Red Pine

[treeman]

After thinning and clean up. The needles are reducing nicely now. It only took 10 years...
About 45cm

20230704_110828.jpg

[Patmet]

Love the way you have styled this tree. Very cool

[Daluke]

Very nice.

Can I ask;

- will you keep flattening the top of the crown to look naturalistic
- what is it planted in, or is that fert on the top of pot;

[treeman]

Very nice.

Can I ask;

- will you keep flattening the top of the crown to look naturalistic
- what is it planted in, or is that fert on the top of pot;

- Not necessarily but I don't want a dome either.
- Just bark and sand I think. Not fertilizer. Probably Mychos and crap.

[TimS]

Lovely tree Mike, puts me in mind of the way pines are styled in japanese block prints

[Keep Calm and Ramify]

Needle length reduction is looking good. Helps the overall scale & giving the illusion of a much older tree. I want a red pine now!
Thanks for showing.

[Matthew]

Mike
i managed to get my old red pine to needle reduce well last year but didnt follow the protocol that worked this year due to time and a few other things and it has reverted back to some longer needles again. Ill try again come this spring .

[treeman]

Mike
i managed to get my old red pine to needle reduce well last year but didnt follow the protocol that worked this year due to time and a few other things and it has reverted back to some longer needles again. Ill try again come this spring .

Hi Mathew
I find the needles reduction gets easier with every year the tree is not repotted. Once it is, and has a free root run, back come the long needles. So it's probably important to really cut back on the nitrogen (and the watering) until the pot is crammed full of roots again. I have a good Japanese article on reds (International Bonsai) and the author says it's ok to leave the roots until they are spiraling around the bottom and starting to push the tree out of it's pot! He adds that if you are growing it properly, you should not need to do and candle removal like you must with black pines. Only pinching.

[dansai]

Im interested what you mean by pinching Mike.

[treeman]

Im interested what you mean by pinching Mike.

Pinching the candle before the needles form with finger tips leaving 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, or all of it - according to their vigor.

[treeman]

Mike
i managed to get my old red pine to needle reduce well last year but didnt follow the protocol that worked this year due to time and a few other things and it has reverted back to some longer needles again. Ill try again come this spring .

Hi Mathew
I find the needles reduction gets easier with every year the tree is not repotted. Once it is, and has a free root run, back come the long needles. So it's probably important to really cut back on the nitrogen (and the watering) until the pot is crammed full of roots again. I have a good Japanese article on reds (International Bonsai) and the author says it's ok to leave the roots until they are spiraling around the bottom and starting to push the tree out of it's pot! He adds that if you are growing it properly, you should not need to do candle (entire shoot) removal like you must with black pines. Only pinching.

[treeman]

Double post..

[Mickeyjaytee]

That’s are really awesome looking tree. Love it!

[dansai]

Im interested what you mean by pinching Mike.

Pinching the candle before the needles form with finger tips leaving 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, or all of it - according to their vigor.

Thanks. I assumed as much, but some terms are like common names for plants. They have different meanings to different people