the heck with the leaders.. nice tags ...

i have better things to do with my time.. then mess around with wiring my conifers ... you on the other hand.. thats up to you.. but one thing i ask.. how tall are you.. or can you safely get a ladder in there????

so .. in my world.. off with their heads ... once i was sure .. after a MI winter.. which, if any died ...

then.. off with the extra ...

and dont forget.. there is always fall.. or next spring.. to take them off.. maybe it is time for some experimenting ....

oh.. who's kidding who.. i would leave it there for 5 years.. and then start bee-itching ... lol

ken

Nice tree! I'd cut them off. The tallest most dominant leader looks like it has plenty of pendulous branches. If you try to train the other leaders down with wire, they may simply try to go back up once they reach the end of the wire???...but who knows?

What is the other cedar in the background?....and the other small deciduous tree between the two cedars? Is it a Ginkgo?

Patrick

I'm big on deodaras so that cedar in the back is Albo Spica. And if you are speaking of the white bark looking tree dead center in the picture, that actually is several feet back and to the right of the Albo Spica. But still a great spot because it is in fact a Ginkgo biloba 'Fastigiata'. Depth perception is tricky. It actually is about a foot taller than the Golden Cascade in the foreground.

Mark

I have tied C. deodara leaders (including 'Golden Cascade') down with padded fishing line (not having bonsai wire on hand). Seems to work reasonably well...but it is a personal thing. As Ken notes, once you start you generally need to keep it up and how do you want to spend your time? The bonsai folks would say go for it!

Sara