Does everybody remove JWP flower buds?
- Thread starter Japonicus
- Start date
0soyoung
Imperial Masterpiece
So, a while back we had this thread with @bonhe about how the sites of pollen cones would develop buds and then shoots after having removed the rest of the candle. In the last few days I watched this video of Peter Chan's wherein he simply cuts through the pollen cone laden long necks of JWP.
Hmmm, I wonder ....
Hmmm, I wonder ....
With all due respect, that is a “hack job”. He has zillions of trees, and doesn’t have the time to do them properly. I get that.
I’ll make a video of my trees on my bench, and I’ll let you compare my trees to his.
coltranem
Chumono
As someone in his second year in bonsai I like some if the content Peter Chan publishes on YouTube.
However he techniques seem simple but the quality of his trees is also low.
However he techniques seem simple but the quality of his trees is also low.
Ok, @0soyoung, I made a little YouTube video of the pines on my benches. I concentrated on the JWP rather than the JBP. I will decandle the JBP in about two weeks, and I WILL take FAR more care than Mr. Chan did when I decandle mine. I get it that he’s running a commercial nursery and is pressed for time, so for him it’s more important to “get R done” than do a good job. I do have a problem that he advocates doing such a sloppy job, however. As a teacher of bonsai, and bonsai techniques, I know that my students won’t pick up every little detail I teach. However, to teach people to just hack away is truely a disservice. There is some good information in his video, but overall, the quality of his work is an embarrassment.
All that said, compare my trees to those he shows on his video. Oh, I didn’t really show it on my video, but if you look at the soil of my JBP, you will see the tea bags of fertilizer on the JBP. None on the JWP.
Just wondering...
If the quality of his trees is low, why would want to learn from him?
coltranem
Chumono
Good point.I actually find the more I learn about bonsai the less I watch his videos.
Thanks for videoing your pines
Last edited:
The key to bonsai success (or at least A key to success) is to find someone whose trees you like, and is better than you. Learn to do what they do. Until you can meet or exceed their results. Then move on to someone better, if you want.
There’s no reason to follow the teachings of an inferior teacher.
0soyoung
Imperial Masterpiece
Yes, but ...
Have you ever tried cutting off part of a JWP candle/shoot with pollen cones?
Do buds pop from the pollen cone locations like they did on @bonhe's black pine?
That really was my 'question', one I thought germane to this thread.
I really have no interest in assessing Peter Chan as a bonsai artist.
The only time I have done so is by accident. My Zuisho JWP can send out pretty long candles. And then, it started to produce needles. These appear as little green bundles, that elongate. Once the bundles appear, the shoot itself stops elongating.
So, the bundles... sometimes in the early stages it’s really quite difficult to distinguish between what will grow out to be needles, vs pollen cones. I have pinched too far back, and removed all the needles, leaving only pollen cones! Fortunately, there have been secondary shoots, so it really didn’t matter. Sometimes when that’s happened, fresh secondary shoots have come up from the base, and sometimes a second flush of candles have come out right where I pinched.
Now, remember, I only punch the very strongest candles, maybe about 5% of all the candles on the tree. I have no idea what would happen if I did it on virtually the whole tree. And I’m not going to experiment on my tree.
I created my video to show that it’s not “normal” to have JWP with the long necks. Where such a technique would be necessary.
You are free to make your own decision of which technique to use. Compare his trees to mine.
0soyoung
Imperial Masterpiece
As I said.
Otherwise, thank you for answering my question. This is what I wanted to know.
Japonicus
Imperial Masterpiece
Thank you Adair for taking the time to shoot render, upload and share your video.
Nice to visit part of your display
Here's a stab in the not so dark, an idea as to why I got the long necks this year...
(I've always fertilised in the Spring with considerably higher analysis than I did this year without such idiosyncrasies)
...but this year, I fed once, lightly diluted, generic MiracleGro and twice fish emulsion, but did NOT pinch my candles
as I normally would have, save for as you estimated maybe 5% of the longest candles that were getting out of control.
I suspect that had I pinched as always, this would not have occurred. I worry, that if I attempted this next year with no food
at all, I still would get these long necks, but, I do have a bar branch that will be removed eventually, and has a wire twisted
around it loosely to keep my attention on that branch as a possible removal plan. I plan to use this branch next Spring, to test this
idea. I always thought this to be one of the Azumas, but that info was not passed onto me by the seller.
My next question, is about your thoughts on waiting till Fall to shoot prune protecting possible latent buds.
You also mention some of Peters info was good. Perhaps the timing of this trim and the hormones available now
could produce back budding mores now, than to keep the energy at the terminal?.?.?
Maybe I should visit this bar branch with the sheers tomorrow...
