I have a JBP that I'm growing in my grow bed to thicken up the trunk and fix some reverse taper. This spring it's taken off and has candles that are taller than the tree was during winter. I didn't expect such an explosion in growth so now I'm worrying about keeping foliage low and close to the trunk.
What's the appropriate trimming strategy? Can I cut back during the growing season?
Any tips greatly appreciated.
Pics coming
How do I keep low foliage on a JBP that's growing in ground?
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sheepdawg
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Re: How do I keep low foliage on a JBP that's growing in ground?
I've found a few new shoots like this. Will I be able to cut along the red line in places like this?
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sheepdawg
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Re: How do I keep low foliage on a JBP that's growing in ground?
I realise that the foliage is already a bit far from the trunk for nice bonsai styling, but I don't mind if this guy stays in the ground for a good few years, I'm apprehensive to work with pines so this is my first and it's just a learning tree
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Rolf
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Re: How do I keep low foliage on a JBP that's growing in ground?
Hi sheepdawg,sheepdawg wrote:I have a JBP that I'm growing in my grow bed to thicken up the trunk and fix some reverse taper. This spring it's taken off and has candles that are taller than the tree was during winter. I didn't expect such an explosion in growth so now I'm worrying about keeping foliage low and close to the trunk.
What's the appropriate trimming strategy? Can I cut back during the growing season?
Any tips greatly appreciated.
Pics coming
I found these blogs at Dupuich website:
https://bonsaitonight.com/2018/06/01/ea ... ack-pines/
https://bonsaitonight.com/2018/05/29/bo ... ce-branch/
https://bonsaitonight.com/2018/03/30/bo ... ch-basics/
Hope this will help you along!!
Cheers
Rolf
Nature does always better!
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longd_au
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Re: How do I keep low foliage on a JBP that's growing in ground?
Hi
My strategy with this problem and my decision on when to cut is based on the fact that the pine needles takes about 3 yrs to fall off.
So I try to maximize the time the needles are on the plant because it directly affects how quickly the trunk thickens.
At about the 2 to 3 yr mark, I cut strong growth back which usually cause a large number of back budding. The timing is important and I think Treeman have a post suggesting cutting in Autumn causes a great deal of back budding for younger plants.
I found while doing this, I end up with an extremely dense plant as a result of the back budding and the larger needles. To avoid this, I do trim back to two candles in spring so I get some light into the middle.
I saw some photos of field grown black pines in Japan and they look very dense and I assume they are doing a similar thing.
That is my two cents worth. It is what I am doing. BTW, I don't cut very low branches if i don't think they will form part of the final design. They thicken the base and I know I will just cut them off one day. This is why one of my elm has a 3 meter branch coming out from near the base which has doubled the trunk size in a year.
My strategy with this problem and my decision on when to cut is based on the fact that the pine needles takes about 3 yrs to fall off.
So I try to maximize the time the needles are on the plant because it directly affects how quickly the trunk thickens.
At about the 2 to 3 yr mark, I cut strong growth back which usually cause a large number of back budding. The timing is important and I think Treeman have a post suggesting cutting in Autumn causes a great deal of back budding for younger plants.
I found while doing this, I end up with an extremely dense plant as a result of the back budding and the larger needles. To avoid this, I do trim back to two candles in spring so I get some light into the middle.
I saw some photos of field grown black pines in Japan and they look very dense and I assume they are doing a similar thing.
That is my two cents worth. It is what I am doing. BTW, I don't cut very low branches if i don't think they will form part of the final design. They thicken the base and I know I will just cut them off one day. This is why one of my elm has a 3 meter branch coming out from near the base which has doubled the trunk size in a year.
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Dennis
A journey full of experiments
Dennis
A journey full of experiments
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shibui
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Re: How do I keep low foliage on a JBP that's growing in ground?
The others have given good info. Pines must be pruned before the old needles drop if you want buds to grow from close to the trunk.
It does not really matter what time of year pruning is done. The tree will still shoot new buds but the speed of budding and strength of those new buds can be influenced by the time of year.
Prune in late spring and early summer (Mid Nov - late Dec): buds form within a few weeks, new shoots will usually be small with shorter needles.
Prune late summer and winter: buds will usually be delayed until the following growing season in spring. Resulting buds will often be very vigorous.
Prune early spring: Buds should form relatively quickly and shoots will be vigorous.
However, you are trying to increase trunk thickness. Dennis has given good advice: leave as much as possible for as long as possible. All growth contributes to trunk size. The trick is to pick when the time is right before older needles drop if you need to cut back into old needles. In many cases you will be cutting back to side shoots so no need to worry about old needles to get new buds. The last photo you have posted is a good example. Instead of cutting to those older needles (red line) prune even lower where there are some existing small shoots. On some other branches I can't see any lower shoots so cutting back to older needles would be correct there.
Looks like most of the tree consists of current spring growth + long previous year's growth so no 3yo needles? Maybe you could afford to leave this until next spring but I would probably be thinking about pruning this season (Nov/Dec) just to be sure. The little you lose in growth will be more than made up for by more choices of shoots and peace of mind. Early pruning also gives the best chances of getting occasional buds on older bare wood which may be an advantage at this stage.
You can leave old, long branches lower on the tree if they are not intended as part of the design - sacrifice branches. If they will be cut off eventually it doesn't matter if they are bare. For best budding do not leave any unpruned branches above areas where you want buds to develop - apical dominance is strong in pines.
Good luck
with this. The trunk will be increasing in size even if it does not look like it while the tree is in the ground.
It does not really matter what time of year pruning is done. The tree will still shoot new buds but the speed of budding and strength of those new buds can be influenced by the time of year.
Prune in late spring and early summer (Mid Nov - late Dec): buds form within a few weeks, new shoots will usually be small with shorter needles.
Prune late summer and winter: buds will usually be delayed until the following growing season in spring. Resulting buds will often be very vigorous.
Prune early spring: Buds should form relatively quickly and shoots will be vigorous.
However, you are trying to increase trunk thickness. Dennis has given good advice: leave as much as possible for as long as possible. All growth contributes to trunk size. The trick is to pick when the time is right before older needles drop if you need to cut back into old needles. In many cases you will be cutting back to side shoots so no need to worry about old needles to get new buds. The last photo you have posted is a good example. Instead of cutting to those older needles (red line) prune even lower where there are some existing small shoots. On some other branches I can't see any lower shoots so cutting back to older needles would be correct there.
Looks like most of the tree consists of current spring growth + long previous year's growth so no 3yo needles? Maybe you could afford to leave this until next spring but I would probably be thinking about pruning this season (Nov/Dec) just to be sure. The little you lose in growth will be more than made up for by more choices of shoots and peace of mind. Early pruning also gives the best chances of getting occasional buds on older bare wood which may be an advantage at this stage.
You can leave old, long branches lower on the tree if they are not intended as part of the design - sacrifice branches. If they will be cut off eventually it doesn't matter if they are bare. For best budding do not leave any unpruned branches above areas where you want buds to develop - apical dominance is strong in pines.
Good luck
with this. The trunk will be increasing in size even if it does not look like it while the tree is in the ground.http://shibuibonsai.com.au/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
