THE PINE PROJECT

[Ryceman3]

Thanks for sharing your journey in this thread.
It has inspired me to plant 100 jbp myself at the start of spring.
About half have germinated, so I have around 50 seedlings to play around with.
I have already read through all the post a few times and found them to be a great guide

That’s what the thread is for, so glad you’re motivated to give them a go… 50 seedlings is a good number to have some fun with, I wish you all the best with them. I’m in the process of working through a few seedlings too… it’s always fun going back to the beginning!

This is THE pine thread on here as far as i am concerned!

This kind of knowledge being feely shared and shown with the pictures as well as a guide, progressed over time so you can follow the outcomes is honestly the pinnacle of what community is and should be about.

Others would guard their knowledge, or maybe throw the odd crumb out for those who show enough interest, but Ryan just gives and gives. Amazing stuff.

Good luck with your 50 seedlings, follow along here and you'll have some great material for the future on the way

Cheers Tim, when I get you growing 50 JBP from seed I will know my job is done!
Seriously though, bonsai is about sharing what you know and enjoying the journey as much as is is about the trees you grow. Enjoy the ride!

[TimS]

I'd happily grow 50 reds or 50 whites from seed if anyone has contacts!

Love me those two and feminine pine trees generally more than the powerful trunk masculine styles ones

[Ryceman3]

I'd happily grow 50 reds or 50 whites from seed if anyone has contacts!

Love me those two and feminine pine trees generally more than the powerful trunk masculine styles ones

Plenty of opportunity to grow feminine styled JBP Tim… probably don’t follow everything in this thread to date but just a bit of improvisation from what is shown and… voila! I’m experimenting a bit with some this year…

[Ryceman3]

I stem cut a few JBP that I grew from seed this year in October (same techniques etc as previous posts, so didn't bother re-posting the same info).
Yesterday I gave a few of these a bit of extra root work which is not something I have done before, but if you're not pushing your boundaries then you're probably not developing your skills/experience. The one below had the roots cut back to see what kind of spread/ramification I can develop from this point. It's off to a pretty good start to develop into something bonsai worthy...

JBP_SC w RC IG_02.jpg

[KIRKY]

That’s a great start. Especially for anyone looking to grow it as an exposed root JBP bonsai. Well done as always.
Cheers
Kirky

[Ryceman3]

So, the competition has been run and won...
I had a choice between waiting for 6 months until my tree was actually 6 years old (given that the northern hemisphere entrants began in Jan 2018, southern hemisphere in July 2018) or submitting 6 months early and entering with the majority of people. I decided I liked the idea of mixing it with the northern folk so this image below was my final submission to be judged (which was done by Walter Pall) ... only one photo allowed...

6yrJBP-Final IG_01.jpg

I found out today that the entries had been considered, and my tree was the winning entry.
I am very satisfied, happy, humbled, a bit shocked and totally stoked with the outcome.
It was a very educational 5.5 years, and incredibly rewarding to be honoured with that result.
Freaking awesome.

[TimS]

So, the competition has been run and won...
I had a choice between waiting for 6 months until my tree was actually 6 years old (given that the northern hemisphere entrants began in Jan 2018, southern hemisphere in July 2018) or submitting 6 months early and entering with the majority of people. I decided I liked the idea of mixing it with the northern folk so this image below was my final submission to be judged (which was done by Walter Pall) ... only one photo allowed...
6yrJBP-Final IG_01.jpg
I found out today that the entries had been considered, and my tree was the winning entry.
I am very satisfied, happy, humbled, a bit shocked and totally stoked with the outcome.
It was a very educational 5.5 years, and incredibly rewarding to be honoured with that result.
Freaking awesome.

Massive congratulations Ryan, a great recognition of your efforts and the knowledge and skill you've developed over the years!

I hope everyone on here realises how fortunate they are to have this thread as a resource to visit and draw upon for their own growing.

[melbrackstone]

How fantastic Ryan! Congratulations, you really have shown everyone how to do it! I certainly have enjoyed watching the progressions, and I am definitely not a pine person at all. Do you win something wonderful like a week with Walter?

[Ryceman3]

Do you win something wonderful like a week with Walter?

Just the glory Mel!!
Although I think there might be something extra, but no idea really what that is.
Knowledge is the real prize!

[BirchMan]

Great job R3. I watched that comp off and on for the 6 years and from my end there didnt seem to be much to rival the refined look of your trees. Hope you get some pots in the mail or something, but I’m sure the trees it prompted you to develop are reward enough.

[ACooke]

Oh wow. Congratulations.
I’m pretty green to bonsai but have been briefly following the last stages of the competition over on BN and didn’t realize this thread over here existed.
Awesome stuff! I’ve certainly locked out my ‘to read’ for the next few days!

[JimmyBanks]

Congratulations! Fantastic effort, and as TimS has said, thank you very much for sharing your knowledge! Incredible job.

[TimIAm]

from my end there didnt seem to be much to rival the refined look of your trees

Although there was only a small group that crossed the finish line and Ryan's trees stood out, I think everyone who did finish or post updates has shown what can be achieved and has built up a great resource for any of us who are starting our journey with pines or who attempt this in the future. I've looked through all of the entries a couple of times and learnt so much.

I really appreciate what Ryan and others like Eric Schrader have done and have shown can be achieved with pines in the time available. Really appreciate how they have shared their time and knowledge with others. Not only have they shown us how to do it, I think they have pushed the envelope a few steps forward in the craft of building quality pines from seed.

I think it also clearly demonstrates that growing from seed is a viable approach to bonsai. It is still something that gets discouraged which I think is a shame.

Another big thanks to Ryan for sharing that knowledge outside of Bonsai Nut forums and answered our questions here

I think this contest will motivate many of us for years to come. Well done Ryan

[Patmet]

I didn't know this was part of a competition. Have checked it out now though. Congrats on the win, well deserved! You have achieved great results.

[KIRKY]

Congratulations Ryan
A win well earned and acknowledged.
On top of your win, you have generously taken the time to share all your techniques and experiences on how to grow quality Japanese Black Pines from seed in a very short time, under Australian conditions. This is a rare treasure chest of knowledge for anyone wanting to grow JBP from seed. Local data is very relevant when growing Bonsai. Now thanks to you we have Southern Hemisphere knowledge, instead of trying to adjust the Northern Hemisphere data to Australian growing conditions.
Cheers
Kirky