bonsaivienna
Seedling
I just inherited a Japanese White Pine (Pinus Parviflora "Miyoi") from a friend who started, then gave up, on the tree. I am very much a novice, so this is earlier than I expected to be jumping into a pine. But, here I am.
So a couple of things are challenging about this tree, and I'd appreciate guidance from the experts on this forum.
(1) The trunk starts out at the base pretty well. It sure looks like this was a graft, but the main part of the trunk has a decent taper. But then, it splits immediately into 3-4 big branches. I have no idea which ones to keep v. cut. There does not appear to be any way to follow the traditional "first branch 1/3 of the way up" guidance on styling. Please help.
(2) The tree was originally purchased from a local nursery, and so it was not originally trained as a bonsai. So there are a number of spots where a significant clustering of shoots grew out, making for unsightly bulges on the main branches. Some of those shoots have been pruned, but the bulges remain. What to do with these?
(3) The tree is growing vigorously, particularly at the top. I have pruned out some of the multiple candles that were shooting out of some of the branches (in exactly the kind of clusters that created those unsightly bulges described above), and it appears that there will be much better ramification that will develop on those branches. But I'm not really sure what to do with the ends of the more mature branches at the sides and base of the tree. So the question is... What's the best thing for me to do with the tree for now? Just let it grow out the rest of the summer, and then revisit/prune/shape during the late fall/winter?
It may be that this is just not a very suitable tree to turn into a bonsai... Which is fine, I can use it as a "learning experience." But I would really appreciate any general thoughts/comments on where to take this tree. Now that I have it, I'd like to make the most of it!
Thanks in advance.
So a couple of things are challenging about this tree, and I'd appreciate guidance from the experts on this forum.
(1) The trunk starts out at the base pretty well. It sure looks like this was a graft, but the main part of the trunk has a decent taper. But then, it splits immediately into 3-4 big branches. I have no idea which ones to keep v. cut. There does not appear to be any way to follow the traditional "first branch 1/3 of the way up" guidance on styling. Please help.
(2) The tree was originally purchased from a local nursery, and so it was not originally trained as a bonsai. So there are a number of spots where a significant clustering of shoots grew out, making for unsightly bulges on the main branches. Some of those shoots have been pruned, but the bulges remain. What to do with these?
(3) The tree is growing vigorously, particularly at the top. I have pruned out some of the multiple candles that were shooting out of some of the branches (in exactly the kind of clusters that created those unsightly bulges described above), and it appears that there will be much better ramification that will develop on those branches. But I'm not really sure what to do with the ends of the more mature branches at the sides and base of the tree. So the question is... What's the best thing for me to do with the tree for now? Just let it grow out the rest of the summer, and then revisit/prune/shape during the late fall/winter?
It may be that this is just not a very suitable tree to turn into a bonsai... Which is fine, I can use it as a "learning experience." But I would really appreciate any general thoughts/comments on where to take this tree. Now that I have it, I'd like to make the most of it!
Thanks in advance.