AusBonsai

yer. it looks more like a black pine to me. and i agree that you should put it in a grow box atleast until it has been fully styled even if you don't want the trunk to thicken. Otherwise it takes FOREVER!

definitely not a white pine. wrong needles, wrong green, white pines have softer paler green needles. Nothing wrong with a black pine at that price though.

bodhidharma wrote:definitely not a white pine. wrong needles, wrong green, white pines have softer paler green needles. Nothing wrong with a black pine at that price though.

I don't know much about pines and the nursery man swore it's white pine. I checked and the needles do come in pairs so it may well be BP. Will put it back in the grow basket. Thanks

Theres not much we can do about unscrupulous nursery people, unfortunately.

Just did some major chopping. Will go in grow box tomorrow.

For the amount of foliage you have there Kvan I would consider leaving it in that pot for the year. It might stay too wet with more soil. A deeper pot maybe but not wider.

yeah i would leave it or may be try to slip pot it as black pines should only have thier roots touched or pruned in late aug or early sept from what i here i have just bought on a bit bigger than that to learn more and will get the bonsai today master series pine book well worth the read good luck

hny dayne; i do like the line you've taken. are you planning for a literate here? if not you need to bust some low buds for sacrafice. bretts right about pot size for now. get loads of fert on it! slowly but surely of course.

Thanks for the ideas guys. Will keep it in that pot and fert it. Happy new year to all.
Cheers,
DK