Shibui pine contest entry

[Shibui]

More...

This one has grown well and has good visible nebari developing. The basal branches are long and thin now. Probably too bare to be of use so I'm hoping for new buds just in case. Harder prune back to existing branches.


Another one with some better low bends and useful low shoots. This prune should be enough to get some extra back buds on the bare section.


I retained this one because of the extra fork in the trunk. It is not as thick as some of the others but the fork will provide valuable taper. I've left one to grow as sacrifice but pruned the other to lower healthy needles in the hope of getting back buds down lower.

 

[Shibui]

This one shows what happens when apex is allowed to grow too far and too dense. Lower shoots have started to die off. Most remaining branches are long and becoming bare at base so this time I have also pruned long side branches back to lowest healthy needles to stimulate even more back buds.


Another pre wired trunk. Possible small literati but the upper end is thicker so there's some reverse taper. Might be better grown out as a larger tree. Still early days so plenty of time to make decisions. I've removed the large vertical branch that appeared to be causing the upper thickening.


Another one with a different trunk form. possible semi cascade? No taper in the existing trunk so I've pruned hard enough to get the lower shoots growing for probable replacement at some stage while still allowing growth for thickening.

 

[Shibui]

Spring and candles are elongating on the pines I did not prune hard.



A few have produced male cones this year.

 

[Shibui]

Back budding has been good after the mid winter chops.







The trees I did not chop are growing rapidly. Candles now nearly a foot long on a couple.

All that growth must be adding some thickening to the trunks.

 

[Crazy Diamond]

Any update?

 

[Shibui]

Late summer photos.
The surviving root through plate seedling


These still in smaller 11 cm pots.


the rest are in 15 cm pots. Some with bends in the lower trunk may be interesting if I can get some complementary branches and roots.


A couple appear to have been too close together and lower foliage has died back. Could also have been a bit dry a few times through spring.


A couple of taller ones. I guess the long trunks will be chopped at some stage as they don't look particularly bonsai as they are.



Final image shows one that was pruned hard last time to encourage more low branches. Seems to have worked OK.

 

[Ryceman3]

Encouraged a trident if nothing else!
looking good.

 

[Shibui]

Encouraged a trident if nothing else!

Most pots here seem to have self seeded tridents and JM. I usually let them grow over summer and then transplant for sale so this one has been allowed to grow with the pine. I doubt it will have reduced pine growth significantly.

 

[SeanS]

Most pots here seem to have self seeded tridents and JM. I usually let them grow over summer and then transplant for sale so this one has been allowed to grow with the pine. I doubt it will have reduced pine growth significantly.

Damn, I thought you’d discovered Pinus Tridentii

 

[Shibui]

Another winter progress update:
First the trees that were wired for trunk movement...
Before and after winter pruning shots.

 

[Shibui]

Now some that I'm hoping to build bends and taper by pruning:

This first tree was pruned hard last time. Lots of new shoots grew so something to work with now.


A couple are still in small 11cm diameter pots so not really enough growth to prune yet.




Lower shoots are still healthy and strong so I'll leave the sacrifice trunk on this one, just reduce it a little to reduce shading and competition.

 

[Shibui]

And some more:

Another one showing masses of new shoots as a result of chopping last time.

 

[Shibui]

Last pine of this bunch.

 

[Maiden69]

I don't know how I missed this thread... thanks, this puts pictures to the explanation you wrote on my thread.

 

[AnutterBonsai]

great to see the barking up on some of these, very good trees and development process. couldn't help but also appreciate your garden in the background of some of the earlier shots you took as well!

 

[Shibui]

Very late winter here now and I decided to pot on a couple of the pines still in small pots.

Pots are well packed with roots. Also lots of Mycorrhiza that has colonized these pots without any help from me.


After root pruning


Into the 15cm pot for the next couple of years.

 

[Shibui]

I've virtually ignored these trees all summer so they have not developed as they could/should. Too crowded means not enough light to lower branches so some have died off and the survivors have not grown well.
Still some potential in these:

forgot to take photo of the leaning trunk which still has potential too.

One of the seedlings I threaded through a metal plate produced roots and still growing.


Today I culled again.
These 6 have been removed from the contest

 

[Shibui]

Repotting season down here so I did these competition pines today.




Some inverse taper developing in the upper trunk on this one. Probably from the initial bending a it has few branches now.

 

[Shibui]

Some more:
Very good mycorrhiza on this one

 

[Shibui]

And the others:

This one demonstrates what happens when tight bends thicken.

Closeup of the lower trunk where I put a couple of tight bends. Now the bends have merged leaving an odd bulge.


This is the seedling I threaded through a hole in a stainless steel disk.

and here's the meatal plate. The original roots have long ago died off. New roots growing over the disk provide horizontal nebari but not perfect.


I think this last tree has an attractive lean and good subtle bends down low. I chopped the long trunk so it doesn't keep tipping the pot. Hoping those low branches will take off now and give me something to develop the new trunk and branches.