Guidance on Mexican weeping pine

[tonez]

Hi, Im still a novice with bonsai.
I have posted here before but wasn't able to get an answer for this particular pine because i was unsure what it was. Was under the impression it was Japanese pine but its not and turns out its Mexican Weeping pine according to bunnings.

I grew these from seeds 2019 and left it as it is until it got bigger. Its autumn now and the candles are quite long. I'm looking to style it. Is it a good time to start removing the bottom candles, use wiring and snip off the top bud to stop it from growing taller also decandle the long ones?

I have few more that are in similar shape.

[shibui]

There are differences in how we maintain pines depending on whether they are single flush(only grow once a year - white pine, etc) or double flush (can grow new shoots if the sprung shoots are removed - JBP or JRP). I'm not sure if P.patula is a single or double flush pine and as few are grown as bonsai you may even have to experiment to find out.
P.patula is not used much because of the super long needles.

Early development is different to later maintenance so you don't need to worry about candle cutting yet.
All pines respond to pruning when they are young so you can chop now provided you leave some healthy needles to form new buds and shoots.

I can only see a single shoot as the trunk. Not sure where you see bottom candles unless you are referring to needles or there may be very small buds down low?

What to do depends what you want to produce from this.
To make a tree with some side branches you'll need to chop the trunk quite short. Remember that trees almost always grow up and out so always prune shorter to allow for growth.

If you just want a tall, thin trunk just cut the top out at some stage.

Many growers would not even consider starting work on a pine this skinny and young. Most of us would allow lots of growth to get a thicker trunk a bit quicker.
There's no one correct way to get to bonsai. Choices are up to you.

[tonez]

unless you are referring to needles

ah yes i was referring to needles, sorry got the terms mixed up.

I can only see a single shoot as the trunk

Sorry for my poor photo. I'll try to do better next time. The tip actually has 4 shoots. The main with three shoots.

Most of us would allow lots of growth to get a thicker trunk a bit quicker.
There's no one correct way to get to bonsai. Choices are up to you.

I see, base on this i'm thinking to cut the main shoot to allow the 3shoot to branch out and wait until the trunk gets thicker.

[Grant Bowie]

P patula can be treated similar to J black pine, they bud back in the same way.

If you want a tall tree you could let it grow in spring time, then remove new candles in November or December. New growth will then be trained next year.

If you want a smaller tree, then cut the tree down by 50% or 60% in early spring. You must only cut where there are needles still alive. It will bud back and you can then decide what to do style wise.

With age they get a lovely flakey bark with a red tinge underneath.

Grant Bowie

[Akhi]

I am new to pines as well and learning it the hard way. They take a very long time to get half as close to a good bonsai let alone as how quality bonsai.
The picture you have posted is a seedling at this stage and ideally you should plant it in the ground or large pot to let it grow develop a good root structure with some showy surface roots and bit of a trunk and then start cutting.
As it’s a seedling you will see that if left untouched there will be lot of long needled growth at the top as the seedling keeps growin and small needled growth at the bottom where the first needles were.
What I did with my pine (albeit a radiate) was let the seedling keep growing for a few years and once the trunk was about an inch or so thick cut it just above the small needles growth which by then had a number of small branches. I then cleared that out to avoid bar branches etc and let no more than two branches grow out from one point on the trunk.
It is still in the ground and I haven’t done any root disturbances for nearly three years now.
Hope this helps you on your journey. Good luck