Frequently Asked Questions About – Pruning Your Bonsai

Pruning is an important part of bonsai and it can seem quite intimidating when you are first starting out.

I have written a pretty detailed guide on How To Prune A Bonsai Tree covering everything you need to know including the basic core principles on what and how you need to prune, so you should read that first.

I still get asked a lot of good questions around this topic, which I have answered below. They are in no real order, but hopefully they help and if there is something you are still not sure on, let me know and I can add it.

What Should I Do If My Bonsai Tree Produces Too Much Foliage and Needs Constant Pruning?

This is a good problem to have, it means you tree is growing very healthily and while it may seem like its extra work to have to prune often, it will actually make your tree better.

Every time you prune a branch, where you made a cut should grow back, but it will usually push out 2 new shoots. This means that each pruning session will allow your tree to get that little bit more ramified.

This means that if you are pruning more often, your tree is going to get more ramified, more quickly.

So really if your tree is ready to prune again, prune it, it is only going to make things better.

(You can read more about – How Often Should You Prune A Bonsai?)

How Do I Prune a Bonsai Tree with Thin and Fragile Branches?

You prune a tree with thin and fragile branches in the exact same way that you prune any other tree. So long as you follow the core principle for pruning, then you can’t really go wrong.

The only extra step you need to take is to just be a little more careful. Don’t manhandle the tree, just hold the branches gently while you prune. This should stop you damaging anything you didn’t mean to.

Can I Use Pruning to Create a Smaller Bonsai Tree?

Pruning will certainly help you keep a tree small. Out of all the techniques we can use to keep a tree small, pruning is going to be the one that will get you the best results.

Of course it depends on what you are starting with and the species you are using, but in general, pruning your tree is going to really beneficial and will help keep things smaller.

(You can read more about – How Do Bonsai Stay Small)

How Do I Prune Bonsai Trees That Have Not Been Trained for Years?

If you have a tree that has not been pruned in a long time, it will probably have lost it shape and will just be an overgrown bush. It will probably look more like nursery stock.

However, you just prune it in the exact same way as any other tree. You follow the basic principles and you will get there. It may take a few pruning sessions to get things back to looking like a bonsai, but that is fine.

You may also need to make some hard cuts to push some of the long growth back, but that’s okay. Just follow my guide to pruning and you will start to rebuild the shape and get things back under control.

When Should I Prune the Bark of My Bonsai Tree?

You shouldn’t prune the bark of your bonsai.

You can remove the bark from some trees, at certain times, but really this is not “pruning” and in most cases this is actually a bad idea and can damage the tree, so don’t mess the bark unless you know it is one of the few trees that can have it removed.

If we look at junipers, you will see the bark can start to get flaky looking and you can actually peel this off. This can look especially good if you also have deadwood on the tree as this will allow you to expose the red smoother wood under the bark, which can really contrast with the white of the deadwood.

Can Pruning Be Used As Part Of A Bonsai’s Training Program?

Pruning needs to a part of a bonsais life or else you will not have much success. If you just let a tree just grow unchecked it will slowly turn into a full size tree.

Pruning is probably the best technique we can use for keeping a bonsai down to size and the correct shape.

How often you need to prune will depend on the tree, but it is something you cannot avoid.

(You can read more about – How Can You Tell If Your Bonsai Tree Needs Pruned?)

How Do I Prune My Bonsai Tree Without Distorting Its Natural Shape?

When you prune, you are going to lose some of the shape, but it shouldn’t be much.

This will really depend on what shape your tree is now and what you are trying to achieve, but in general you usually cut things back and it can look a little bare …but when the tree grows back it will actually look better.

Every time you prune a branch, it should grow back as two new shoots, as you do this time and time again, the number of branches are only going to get more and more, so actually pruning is going to make your tree look more natural.

You are going to end up with hundreds, if not thousands of branches within a few years and this is going to make the tree look like a tree that is full size, that has been growing naturally in the ground.

You can also prune in a way that will make the tree look more natural. You can predict where the new shoots will be and prune to encourage this growth, meaning your branches will just look like they have been growing naturally for many years even though it has been pruned often.       

How Do I Prevent My Bonsai Tree from Growing Too Tall After Pruning?

Your tree is going to grow again after you prune it and it may get tall, but really it is about how you manage this.

You have to let the tree grow to help it recover, but you cannot also let it grow too much and let get out of control. This means you need to find the balance between the two. Usually I let my tree grow after pruning and then when the new shoots have around 6-8 pairs of new leaves, it should be fine to prune it again.

You just have to keep repeating this over and again and the tree will stay small. However, it will start to get generally bigger over time even from doing this. You either have to just accept this, or you can cut the tree back hard (depending on what species it is) and basically take a few steps back and lose some ramification, and then rebuilding from there.

Usually trees will back bud when you do this, or if there is already an inner branch available, closer to the trunk, you can cut back to this and have this as your most outer branch, which should reduce the size of the tree and stop it getting too tall.    

(You can read more about – What Is The Best Way To Prune A Bonsai Tree That Has Grown Too Tall?)

Can Pruning Help Me Control The Shape Of My Bonsai Tree?

Yes, pruning can help you control the shape of your tree. It can allow you to pick what height the tree is and how wide it is, but it can also control how your branches grow.

As I touched on above, you can use directional pruning to influence the shape of your branch. You can predict where the new shoots will grow and you can prune to encourage this. After a couple of years you can end up with some very interesting branches that have a very natural shape, that you have had full control over.

(You can read more about – Can You Prune Your Bonsai Tree Into A Specific Shape?)

How Do I Maintain the Balance of My Bonsai Tree While Pruning?

Balance is extremely important when it comes to bonsai and especially when you are pruning.

Really you should be only pruning your tree when it is healthy and strong and usually growing (although you can prune in late winter before it wakes up).

Every time you prune the tree it is going to react by healing itself and also trying to push new shoots. This means you need to be balanced in your approach and only do this at a time when the tree can actually handle it.

If you watch any of my videos you will see I normally stop pruning my trees in the middle of summer. A lot of them could be pruned after this, but in order to keep things balanced, I don’t. I know that the end of summer is approaching and then the tree will start shutting down. I would rather the tree was overgrown at this point, than trying to recover from a recent pruning and then be confused about trying to grow and shutting down at the same time.

You should also take a balanced approach when you are actually pruning and remove only what you think the tree can handle. You do not need to go super hard every time. Sometimes a light prune is more than enough.

It can take a while to get this balance right, but if you tread cautiously you will learn how the tree reacts and you will understand when it is healthy and be able to work out what it can handle.

(You can read more about – What Is The Difference Between Heavy Pruning And Light Pruning Of Bonsai Trees?)

What Happens To The Leaves and Foliage When I Prune My Bonsai?

I am not really sure about this question. If you are removing leaves from your tree …they die. You can remove them and throw them on the compost pile. Once you remove them they are gone.

However, maybe the question is asking what happens to the leaves that are left. Well, these are now all the tree has for energy production and it notices it is not quite the same amount as before.

The tree isn’t too happy about this, so it starts sending energy to some dormant buds to start pushing out some new growth to produce more leaves. This means that at the base of the leaves are still on the tree, you should see some new shoots start to develop that will turn into new branches

How Do I Keep My Bonsai Tree Healthy While Pruning It?

You should look at this from a slightly different angle. You need to think “my tree is healthy …so now I can prune it”

The reality is that pruning your tree is going to temporarily weaken it, so you need it to healthy before you do any work so it can handle it and recover.

You can’t do it the other way round, you can’t prune and then try and make it healthy. You let your tree get healthy, let it get vigourous and put some growth on …then prune it and sit back and wait for it to recover and then regrow and regain its strength.  

Once you prune your tree you just have to look after it pretty much the same as before and just give it enough time to recover.

(You can read more about – Pruning Aftercare Advice For Your Bonsai)

When Should I Prune Deadwood On My Bonsai?

Deadwood can work with some trees, but it really depends on both the species and the material you are working with.

If you tree is suitable for deadwood, then you can pretty much do it at any point. I would probably just do it when you are pruning the rest of the trees, but since you are basically killing the branch for aesthetics, you can do this at any point. 

(You can read more about – Creating Bonsai Deadwood)

What Should I Do If My Bonsai Has Never Been Pruned Before?

If you actually have a “bonsai” then it will have been pruned at some point its life. If your tree has never been pruned then it is more likely going to be some sort of raw material, such as nursery stock or yamadori.

However, that doesn’t matter. You can still follow the basic principles of pruning and start getting your tree under control.  

It might take a couple of sessions and you may need to remove a lot of material, but it doesn’t matter, you can still get things into shape through pruning. 

Conclusion

Pruning really is an important part of bonsai, so the more you can know about it, the better.

Hopefully that clears up everything round pruning, but if not, just ask and I can add the question to the list.