TP Shohin Japanese Black Pine Attempt #1

[dirk hoorelbeke]

Always difficult on a photo. Some needles are a bit pale so you might lose them. For sure the "older" needles with brown discoloration at the base. Most of the smaller needles (summer growth?) seem ok and the bud does look ok. Give it the right conditions (don't over or underwater, avoid extremes of wind and cold, keep out of the wind in spring when the moisture demand is higher). Let grow what wants to grow and update in summer.

 

[sorce]

Looks like some of those cuts were too close.

No Ills.

It looks so healthy, I bet it will hook you up with more buds elsewhere.

Sorce

 

[markyscott]

TP - I know it's disappointing, but don't give up. It's all part of the learning process. It looks to me as though you'll likely lose at least a couple of buds, but there's still healthy growth so all is not lost. In the future, keep in mind that it's safer to remove the sacrifice branch in stages, rather than cutting it off all in one go. Start by cutting back and decandling the sacrifice branch. The tree will respond by diverting more resources to the interior growth. Later you can cut the sacrifice back further and/or remove more needles. As the sacrifice gets weaker, the interior growth gets stronger and it's better able to sustain the branch. It can take 2-3 years to safely remove a sacrifice branch like this. But when you do it this way there are a couple of benefits. First, it's not so much of a shock when the sacrifice is eventually removed. And second, the sacrifice will help control the interior growth and keep the internodes tight. That's good for a shohin tree. You can get a lot of your branches built while the sacrifice is being weakened and removed. Check out this picture from Eric Schrader:

http://www.phutu.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2015-11-22-15.01.35mod.jpg

See how he's building branches while the sacrifice is still on the tree? There is so much strong interior growth he can remove the sacrifice at any time without worrying about dieback.

Think about it like approach grafting. You don't seperate the grafted shoot as soon as callous tissue appears - it's too weak to sustain itself and you risk losing the shoot. Rather, you weaken the connection between the shoot and it's original stem first, forcing the graft to take more resources through the graft union. Then separate.

 

[thumblessprimate1]

Thanks guys! Some very seasoned advice. I'll be more conservative the next time I remove a sacrifice branch. Hope to have a greater pine at the end of 2017.

 

[thumblessprimate1]

A ha! Haven't completely failed yet. Plan B. I won't be too quick to remove a sacrifice branch again.

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

Keep it growing!!