Upcoming plans for this JBP - Am I on the right track?

[Ryceman3]

Fall (autumn) is a good time for branch removal on pines. The vascular growth that occurs at this time of year is helpful with aiding cut sites/wounds to heal.
You should be good to go. It's looking healthy!

 

[Gert]

Thank you, Ryceman3 !

 

[Gert]

I assume you removed the candles on this one recently, along with the needle plucking? If so, you should think about needle plucking the new flush of growth this fall before applying wire… You can thank me later .

Hi @Dav4 , do you think now is the right time to do this? Or should I wait for some cooler weather (TX)?

 

[Gert]

I went ahead and removed the eye-poking branch. I think this will probably be the front of the tree. I need to wire down the branch (upper left) behind it now. I was going to pull old needles and wire but I think I'm going to wait a few more weeks. I did a light tug on a new needle from this years decandling and it came out very easily so I'm not sure if they need a little more time to harden off before I dig into this tree. It's still hitting the mid 80s here daily. Hoping for some cooler weather (but not too cool!) soon.

I'd like to wire the top branch on the left up to be the apex, and wire the branch jutting out midway up it to the left to create the apex with. There are a ton of needles up there so I want to wait a bit until I can thin it out. I also probably need to reduce this years buds to two, but I'm taking it slow as I don't want to rush into any mistakes.

Just curious on thoughts, are the lowest branches too low? This tree is probably about 13-15 inches tall.

 

[Gert]

Did some thinning today. Will likely make a few adjustments with wire and maybe a chop or two tomorrow. Still need to go through the tree again and work on energy balance. This is my first time applying any of these techniques so I'm flying based only on what I've read/seen online.

I think the nebari in the first photo is better. I'll have to remove the branch coming out of the center of the trunk 2/3 of the way up if I choose this one. There is a branch behind that I think I could move forward to take it's place. What do y'all think makes the better front? The second image to me seems to have better movement, but shows the chop wound at the top. I think it will require the removal of the lowest branch on the left. This again has another branch behind it that could take it's place but may affect the 3D image of the tree.

I still need to address the apex. So many needles up there.

Curious on what y'all think. Open to suggestions, thoughts, questions, etc.

 

[Potawatomi13]

A long ways have you to go. Existing stove pipe trunk never ending flaw! Bottom picture just above 2nd LEFT branch cut off here. Grow new apical sacrifice branch from here begin taper development. Maybe/maybe not keep lowest branch. Time can tell.

 

[Gert]

That sounds like a great approach, Potawatomi13. In post #1 I mentioned the raison d'être of this tree is to learn and better understand the refinement process of JBP. I've got 50 one year seedlings, 5 two year seedlings, 5 four year saplings and 1 six year old in development that I plan to learn the grow out process on. For this tree, despite its flaws I'd like to practice refinement and see how it affects the tree so I can be better prepared when the seedlings reach desired trunk thickness and taper over the next ten years. I'm not necessarily saying I'd like an ugly tree, but I want to learn this aspect of bonsai.

Just yesterday, while pulling old needles I learned a valuable lesson. On several pairs of old needles, I pulled and took a new needle bud with the pair. I'm guessing in the future I should leave these old needles until the needle bud develops or pull closer to the base of the needles like a surgeon, lol. C'est la vie! Getting my hands dirty after reading is providing new realities to what bonsai is vs what I thought it was over the years essentially just growing pre-bonsai.

I appreciate your thoughts and insight. An approach I might consider if I had different goals with this tree.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Personally do not pull needles but have learned same lesson. Some times one dead needle with one live needle has small bud. Other times small bud has 2 dead needles. Always check before yanking dead needle. Can always clip off dead needles with fine pruner.

 

[Gert]

I repotted this tree at the end of Februrary and did some bud selection at the end of March. Here it is today. The apex is too dense -- can I pull needles up there anytime (now) to reduce some vigor?

 

[Shibui]

Needle reduction is usually late summer or Autumn which gives time for the reduced foliage to limit spring growth but needle reduction can be done any time of year. It will reduce vigour in those areas but you probably won't see much reduction in the spring growth this year. More likely to see results in 6-12 months.

 

[Gert]

Ah that makes sense. Thank you Shibui!

 

[Gert]

This tree will always be a little boring and ugly but it has taught me a lot about black pine. I've learned a lot with this tree and still have a lot to learn with it.

I still need to pull the trigger on the two apices. It also has taught me a lot about the importance of really getting in there and thinning out branches at the top of the tree. You can see how quickly some of the top branches (upper left) thickened in just a couple of years yet the lower branches remain thin.

I'm curious to know what the tree will look like in a few years with continued ramification.