Peter Warren Japanese Black Pine

[Adair M]

As I remember his reasoning for withholding fertilizer until after hardening off was to prevent the new growth from extending a lot so you'll get shorter internodes and keeping the needles from lengthening.

Sounds reasonable. I do that with JWP in the spring.

Decandling is pretty stressful on JBP. Once you get a lot of ramification, when you decandle, that generates a lot of new shoots, which uses a lot of resources.

There’s lots of variations of the details of JBP cultivation.

Even within Japan, there are many approaches. Ryan is doing things the way Kimura does. Boon does things the way Kamiya did. They’re similiar, but slightly different.

Remember, bonsai is quite competitive in Japan. Each Master has his own methods he thinks gives him a competitive advantage over his peers. Do they share their secrets? Even with their apprentices? (Who will eventually become competitors!). Maybe... Maybe not...

 

[Adair M]

As a side note:

Kinji Murata is known for his JBP. A couple years ago he moved to Georgia from California. He has had a number of students here for a long time, and I was familiar with their trees. They were “good”, but I always felt there was something “wrong” with them. I had attributed it to the students.

When Kinji moved here, I visited his garden, and saw his trees personally. Well, they looked just like his student’s trees! So, what ever it is, it isn’t due to his students, it’s his methods that makes his JBP look different than mine (and Boon’s) JBP.

Maybe he thinks my trees look “wrong”! Lol!!!

So, I’ll repeat my advice: find a teacher who’s trees you like, who’s style you like, and learn to make trees like they do. Once you can do that, you can choose to go your own way. Or not.

I chose Boon as a teacher (over Ryan, I might add) because I like the way his JBP look. It’s been the best decision I’ve ever made. Others may choose another teacher for whatever reason Is important to them.

 

[clem]

As a side note:

Kinji Murata is known for his JBP. A couple years ago he moved to Georgia from California. He has had a number of students here for a long time, and I was familiar with their trees. They were “good”, but I always felt there was something “wrong” with them. I had attributed it to the students.

When Kinji moved here, I visited his garden, and saw his trees personally. Well, they looked just like his student’s trees! So, what ever it is, it isn’t due to his students, it’s his methods that makes his JBP look different than mine (and Boon’s) JBP.

hello, can you detail what was wrong to you ? the style ? the densification ? Too symetrical ? etc

 

[Adair M]

hello, can you detail what was wrong to you ? the style ? the densification ? Too symetrical ? etc

They tend to be sparse, with longish needles.
I think he advocates decandling earlier in the summer, and pulling more needles than does Boon. But, that’s just a guess based upon my observation of his trees and comparing them to mine. Kinji is an excellent grafter and grafts branches to be in all the right places.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Brian, on page 16 in your pdf book on developing black pines you suggest that after the new candles emerge, post candle cutting, that the tree should be returned to regular fertilization. However Ryan said in a YouTube video on developing black pines that you should wait until the new growth has hardened off before fertilizing. Can you explain the difference in recommendations? I have just completed a round of candle cutting and the new candles are out and extending so I need to know how soon to start applying fertilizer. Also some of the new candles are extending a lot more than others. Should all these new candles be allowed to extend unchecked or at some point should they all be clipped to the same length? Thanks

Sorry, I’m not a student of Ryan, so I can’t explain his process. I work with Bjorn because I like his style and approach. Timing the feeding is a balancing act between keeping the tree healthy through candle cutting (stressful) and not so strong that the new needles are too long. After a few seasons, you’ll start to get a feel for when to do it in your area. Thanks for your purchase too!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Night shot from a couple weeks ago. Soon, it will be ready for fall needle-pulling, bud selection, and some light pruning/wiring.

 

[roberthu]

As I remember his reasoning for withholding fertilizer until after hardening off was to prevent the new growth from extending a lot so you'll get shorter internodes and keeping the needles from lengthening.

Yes you are exactly right. Ryan also said we need to always think about what we are trying to achieve before making a decision. So if your goal is shorter internodes and needles then you should hold back fertilizer like he said. However, if you are only looking to get ramification and still want to keep the tree super vigorous and develop longer branch to extend to the silhouette you have in mind, then you may want to fertilizer earlier. With longer needles comes more photosynthesize capacity and energy accumulation. So if your tree is mostly past the developing phase but not 100% in the refining phase yet, I think you can fertilizer a little earlier.

My 2 cents after watching Ryan's videos for a few months. Still pretty new to understanding pines.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

When someone is working at your house, while you’re working on a tree...

but the light is so good, it makes you want to get another shot...

 

[Adair M]

Brian, your garden looks wonderful!

 

[casun]

That tree is ri-dic-u-lous-ly good. I think I’m love.

 

[Moridin]

Amazing Tree!

I just realized we have the same patio table and chairs

 

[Moridin]

And now after after just having a smoke out on my patio I just realized how massive that thing is, Awesome!

 

[Nybonsai12]

This tree just keeps getting better and better. Nice work.

 

[Arnold_K]

Definitly one of my favourit projects.
An amzing example for developing top-trees from obtainable nursery-material.
Real cool ...

 

[Ryceman3]

I’ve seen some sh!t trees in my relatively short time doing bonsai... this isn’t one of them. Much respect for an awesome progression. Outstanding.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Fall needle-pulling and light pruning complete:

Wire removed, and prepped to fully rewire:

We’ll see if I get around to rewiring it in time for spring...

 

[Dav4]

Very sharp... it looks like Bjorn is rubbing off on you .

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Wired out by Bjorn earlier this month, looking pretty good.

 

[Bu-Jetjet]

Wired out by Bjorn earlier this month, looking pretty good.
View attachment 357338

Brian- the progression of this tree was great to watch! I can only imagine going through it in real time. So much patience and dedication! Masterclass work man. Thank you for the inspiration.

 

[roberthu]

Wired out by Bjorn earlier this month, looking pretty good.

Looks really good! The soil looks fresh too. Did you repot as well? If you didn't, how do you keep the soil so clean?