A Tale of 32 Japanese Black Pines.

[MoGanic]

Wholeheartedly agree with this.
When trees are you we need to give them as much space and energy to grow and develop. This means lots of root room and Ferts.
Detail changes and finer growth will come after the structure of the tree is built.
The only change is that with Pines and Juniper, we need to trim rampant growth on sections of the tree to ensure the foliage stays vibrant closer in to the trunk so we do not end up with lonk lanky bare sections later.

Ken

Glad we agree Ken.

Good point on trimming rampant growth too!

Cheers mate

Mo


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[Grant Bowie]

My fertilising regime will be normal ferts for a couple more weeks yet and then stop for winter. Those in milder climates will benefit from continuing a while longer and through winter if you wish to. I have osmocote in the mix so there will be some very light feeding during winter.

I will restart fertilising around early September and continue feeding right up till the day I de-candle(about mid November here in Canberra) and then not fertilise for about 2 to 3 months; resuming once the new needles are out, fully extended and hardened or hardening off.

Grant

[Sean M]

My fertilising regime will be normal ferts for a couple more weeks yet and then stop for winter. Those in milder climates will benefit from continuing a while longer and through winter if you wish to. I have osmocote in the mix so there will be some very light feeding during winter.

I will restart fertilising around early September and continue feeding right up till the day I de-candle(about mid November here in Canberra) and then not fertilise for about 2 to 3 months; resuming once the new needles are out, fully extended and hardened or hardening off.

Grant

I think I will take some of my pine-lings and try both of these methods.
Can't hurt to experiment.

[Neli]

Some trees with lots of potential you have Grant...I see some beauts there... Lucky boy!

[raewynk]

They look awesome.

So jealous. What a great buy.

Regards
Rae

[Grant Bowie]

Just confirming that the 29 Japanese black pines that I repotted last autumn have all survived and thrived. In fact they did so well I started shaping some of them in late winter and have wired and shaped every single tree of the whole 32.

If you are wanting to repot pines in autumn in warmer climes like Sydney or Brisbane I would wait till May or so.

Grant

[Grant Bowie]

Here is one of the 32.

It is 98cm high x 71cm width x 53 depth.

The pot is an old Tokoname pot that I bought in the 1980s from someone who bought it in the 1960s or 1950s. It is very dark grey and very shallow. Outside dimensions are 46cm x 31cm x 8cm. This pot is so shallow internally that I had not used up till now, but I think it suits the tree perfectly.

The tree is only one year since I purchased it March 2014, repotted it April 2014, worked on it, candle pruned it on 1st Dec 2014 and today cut off the old needles.

IMG_7214.jpg

IMG_7216.jpg

I cut off the old needles today rather than pluck on this one as I would like to encourage some back budding. Once the tree has enough ramification in a few years time I would pluck off the old needles to reduce likelihood of back budding.

Next seasons ramification and wiring should really improve this tree quickly. The apex will be cut slightly lower at de-candling time to round it out; and the one Pine Cone will be harvested for possible seed in a month or two.

Grant

[Grant Bowie]

Almost Finished 6/32 ( sounds like the Borg. 6 of 32)

IMG_7295.jpg

Just need to lightly adjust the upper pad of the lowest branch on the left and harmonise the two lowest branches on the right.

Grant

[MoGanic]

Almost Finished 6/32 ( sounds like the Borg. 6 of 32)

IMG_7295.jpg

Just need to lightly adjust the upper pad of the lowest branch on the left and harmonise the two lowest branches on the right.

Grant

Hi Grant,

Lovely tree and thank you for taking the time to update the pics.

Have you considered undercutting the branches to improve the angle they leave the trunk?

Cheers,
Mo

[Grant Bowie]

Almost Finished 6/32 ( sounds like the Borg. 6 of 32)

IMG_7295.jpg

Just need to lightly adjust the upper pad of the lowest branch on the left and harmonise the two lowest branches on the right.

Grant

Hi Grant,

Lovely tree and thank you for taking the time to update the pics.

Have you considered undercutting the branches to improve the angle they leave the trunk?

Cheers,

They are very old and snappy, so I will not at this point at least.

Grant
Mo

[Grant Bowie]

Next off the rank.

IMG_7589.jpg

I cut off about one third of the branches in Autumn and another one third about 4 weeks ago.

If the tree is in good condition I could pot it into a shallow round literati pot in April or so.

Still got a lot of sorting out and ramification to go but should be showable in a couple of years. Apex can be refined and thinned a little in a year or two but not yet.

Grant

[Grant Bowie]

Update of one red pine.( about 4 of the pines were red pines or hybrids with black).

IMG_7796.jpg

One of the Red pines has done well but needed some creative styling to make use of the tall skinny trunk, long branches etc that are very common in this batch of pines.

It is now in a tokoname pot and was ready for some more work. The needles for a red pine are already very short so I was able to wire for display rather than creation in spring and have now done a bit more.

After candle pruning and needle plucking I have adjusted the foliage pads a bit more.

IMG_7809.jpg

I am enjoying this pine and may keep it long term for myself.

Grant

[Grant Bowie]

Update.

A more recent shot of a black pine earlier in the thread.

IMG_7812.jpg

[rodm]

Hi Grant,
Just wondering how the tale of 32 Japanese Black Pines are progressing???
Cheers RodM

[Grant Bowie]

Update,

32 pines were purchased.
All 32 were old and in poor condition.
All 32 were pruned and then pruned again over the 3 years or so.
All 32 were wired, unwired and wired again.
All 32 are regularly fertilised, candle pruned, needle plucked etc.
All 32 have been root pruned and repotted into bonsai pots; some large and some small.
Some have been repotted twice and moved into smaller and more appropriate size and shape pots. (Mostly Tokoname).
All 32 survived the pruning, repotting and wiring.
1 sold last year.
That leaves 31.
5 or 6 will be for sale at the forthcoming Ausbonsai Market Day in a few weeks time.(More about that elsewhere soon).

I will post photos as anything new or interesting happens.

Cheers,

Grant