Advice on my first JBP.

[Pearcy001]

I recently received my first JBP as a gift from the self proclaimed "better half".

I was originally holding off getting my first pine due to the specific needs required by them (combined with my lack of knowledge) - I now have to work it out sooner rather than later or the branches will get leggy and I'll have to work for the dreaded back budding that I'd rather avoid.

a28b4eb949142fa1187ba18ef9199959.jpg

2e2cb7f2514fc0cb2bedc1ad6528645f.jpg

6d781293f217f7af2cf0e96b618899ab.jpg

9a51e2495557402cb461c5d0011be04d.jpg

617957ad4bae93ae59e7e81bcc6d9845.jpg

f28970a98149001acbd5cfef85cd687c.jpg

Currently there is a cluster of buds coming from the main centre growth that I will need to reduce to probably 2(?) in order to avoid reverse taper. The branch below the cluster to the rear will be wired down and out to the side but that's about as much as I know for now.

I have a few questions if someone is able to help me down the right path, although I understand when it comes to pines many have their own opinions.

1. Should I reduce the cluster to 2, while also avoiding bar branching?

2. Should the main trunk protruding up from the cluster be left to grow freely in order to thicken the trunk? Or, should it be cut just below where it buds in order to produce back budding closer down? - Doing this will remove the apex.

3. Should candle pinching be held off until Spring?

4. Should needle plucking be carried out in late Summer? leaving less needle-pairs on the upper shoots and more on the weaker, lower and inner shoots.

5. Also are needles to just be cut shorter (around an inch) with a pair of trimming scissors if needed? If so, when should it be done?

I live in Melbourne and I understand I've asked quite a bit, all answers would be greatly appreciated. If further photos are required please let me know.

Cheers in advance,
Pearcy.

[shibui]

1. Should I reduce the cluster to 2, while also avoiding bar branching?

Yes! Reduce shoots to just 2 in all species whenever possible to avoid swollen areas. Particularly important in pines where you get clusters of many shoots at each node.

2. Should the main trunk protruding up from the cluster be left to grow freely in order to thicken the trunk? Or, should it be cut just below where it buds in order to produce back budding closer down? - Doing this will remove the apex.

That depends... Is the main trunk useful in the final design? Y Keep it, N cut off. Do you want to thicken the trunk below? Y keep it if the scar after removal will not be a problem and cut in a couple of years.

3. Should candle pinching be held off until Spring?

Pinching candles can be done at any time BUT results will be different depending on when. Remove candles early results in large, strong replacement candles. To reduce candle size and strength remove candles late spring, early summer. I do mine mid - late December and get good response. NOTE that with developing trees you can prune right back to leave just a few pairs of old needles if you need to reduce the length of existing shoots.

4. Should needle plucking be carried out in late Summer? leaving less needle-pairs on the upper shoots and more on the weaker, lower and inner shoots.

Needle plucking helps to balance the amount of energy each shoot has and therefore the strength of each shoot. It also allows light into crowded areas to help buds grow. You can remove needles any time if it needs it. Most do it when cutting candles (late spring) or when thinning the resulting shoots (autumn). Note that pulling the needles can also remove any dormant buds. Cutting with scissors just above the base will leave buds intact in case you want more back budding.

5. Also are needles to just be cut shorter (around an inch) with a pair of trimming scissors if needed? If so, when should it be done?

Cutting needles will cause the cut ends to go brown which can look unsightly. If you don't mind that look then cut any time. Some growers cut needles the day before a show so the tree has short needles but still looks good for the show. With good candle cutting and needle thinning the needles will be smaller in a couple of years. If the tree is still developing long needles are not a problem.

[Pearcy001]

Thank you Shibui your advice is greatly appreciated.

I'll be putting it to practice later this week and I'll let you know how I go. The trunk seems a bit long at the moment but it'll hopefully even out proportionally as it thickens up a bit (fingers crossed). I may hold off on the needle cutting and concentrate on better growth.

I'm looking forward to getting it all down pat so I can invest in some better stock, I'm thinking this may take some time.

Cheers.

[shibui]

Ryan Neill's advice on pines - Lots of methods work but choose one and stick with that method for a couple of years. It takes a few seasons for full effect to show up and changing from one to another will not give full benefit.

[Pearcy001]

My first update, and an attempted first styling.

Had a bit of free time today so I thought I'd have my first ever shot at a JBP. Had a fun time wiring the tree and selecting branches, they were surprisingly flexible - I'm just hoping the ones I have selected pay off in the long run.

Some of the buds stood no chance as my skills at damaging needles and buds is excellent, my brutal wiring skills requires a touch of refinement when it comes to pines.

I plan to let the first branch thicken as much as possible to give it a bit of strength aesthetically. Once the third branch up extends a bit further it will go to the rear behind the trunk, in order to create a bit more depth, as well as the forth branch bent to the front. As for the others i'll just let them grow a bit for now and do some tweaks later. Hopefully the scars where I have removed the branches (especially the one up top due to the large cluster that was there) heal ok, or I'm going to need a new design as the scar is to the front. Time will tell.

All comments and advice are more then welcome.

4b42028d6626f0ce06e811f36f2a63cc.jpg

605e3612fc425c6fc9f79451f87c6fda.jpg

c5fc7c86869aa2d9b53b1f2dcd24f319.jpg

ba6d7ae6b51b45468c55f8f490601726.jpg

Cheers,
Pearcy.

[Pearcy001]

A fresh day and fresh eyes.

Thinking I may change the potting angle to more upright, using the top right branch as the new leader.

ac8034b5f684b482bf07a3f33a7f47a2.jpg

Unfortunately this will make the trunk seem longer but it will keep the apex above the base which is a big plus.

Thoughts and ideas appreciated.

Cheers,
Pearcy.

[Pearcy001]

12 months on and its safe to say this one has had nothing done to it at all apart from extensive feeding.



I thought I had better give it a good looking over before it got neglected any further. I removed most (all?) the upper branching as it was too thick, as well as any downward facing needles. I also ended up cutting back the extremely long needles so I could see what was going on. A large portion of needles had already been chewed right back by the local possums so it didn't bother me to cut back the rest.





Trunk movement has improved a little, I now need to get some upper branching that doesn't end up overly thick like the last ones I removed. I don't believe this will ever be a great tree, nor does it bother me. This tree will be more of a trial and error on my part but we will see how we go trying to make something of it anyway. Still undecided if pines are for me, but maybe they will continue to grow on me. One positive is the trunk has barked up a bit over the last year.

A couple questions if I can.

There's candles beginning to push all over. Where more than one is coming from each spot, am I best to remove all but one once they extend but before opening, so as to keep them shorter? Meaning if I reduce them to one candle in an area now I'm guessing it will direct too much energy toward the one remaining candle so I let them extend for as long as possible before removing the additional candles?

Also am I able to repot now, or should it have been done while the tree was dormant in Winter? Additionally is repotting ok when you have also done work up top? Sorry about all the questions but thanks in advance for the answers.

Cheers,
Pearcy.

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

[kez]

I like this tree and think it has a good future ahead.

To your questions,

Let all candles grow freely and then in early summer cut back to last years needles (remove all new growth). Once the new candles develop and open and the second flush matures (hardens off) in autumn then select 2 and remove the rest. You will know when the new growth has hardened off as the needles will be firm/spiky to touch and held firmly in place (before they harden off a gentle pull will remove them from their sheeth)

Doing it this way will allow the tree to disperse all energy over a larger amount of growth in the first flush, providing less energy for the second and a shorter more balanced second flush. If you remove buds now you will only overly strengthen what you leave

I wouldn't do any root work now, firstly because I repot in march/april where I am and secondly because you have removed a lot of growth up top, any root work will further weaken the tree and in the best case severely slow it down for the growing season, worst case it will die

Hope this helps

[Pearcy001]

I like this tree and think it has a good future ahead.

To your questions,

Let all candles grow freely and then in early summer cut back to last years needles (remove all new growth). Once the new candles develop and open and the second flush matures (hardens off) in autumn then select 2 and remove the rest. You will know when the new growth has hardened off as the needles will be firm/spiky to touch and held firmly in place (before they harden off a gentle pull will remove them from their sheeth)

Doing it this way will allow the tree to disperse all energy over a larger amount of growth in the first flush, providing less energy for the second and a shorter more balanced second flush. If you remove buds now you will only overly strengthen what you leave

I wouldn't do any root work now, firstly because I repot in march/april where I am and secondly because you have removed a lot of growth up top, any root work will further weaken the tree and in the best case severely slow it down for the growing season, worst case it will die

Hope this helps

Hi Kez and thank you for the advice, as I have no idea about JBP's haha. What you have said makes complete sense to me. Thanks again for answering my questions.

Cheers,
Pearcy.

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

[anthonyW]

Hi Pearcy

You have a very good shape to your pine(trunk)as mentioned above by Neil if happy with that then build.

As you can appreciate very difficult to teach over the forum,putting the good trunk design to the side,you have very good branch placement also....but you are running very thin to the line on foliage I feel for health,over water on this tree for too long you will drown it.So with this in mind I would grow the existing candles out as Kez has mentioned so the tree can sweat (photosynthesise)..normally we would snap the candles 1/3 off down mid to low of tree and a 1/2 snapped up the top to keep in silhouette and balance,but you need more health for now.

On your branch pads I would keep the one candle to grow out on each one so we can extend the pads quicker and give us more health(we can always trim them to length later and hopefully back bud to build),the rest of the candles as Kez mentioned you will cut off(the new growth)...check with other Victorian growers for timing......you will not touch the years before needles until the the new summer shoots/needles have set/hardened off(autumn),cutting back to 4 to 5 pairs needles if possible when you started.When the new shoots /needles set hardened, you can then remove those two year old needles (the ones you cut back too before making newer shoots/short needles).

At the top depending on vigour maybe sometimes we only keep one shoot to divide the rest of the tree you will keep two shoots to divide for health and balance...as the pines are strong apical growers.

Hope this helps and not to confusing,this is just one of the ways you could go...give me a moment and I will draw your projected tree(try anyway)

cheers Anthony

[anthonyW]

Maybe something towards this.

Anthony

php8GPTqFAM.jpg

phpNudoLZAM.jpg

[Pearcy001]

Thanks for the info and complements Anthony. I definitely know what you mean about easier in person haha. It took me a few read throughs but I now understand what you're talking about.

I have a way to keep the roots dry until summer if you think that could be of a concern to the tree. I made a cover for the pot last winter to keep the rain off that worked great, while still allowing full sun to the foliage. Great job on the pictures by the way and thank you for taking the time to do them. I can really see the same tree in it. I tried draw a tree a while back and its safe to say I didn't bother attempt another haha.

Cheers,
Pearcy.

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk