AusBonsai

And here is my other JBP, bought a couple of months after my first pine ...I have put them both on the same decandling schedule over summer and this one (like the other) I think is coming along pretty well. It is also around 250mm in height - the trunk is slightly thinner than my other tree. This one is also a little more generic in terms of it's left/right informal upright template, but like my first pine I have enjoyed its development over the last 8 months or so I have had it on my benches. As usual, comments/input/whatever is welcome ...!


No initial photo - but it pretty much looked like this as I repotted it almost immediately after I got it home (late Aug, 2017) And here it is today, after being decandled in December and then trimmed back and thinned out a touch around 2 weeks ago.

Nice little tree ryceman3
I like the taper and movement of the trunk.
One thing though, I feel the lower right branch takes my eye away from the rest of the tree.
Maybe it needs to be balanced out by extending the lower left branch?

I agree with Ben, the branch on the inside of the curve appears to be impacting on the taper. It might be time for it to go. Otherwise, good start.

Good stuff! Thanks for posting. It is making me lament a JWP tree that I hesitated at purchasing recently ...and some other lucky punter got it. Oh, well.

On this - I agree about the branch on the inside of the curve... lower right ...but is it a trick of the photo... does it parhaps sit at the rear of the trunck and has been trained into this current position? The first photo seems to indicate that... so perhaps it could be shaped to the back a little more - de-emphasise the look and adding a tad more depth....

Just a thought .... I haven’t yet graduated the rather bold ‘no cuts no glory school’ - at least not without a brief period of mediation.

Thanks for posting and the ongoing discussion.

Thanks all for your feedback, much appreciated!

That lower branch actually does come out of the trunk more from the back than the side as MJL suggests, and it probably does need a bit of extra attention to either shorten it or bend it to reduce length. I actually had this as the back view up until about an hour or so before I took this photo so I definitely aren’t opposed to playing around with it.

Watto is probably right, it will need to go eventually but so far when it comes to pines I resist my own advice (no cuts, no glory) to some extent because it just seems so FINAL! Maybe with a bit more experience and confidence I’ll get to the stage where I can get more aggressive when required.

Don’t sweat the JWP MJL, there’s always another tree around the corner. JWPs are a different beast again to the black pine... single flush, a bit slower growing and reliant on colder conditions over winter from my understanding. Think I need to better master the JBP before I give them a go - JRP on the other hand are piquing my interest!

Always looking forward...

Ryceman3 wrote:
Don’t sweat the JWP MJL, there’s always another tree around the corner. JWPs are a different beast again to the black pine... single flush, a bit slower growing and reliant on colder conditions over winter from my understanding. Think I need to better master the JBP before I give them a go - JRP on the other hand are piquing my interest!

Always looking forward...

Cheers for the advice Ryceman ... I think my wife recognises that ...somehow ... "There's always another tree around the corner" !

Had a minute today so decided to have another look at that lower branch. I have bent it back towards the rear of the tree and thrown in a bit more movement where I could to shorten it back - which I think has helped the overall form of the tree - thanks to all who stuck in their ... I think this is an improvement. Unfortunately my phone was the camera (and the lighting wasn't optimal) so I'm not sure the shot I took is indicative, but hopefully you get the idea.

Yeah I like that much better. Nice one

Ta Ben, I think so too, but who knows in 12 months time! ...
Until then!

Hi Ryceman3,
Are you now going to extend the first low branch on the left to re-create that triangle shape you had previously with the longer lower right branch? I know it's still early days and the tree isn't near it's final shape yet, but I'm of the opinion that a JBP should have a classic bonsai shape.
Cheers, Frank.

Raging Bull wrote:Hi Ryceman3,
Are you now going to extend the first low branch on the left to re-create that triangle shape you had previously with the longer lower right branch? I know it's still early days and the tree isn't near it's final shape yet, but I'm of the opinion that a JBP should have a classic bonsai shape.
Cheers, Frank.

In short Frank, that’s the plan. It makes sense to me that the lower branches should be longest so I will look to make that happen as the branching develops. This is just a first step in getting the branch placement right.

Rather than extend the lower branches, have you considered trying to shorten the upper branches to create the triangle shape?
This would then tie in with the lower right branch
Iv never worked on pines though so not sure if this is even achievable.

benbonsai wrote:Rather than extend the lower branches, have you considered trying to shorten the upper branches to create the triangle shape?

I think there'll be a bit of both going on in the coming years to get the shape the way I would like. I don't want to extend too far away from the trunk but I don't want to remove stuff that I might regret later.
Like I said, this is my first go at JBP too so it's a bit of a learning curve, I'm hesitant to remove given that it's not that easy to get it back, but I reckon the more I learn and get experience with these guys (and watch them grow) the clearer the next move will come ... I hope!
I can see options (both extending and cutting back if required) with what I have now so I think I'll sit on it as is for the time being. As Watto said in an earlier post - there's probably a good chance the whole bottom branch may need removal soon enough, and then ... well ... problem solved!!

And just to keep things up to date, here is how this one looks after a shoot select and bit of wire.
I am thinking a change of angle for the front to mitigate the Z-trunk aesthetic somewhat, I think this one will get a pot this year too.

I like the new angle option. Adds more movement and moves that right branch further back adding depth