Japanese Black Pine Autumn Needle Work

[alpineart]

Hi Scott , very well presented .I can't see a lot of ramification on your tree using this method for the last couple of years .My pines if i didn't work on them from October to March they would require major removal of unwanted growth . I most likely use this sort of trimming / plucking but at a different time , that way i don't waste energy on unwanted growth and have a balanced energy all over the tree , not apical only.I know my climate is like chalk and cheese to Canberra and the Northern Hemisphere ,but i think i will stick to my timetable for the results speak for themselves .

Cheers Alpineart

[Scott Roxburgh]

Alpine,

You can't see a lot of ramification because its not there.

At the moment I am using this technique, in addtion to decandling, to force ADVENTITIOUSbackbuds that I then cut back to (cutting off ramification). This results in a more compact tree. A primary issues with a number of Australian trees is that they are 'leggy', i.e. not full/dense.

Each year that you use these techniques, in addition to decandling, DOUBLES the number of branch divisions giving you ramification. If I did not keep cutting it off/back you would be able to see your desired ramification, it all comes down to the stage of development the tree is in.

If you continually cut back only to needle buds your tree will get leggier and leggier, your choice...

I am unsure what you mean by not working the tree from October to March??? There are a number of other techniques that are applied to JBP during this period. They are not outlined here.

Also, I do not think our climates are that much different...

I'd be very interested to hear what you do with your JBP this time of year, and see the results...

[alpineart]

Hi Scott , mate i water and fertilize my pines now , all the work is done .I will post an update on my JBP thread to show what basically 2 years working from September to March produces .

[Jow]

When i can find some time i will be doing my Autumn needle work as well.

Japanese Black pines and their related techniques have always been shrouded in some form of mystery. That’s not to say that they are hard to grow, because they are not. One of the problems with starting out growing them is that there is so many conflicting instructions out there it can be a little confusing and daunting getting started.

One of the things i noticed in Japan when i first studied there was that different nurseries were using different techniques to achieve similar results. These different techniques all revolved around this method of pruning/ maintaining via the calendar but varied slightly from grower to grower. From reading Scott’s techniques i can see there is some difference in how many needles i leave after needle pruning. I leave 3, 5 and 7+ pairs in strong, medium and weak areas respectively. Depending on the state of the tree you are working on and the area you grow in there are areas of the technique and timings that can be adjusted to suit your micro climate and trees.

In Australia if you decide to grow with this technique you may have to adjust slightly for your local climate. Provided you are in a part of the country that has 4 seasons it should work well for you. The difference between Melbourne, The Alps and Canberra may only be a couple of weeks in timing. I am not sure how it would go in the tropics though....

I think when you are looking to grow Black Pines and want to learn how, Scott recommended the best way. Look for the person growing pines that you think are good and ask the grower what they do.

Most of the good black pines i know of are maintained now using the calendar approach. That is not to say that you cannot grow good pines without it, but from my experience it has produced the best results. There are so many techniques out there that you are bound to find one that suits.

Japanese black pines are strong growers but they take time to even out and ramify. Some of my pines are just starting to look OK after i have been growing them with this technique since my first stint in Japan in 2007. What is good about this technique is that it allows you to maintain the size of your trees without them continually expanding. It forces back budding as well as producing short needles over the tree in one season. Some needle reduction techniques gain short needles via weakening the tree. I see this as a bad idea. The Calendar approach keeps the tree in booming health while giving you short needles.

THIS is a tree i have been working on for a while that is beginning to show some promise. It will be needle pruned soon and ill post an update to show the ramification you can build over a year. If you havent tried this method i would suggest you give it a go on one or two trees because i am pretty sure once you try it you will be pleased with the results.

Until then, best of luck with the growing with what ever method you decide to use!

Joe.

[squizzy]

Hi Joe,

In your experience with shortening needles is it the December candle cutting method of shortening the needle length that is detrimental to the trees health? If not what technique are you refering too?

Cheers

Squizz

[Jow]

No, the december candle pruning method, although a little stressful is not the method that i was taking about. December candle pruning is accompanied with super feeding in spring which means the tree can take the insult and bounces back.

One of the old techniques that i was first reccomended to use was to keep the tree rootbound, underfed and under watered while needles were hardening. Basically by keeping it on deaths door the needles would become short because it didnt have the energy to grow long ones.

The december candle pruning method is almost the exact opposite in that you keep the tree well watered, in good fresh soil and heavily fed. Health comes first then short needles. You use the trees growth patterns against it to produce the short needles instead of a weakened state.

Hope that helps.

[Bretts]

That's a nice pine Scott. Thanks for showing. I see what you mean by the back budding I have noticed similar on mine.

[daiviet_nguyen]

Hi Scott,

I second shibui's comment: very well presented and very clear too.

Over the pass few years, I have used this calendar approach and see good results too. But I have not been diligent enough to follow it minutes details like number of needle pairs etc. I will make it a priority to follow this approach.

Like alpineart, sometimes I do works not basing on calendar too.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge Scott, Jow and everybody. Hopefully with times, pines can be "demystified"

Best regards.

[kanesham]

Great explanation of this technique . I am wondering if this can be applied to seedlings? I'm growing some to become mame sized trees. All of my seedlings(8) ( planted in september) were treated to the cutting method and have now grown to be an average of between 100 to 200mm in height. The majority of them have buds low on their trunks and multiple candles growning from them but I was wondering if I can encourage more buds down low by needle pulling? As I figure the more low buds the better , allowing me to grow sacrificial branches to thinking them up and create some good taper? Any advice would be appreciated.