Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
I purchased this red pine in '08 from Brussel's. The trunk was good, and I chose this as the front that showed the best trunk line:
![Big Jap Red Pine 08 (3).jpg Big Jap Red Pine 08 (3).jpg](https://www.bonsainut.com/data/attachments/17/17439-f992c73b21a3eafc74c5d1a98c9b57a9.jpg?hash=-ZLHOyGj6v)
In '09 I repotted it, and put some movement into the upper portion of the trunk:
![Japanese Red Pine 09 (9).jpg Japanese Red Pine 09 (9).jpg](https://www.bonsainut.com/data/attachments/17/17440-c198200cf469869eae8cf1ea31bc8e76.jpg?hash=wZggDPRphp)
It grew nicely that year:
![Japanese Red Pine 09 (12).jpg Japanese Red Pine 09 (12).jpg](https://www.bonsainut.com/data/attachments/17/17441-423a11642f4d41659e6fb6b33b25ed4a.jpg?hash=QjoRZC9NQW)
![Japanese Red Pine 09 (13a).jpg Japanese Red Pine 09 (13a).jpg](https://www.bonsainut.com/data/attachments/17/17442-fa528683970f2518224e23f74c34755f.jpg?hash=-lKGg5cPJR)
But all the growth was at the tips of the branches, and it wasn't back-budding. The two photos above are probably my favorite photos of this tree, and became my ultimate vision for it's overall form.
![Big Jap Red Pine 08 (3).jpg Big Jap Red Pine 08 (3).jpg](https://www.bonsainut.com/data/attachments/17/17439-f992c73b21a3eafc74c5d1a98c9b57a9.jpg?hash=-ZLHOyGj6v)
In '09 I repotted it, and put some movement into the upper portion of the trunk:
![Japanese Red Pine 09 (9).jpg Japanese Red Pine 09 (9).jpg](https://www.bonsainut.com/data/attachments/17/17440-c198200cf469869eae8cf1ea31bc8e76.jpg?hash=wZggDPRphp)
It grew nicely that year:
![Japanese Red Pine 09 (12).jpg Japanese Red Pine 09 (12).jpg](https://www.bonsainut.com/data/attachments/17/17441-423a11642f4d41659e6fb6b33b25ed4a.jpg?hash=QjoRZC9NQW)
![Japanese Red Pine 09 (13a).jpg Japanese Red Pine 09 (13a).jpg](https://www.bonsainut.com/data/attachments/17/17442-fa528683970f2518224e23f74c34755f.jpg?hash=-lKGg5cPJR)
But all the growth was at the tips of the branches, and it wasn't back-budding. The two photos above are probably my favorite photos of this tree, and became my ultimate vision for it's overall form.