Japanese Black Pine slant style.

[Potawatomi13]

Personal vote is BOTH. Like sparce branching of Pine.

 

[Dav4]

Well, this was a long time coming… “No regerts!!”. I've been needle pulling and bud thinning my pines almost daily for the last 3 weeks. Frankly, the idea of wiring them all out now was just too much, sooooo... less wiring is good!. With this in mind, there's a pretty good chance I'll be losing what's left of the lowest back branch, too.

 

[Dav4]

Soooooo...... how about this? Two possible fronts now, but I definitely prefer the first and have wired it out with that in mind... still don't mind looking at it from just to the left of that front.







I mean, it only took almost 20 years to figure out what to do with this tree...
Worth the wait? I say yes!
Honestly, this is the best thing that has happened to me this week by a landslide.

And now, I wish I could change the title of the thread !

 

[Hack Yeah!]

#1

 

[River's Edge]

Soooooo...... how about this? Two possible fronts now, but I definitely prefer the first and have wired it out with that in mind... still don't mind looking at it from just to the left of that front.


View attachment 290581


View attachment 290582

I mean, it only took almost 20 years to figure out what to do with this tree...
Worth the wait? I say yes!
Honestly, this is the best thing that has happened to me this week by a landslide.

And now, I wish I could change the title of the thread !

Great basic movement. Love the changes. I would choose the first position with some adjustment to planting angle and apex. The apex needs to move to the left, that is an easy fix. I would create a tighter bend in the top trunk portion to the left and adjust the lower right branch to a less acute down angle allowing more negative space and balance to the composition. The lower right branch may end up needing shortening.
Just some ideas that may or may not make sense

 

[Dav4]

Great basic movement. Love the changes. I would choose the first position with some adjustment to planting angle and apex. The apex needs to move to the left, that is an easy fix. I would create a tighter bend in the top trunk portion to the left and adjust the lower right branch to a less acute down angle allowing more negative space and balance to the composition. The lower right branch may end up needing shortening.
Just some ideas that may or may not make sense

Thanks for the response, Frank. I completely understand your points. I'm planning to slightly adjust the branch positioning at the next wiring and suspect you'll approve to most... that first right branch will get lifted a bit but will not be shortened for the time being. The apex definitely needs to be tweaked as well. I'll look into tightening that upper curve, too... just got a new bonsai jack and didn't know when I might need it... we'll see.

 

[River's Edge]

Thanks for the response, Frank. I completely understand your points. I'm planning to slightly adjust the branch positioning at the next wiring and suspect you'll approve to most... that first right branch will get lifted a bit but will not be shortened for the time being. The apex definitely needs to be tweaked as well. I'll look into tightening that upper curve, too... just got a new bonsai jack and didn't know when I might need it... we'll see.

Tightening the curve first may accomplish a fair degree of change by itself, choose the angle carefully. It is amazing how a few degrees can make a big change. Add a few degrees with plantings angle and branch adjustments and voila! Very nice tree by the way!

 

[Dav4]

Tightening the curve first may accomplish a fair degree of change by itself, choose the angle carefully. It is amazing how a few degrees can make a big change. Add a few degrees with plantings angle and branch adjustments and voila! Very nice tree by the way!

I knew there was lots of deadwood on that outside curve and was expecting a snap... more like a small explosion!


I think it did the trick, though.


Just wondering, what would you change as far as planting angle?

 

[B.uneasy]

May be a stupid idea, but I think this may look good planted partially tilted to the left. I see so many of these trees that are growing sideways or that are slanted a little because of natural occurrences. I think just a tiny slant in the planting angle would give it some more character. I love the tree by the way, and I hope to accomplish what you have in my next 20 years! Beautiful tree

 

[River's Edge]

I knew there was lots of deadwood on that outside curve and was expecting a snap... more like a small explosion!
View attachment 290656

I think it did the trick, though.
View attachment 290657

Just wondering, what would you change as far as planting angle?

Not needed now, illustrates the small change effect! I love the current alignment as long as the apex is or can come slightly forward. It is difficult to judge from the picture. Nice work Dave!

 

[Nybonsai12]

I like pic one. Looking good Dave. I really like this one.

 

[DirkvanDreven]

Great progression thread! Keep it up!

 

[Dav4]

This tree is finally meeting expectations... it may actually make it into a show before I kill it. Despite being re-potted 3 times in the last 4 years, including this spring, it's strong enough to be decandled in a few weeks.

 

[Dav4]

Ok, since moving down to Georgia almost exactly 11 years ago, pretty much dying then coming back from the dead, developing enough vigor to Decandle, This one has historically been decandled the second week of July after I get back from visiting my parents. At the advice of Tyler Sherrod, who knows a few things about growing jbp in the foothills of the Appalachian’s in the southeast, I went ahead and did the deed today, basically 2 to 3 weeks earlier than I have done in the past. Stay tuned…

 

[Dav4]

Dewired then rewired this fall, and finally hitting it's potential.

 

[bwaynef]

Looking good. How tied are you to that lowest branch? You've already got interest in the jin at that location...

 

[Dav4]

Looking good. How tied are you to that lowest branch? You've already got interest in the jin at that location...

I've gone back and forth on that one, but it is really the only main back branch and I think losing it would make the tree too 2 dimensional.

 

[BuckeyeOne]

@Dav4 Curious as to when you bent the upper curve back in March, did you use a wedge cut or just the jack?
How did it heal?

 

[Dav4]

@Dav4 Curious as to when you bent the upper curve back in March, did you use a wedge cut or just the jack?
How did it heal?

I did it using just the jack for leverage and a guy wire to hold it in place. The crack in the deadwood will be there forever and you can see it, still, if you look closely. The little bit of damage done to the live van on the back side of the curve has healed without issue and the Apex of the tree is fine.

 

[clem]

hello, your tree is very nice. If i had it, here is what it would do ( it is my 2cent ^^) :
Your pine direction/movement is now to the left.
For me, the right side of your tree, with the main branch is more interesting because it has the main defining branch on the right, the nice falling jin (focal point), the trunk shape is concave, the empty space on the right is more interesting with the falling jin, the bach branch emerging IMO. So i would just put the main branch up (to create an empty space between the main branch and the 1rst back branch), i would create an empty space between branches on the left, and i would wire the apex on the right (just above the nebari and the focal point of your tree : the falling jin on the right) to create a movement of the tree to the right. For the next repotting, I would also change the position of the tree in the pot to let a larger empty space on the right ->