Black Pine Bonsai Growth Stages
Spring growth on japanese black pine will tell a lot about how vigorous the tree is.
Black pine bonsai growth stages. It is often grafted on black pine root systems for more stable growth. To create density below i want to stimulate branch. The timing of decandling depends on heat fertilizer routine and the health of the tree. June july decandle from june 1st through mid july.
In general the period for intervention more or less coincides with seasonal changes. The japanese white pine also named five needle pine is a mountain plant with soft needles in clusters of five. My goals for it are to thicken the new leader and develop density on the lower branches. The method of training and caring for black pines also applies for most other pines so future articles on say white pine aka five needle pine will rely on this article for the basics and then discuss the differences.
Black pine basics black pines often used as bonsai and our club have had a number of presentations about their care. Decandling is a pruning technique where spring growth is removed to stimulate a second flush of growth over summer. In spring and early summer there is major growth. Spring growth on japanese black pine will tell a lot about how vigorous the tree is.
The major sacrifice branch came off a couple of years ago and the tree has been decandled at least one or two times before. To thicken the upper section of the trunk i want to encourage vigorous growth. In high summer the tree is dormant due to the heat. At first glance these goals are contradictory.
In winter the tree is dormant because of very cold weather. The black pine below has been out of the ground for two or three years. When thinning needles on black or red pine i treat branches differently based on my goals for refining them. Only healthy vigorous trees should be decandled.
It is more feminine in design and found at high mountain regions. The trunk needs to develop do not decandle 3 years old the trunk has reached the desired size start decandling 9 years old. In early spring growth begins again. June july decandle from june 1st through mid july.
The basic technique can be an effective way to produce dense foliage on black and red pines and there are several variations that can help us balance vigor between weak and strong branches at the same time. Feel free to decandle when your red or black pine bonsai are in refinement phase are healthy well fed and growing in soil with good drainage. Dwarf cultivars of the white pine include zuisho kokonoe and myojo. The pine below grown from seed by eric schrader is in the early stages of branch development.
The scots pine grows all. Japanese black pine 13 years from seed lower trunk tachiagari and surface root nebari detail.