JPB development

[parhamr]

@Adair M Yep. I did apply fertilizer this week.

 

[parhamr]

Hi,
I don't know if the branch placement is right for this, but I am seeing an interesting tree in this angle with another twist forward...
Just a thought.

Yeah! That's close to where I might be headed with this.

 

[Paradox]

It's been a month since you repotted. Now you can start adding fertilizer cakes or teabags. Start with two this week, then next week add two more, then the next week add two more...

Do you ramp up the amount like this with all trees on the spring or just ones that have been repotted during the current year?

 

[Adair M]

Do you ramp up the amount like this with all trees on the spring or just ones that have been repotted during the current year?

All the trees I want to get spring fertilizer to get "ramped up". Freshly repotted trees get about a one month delay after repotting before I begin fertilizing.

 

[parhamr]

The tree shows pretty good vigor. This year's needles are reflecting my watering and feeding routines at 4" and longer. The organic 5-5-5 granulated fertilizer I use has been consistently breaking down, which suggests healthy mycorrhizae.

This season is doing what I've wanted: restoring health and setting new, inner buds.

Growing tips look pretty good. All have at least 2 buds set that look robust. A few tips have many buds.

 

[just.wing.it]

Wow, looking bushy now! Nice!

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

happy

 

[parhamr]

I went to BSOP mentorship today and talked about the tree.

Presented at my angle of choice



The upper right was very strong, on a branch of nearly excessive thickness, and likely to shade out lower growths. I cut back to inner buds.

I removed a few buds growing downward, inward, and in crotches.

 

[parhamr]

This old wound on the trunk appears like it could close up. I could go the other way and open it up as a shari. I'm not likely to attempt shari for another two or theee years, if at all.

 

[sorce]

close

Let it!

Looking good!

Sorce

 

[parhamr]

The strongest candle is currently 9" tall

 

[LanceMac10]

Will you decandle this spring/summer?

I'd be tempted to snap it in half....or more.

Looks like a happy Pinus!?!?

 

[LanceMac10]

How did I miss this thread....(murmurs to self).....

 

[parhamr]

Will you decandle this spring/summer?

I'd be tempted to snap it in half....or more.

That particular candle will be an escape branch to thicken the trunk. Many other candles will be left alone to generate traffic to stimulate backbudding and to keep water moving through weaker sections. (This year’s backbudding was great and a taste of what is to come when the tree is stronger overall!)

I might only snap about 1/8 of the candles in the strongest parts of the tree this summer.

Next year I will begin the more aggressive techniques

 

[parhamr]

Ohhhkay I decandled about 75 percent of the tree, and mostly in the top and middle. I’m guessing the second flush will end up only slightly longer than desired by the time it fully hardens.

In total I removed 46 candles and also slightly shortened 4 branches.

Fingers crossed for success!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

What made you decide to decandle your JBP now? If you’re trying to improve primary/secondary branch structure, decandling isn’t as effective as good pruning in early spring back to proximal shoots, letting it grow all summer, and pruning it again in the fall, selecting evenly-sized buds and branches, and keeping growth in close to the trunk.

I have found that a second flush of JBP growth takes about 100 days to mature, so find your first frost date (10/18 in Portland) and count backwards 100 days, or 14 weeks. This puts your summer candle-cutting at around 7/12, and you could probably hedge toward earlier if your late summers are really rainy/cloudy. Doing it too early means that the tree hasn’t had the benefit of synthesizing on new, more efficient growth for these few weeks, and that the second flush of candles has too much growing season left to produce long needles.

I’m sure it will be fine, but something to keep in mind if you end up with too-long needles at the end of the year.

 

[Adair M]

What made you decide to decandle your JBP now? If you’re trying to improve primary/secondary branch structure, decandling isn’t as effective as good pruning in early spring back to proximal shoots, letting it grow all summer, and pruning it again in the fall, selecting evenly-sized buds and branches, and keeping growth in close to the trunk.

I have found that a second flush of JBP growth takes about 100 days to mature, so find your first frost date (10/18 in Portland) and count backwards 100 days, or 14 weeks. This puts your summer candle-cutting at around 7/12, and you could probably hedge toward earlier if your late summers are really rainy/cloudy. Doing it too early means that the tree hasn’t had the benefit of synthesizing on new, more efficient growth for these few weeks, and that the second flush of candles has too much growing season left to produce long needles.

I’m sure it will be fine, but something to keep in mind if you end up with too-long needles at the end of the year.

Bingo!

Also, are you doing the “one day decandling”? Or the “10 day” method?

At any rate, with each of the methods, you decandle the bottom, or weakest part of tree, too. Let’s assume you are doing the 10 day method. Do the weakest part, the lower parts first! Then 10 days later, do the middle section, then 10 days after that, do the strongest part. Why? Doing the weaker part first gives it a longer growing season to recover. Doing the strongest part last keeps it in check. So the weak part gets to grow for a longer period of time. The end result? When the summer growth gardens off in the fall, it’s all about the same strength! This is called “balancing the tree”.

The one day decandling method leaves longer stubs on the strong candles, and virtually none on the weak ones. The stubs still contain some auxin, and the auxin suppresses the new shoot for a while until the stubs dry up.

 

[Potawatomi13]

According to local/regional teachers WE decandle here about end of May/first of June. Better teachers locally(several Masters)then 2 certain BN know it alls. @parhamr and so many others hereabouts have far better help than likes of you.

 

[markyscott]

Ohhhkay I decandled about 75 percent of the tree, and mostly in the top and middle. I’m guessing the second flush will end up only slightly longer than desired by the time it fully hardens.

In total I removed 46 candles and also slightly shortened 4 branches.

Fingers crossed for success!

Looks like nice strong healthy growth. I’m pleased to see it and I’m sure it will send out a good set of summer shoots for you. I like to keep a record of when I decandle so that I can adjust as necessary to tweak the needle length. Late May/early June seems like the about right time of year in the PNW - that’s when I recall doing it when I lived there. Here in Houston I do it after July 4th and before mid August. Any later and I run the risk of the tree just setting buds with no summer shoots. This is the fall decandling technique that Brian is talking about. It’s different and can be very effective for pushing back budding. It might be something you consider at some point in the future.

S

 

[just.wing.it]

Bingo!

Also, are you doing the “one day decandling”? Or the “10 day” method?

At any rate, with each of the methods, you decandle the bottom, or weakest part of tree, too. Let’s assume you are doing the 10 day method. Do the weakest part, the lower parts first! Then 10 days later, do the middle section, then 10 days after that, do the strongest part. Why? Doing the weaker part first gives it a longer growing season to recover. Doing the strongest part last keeps it in check. So the weak part gets to grow for a longer period of time. The end result? When the summer growth gardens off in the fall, it’s all about the same strength! This is called “balancing the tree”.

The one day decandling method leaves longer stubs on the strong candles, and virtually none on the weak ones. The stubs still contain some auxin, and the auxin suppresses the new shoot for a while until the stubs dry up.

This method is for trees in what stage of growth?
If you want to thicken the trunk, or thicken a primary branch, would you still decandle?