliating it 😂

[@TonysBonsai]

Yes I agree. The movement in the upper canopy nicely matched the curve of the trunk which is very pleasing. I think that it really could have a superb winter silhouette in 4-5 years time

[@luigiluigi2098]

@@TonysBonsai he's been watching to much Nigel Saunders "big cut coming up"

[@thenaturecreater8906]

Love the styling on the trees. Great work mate. I was wondering about one thing my freind. I would love to have a leagacy tree of you in my garden. It would be such an honour. You think that could be arranged? I am more then happy to pay for it so your family can buy nice pots to the tree they will have

[@TonysBonsai]

Alright Chris. I think the problem would be posting trees into the EU from the UK. I know that special and quiet expensive permits are required as I tried to import some trees last year and it was a bit of a nightmare. Perhaps the best method may be sneaking something small across with a creative description. 🤣

[@thenaturecreater8906]

@TonysBonsai 🤣, this is because of brexit? Hope your brits gets your laws set straight soon. I heard that the rules going to change?

[@TonysBonsai]

@@thenaturecreater8906 it is indeed. Brexit has made stuff like this really difficult

[@thenaturecreater8906]

@@TonysBonsai we will see in the future. Hope you have a good day mate!

[@mattb538]

How do I schedule an appointment for my trees at Tony's Bonsai Salon? I don't have any that look half as good as those.

[@TonysBonsai]

I'm sure you're being kind there. I bet you've got some beautiful trees mate

[@brucedeacon28]

👍👌🙂

[@AndrewJohnson-el1of]

Nice trees them Tony. Esp liked the second birch. Can I ask your advice please. I have a 20 year old yew I’m gonna dig up and put in training pot. Should this be done in spring or like Harry Harrington suggest late summer. What are your thoughts on it ?

[@TonysBonsai]

Hi Andrew. All I can do is pass on the advice that was given to me by Bonsai Dave off Facebook and it's always worked out great for me personally. I do all collecting/root work on yew in late spring just as the new buds are beginning to swell. at this stage the roots are just ready to burst into growth. Harry is a mine of experience, but some time in mid March works well for me. Ps I know that they say not to over water but all my yews do best in a very free draining soil with lots of grit and plenty of water.

[@AndrewJohnson-el1of]

@@TonysBonsai great thanks Tony I will certainly go with your advice and wait till late spring then. Thank you for that very much appreciated 🙏