How should I prune the chicken claw branches formed by small old trees? What should I pay attention to?

The stems are green, the branches are curved, and the leaves are new. This means that the stems of bonsai piles should be rugged and old, the branches should be flexible and flexible, and the leaves should be new and tender leaves. These are the three main aspects of bonsai’s beauty. In this issue, we will not talk about anything else but simply talk about branches, branch pruning and branch pruning.

To understand the techniques of branch bundling and pruning, you must first understand the so-called "branch levels" in bonsai making, that is, one branch level, two branch level, three branch level...as shown below

One level. They are branches that come directly from the main trunk of the bonsai pile. In order to harmonize the ratio between the thickness of the first-level branches and the thickness of the trunk, it generally takes more than 2 years to cultivate the first-level branches and shape them according to the trend of the trunk. First pruning. Generally, the lower branches are left longer and the upper branches are shorter accordingly. This is the need to consider the triangular configuration of future bonsai. In order to make the secondary branches have strong curves, when pruning, choose the lower part of the branches where there are buds for pruning.

The branches growing from the first-level branches are second-level branches.

Tertiary branches. After understanding the definition of branch level, let's focus on branch-level pruning and how to prune "chicken claw branches".

For simplicity, only one of them is used as a demonstration for explanation. As shown in the picture above, after the branch is pruned for the first time, the bud points below the cut edge will sprout branches. In order to highlight the veins of the branch support, remove 1 and 2 branches close to the trunk, leaving 3 branches extracted under the cut of the secondary branch. (As shown in the picture) Then cut three branches short, leaving three buds below the cut. The bud closest to the cut should be located below the branch, and the remaining two buds are located on both sides of the branch. The bud points are shown as green dots in the picture. For the third time, prune the sprouted branches, as shown in the picture above. The requirements for retaining bud points are the same as above. (Note that excess buds that do not meet the requirements can be wiped off.) From then on, they will be pruned into short sections as above year by year to gradually form "chicken claw branches". Generally, the branch level of bonsai is between level 3 and level 4 branches. Later branches can be retracted and pruned. The above is the pruning style. Next, let’s talk about the pruning style combined with pruning.