Well, you need to find the best possible seed possible.aaron_tas wrote:please go on...Asus101 wrote:there is a way to get thick trunks on a Japanese black pines, but its a method best used when they are started from seed. it only takes about 5 years to get a nice trunk with aged bark.
I am attempting to redo the article, for our conditions, but here is the article that has been posted in many Bonsai today in my own words in basic form.
once your seed has been sown, spray it with fungicide.
Once your stems start turning redish (after white then green) gently pull them up. You want to cut the root off, so cut it leaving just a little bit of the white root.
Dip it in rootign hormone, and plant like a cutting.
Leave them for about a month, then again, pull them up gently, and trim off roots to start your nebari. While pines and junipers don't need a nebari, a good one is a big bonus.
pot them up into their own pots.
You want a very fast draining mix. You want to keep them moist all the time. They need good sun **but this is where we need to be careful. In japan they get hot (around 30*c), but not as hot as we do. They claim full sun all the time, but that wont work here. Start off light feeding a month or so after they have been repotted by themselves. one basket is good. ** again this is where I want to experiment. With the less sun, I'm wondering if they should have a second basket to supplement the lesser sun light. Either that, or some light shade cloth so they are not burned.
Second year, its dedicated to growth.
You can also wire the guys now too. Give them some serious twists, and allow the wore to cut in. It will help them to thicken. Just don't allow the bark to overgrow the wire.
You should also repot it into a strainer. Sounds odd, but a small strainer. You'll need a larger one later. Again fast draining mix, larger particles too. Don't root prune, just arrange the roots. Again water lots, lots of sun, lots of fertilizer.
From there you need to keep the keep the long lions tail leader. it will help your trunk to thicken a lot. Keep buds as low as you can, even removing needles up the lionstail to keep them from budding is a help. When you need to repot, don't take them out of the strainer. Use a larger one and simply pot the pot. This allows no lost time in getting the tree settled again which can take up to three years.
That will get you started. i would look at BT 21 for more details. it goes into creating cascade pine from seed as well.
Instead of planting the seedling straight, plant it at an angle. Using a can (redbull cans are great) place layers of soil. You want fertile>large particles>fertile. That will force the main root to go down. once it hits the larger particles, it will contort and twist. This is where memory is a little fuzzy.. I think you can, like the others pull them up and trim the roots, keeping only the one that goes down. It will form your trunk later. I think thats done a month after the cutting has been made, and I'm not sure is you pull it up completely, or brush the opposite side away and cut away the roots that are not growing down.
When you do go to repot into your strainer, wire like the others and if you need to make any bends.
You want to water and feed them alot, in this case more than you usually would. With the fast draining mix there is no fear about waterlogging/root rot or damaged roots due to the fert used. water+food+sun=Growth.
If you want to read the article in depth, Bonsai today 7 and 21 are the ones to check out. 12 also has some very good information.
in ten years you can have a 20 year old tree in show worthy condition.
I am trying to try with scotts, radiata, stone, red, black and hopefully mugo.
So far I have lost all my pines when we had some very hot days, but I know why and am going to rectify that next season.
if anyone has seeds for sale, let me know.
