AusBonsai

I would rather keep this picture to myself with the crappy wiring job so just a quick update. I have trimmed the older needles and wired some more basic movement. I think it will be a good idea for a good rest after this crappy wiring Might be able to refine the movement come late Winter before it starts to grow again ?

It is coming close to when I need to repot this one so I thought I would update. It is going ok considering I am pretty naive with Pine care. Over the Winter months I have used a branch bender to increase the lowest bend. I might have gone more if the bender was not broken and threatening to slip off the wire I should have given that first bend more to start with but it is moving slowly
Looking over Winter I think this is best as the front but I may lean it one way or the other.
So the plan from here is a repot at a new possible angle and a basic rewire. I reckon I will be able to give it a decent decandling when the time is right too. It has some back budding already so I will be looking forward to how all that goes as long as I can get the repoting right. Crossing fingers, touch wood

Bretts wrote:

From Jarrod
Remember everyone, we have 12 months, no need to kill the tree by doing things out of season.

I said I was going to kick it and see what happens

Leigh has mentioned concern on removing so much foliage at once. I must say this was my main concern. He did not mention any concern with the bending though?
I almost heard the tree scream when I started plucking it "what are you doing" I probably could have left the top foliage on and removed it in a second stage.
I some times find the best way to learn is to jump in when you have something on the line you learn pretty quick These lessons would be woth the $20 I spent anyway.
It was a very healthy tree and still fairly young so that will be a big plus in it recovering.

Thanks for the advice guys

Re stripping off a lot of foliage with the Black pine. It seems to be the most vigorous of the pines we use for bonsai and it does seem to be able to be stripped back a lot harder than the others and survive and thrive.

Grant

Thanks Grant!
Just a quick update.
The tree was repotted mid September. Most of the old soil was removed and about 2/3 of the roots. It was repotted into a mix of akadama, zeolite, river sand and spag moss. It also has a layer of scorio at the bottom of the terracotta pot.
It has recovered well. It has some back budding but not at the top curve yet where I was hoping the most of course. It does have one little bud about 1/3 the way up the trunk. I am sure with continued work I will get more budding where I want.
I am still a little undecided where to go from here. I have considered just leaving it alone until next season but maybe I can do some candle work and rewire in a couple of weeks.
Will be interesting to compare the colour of the tree in the new picture with the original to see if it has kept up the colour. If not I will put yet more fertiliser on it in the next few weeks.

To finalise this entry I gave the main branches and trunk a basic rewire to show about where I think they will end up. This has been a very interesting project to see how far I can take a straight piece of nursery stock material in one year. The bark is starting to age at the bottom which was helped with the bending it went through.
I was tempted to decandle this year but decided to let it go. The needles on this species are nice and short and should be great for a small literati. The candles have almost no neck.
I will needle pluck in Autumn. De candling is done early to late Summer here. If I decandle Late summer I will get the smallest needles that will suit this small literati the best.
The tree is now fairly well rooted agian after the repot needing watering once to twice a day.
I have had plans to run a shari from the trunk chop at the top circling down to incorporate/remove the lump/scar resulting from removing the whorl branches at the point of the two branches but we will see how the tree heals in the future.

I thought I had updated this one already since the end of the comp
Anyway it has been going well and today received it's second decandling/trim.
It will be wired again in the fall and might even have to find it a nice pot next spring
Oh and I think a little carving is on the cards

This one is next in line for needle plucking.

It is starting to bark up beautifully Bretts Looking forward to its plucking and..wiring job Also looking forward to seeing what you will do with that healthy Ground cover

Hi Bretts,

Very I am a big fan of the literati style & your's is coming along very very nicely

regard's The Hacker

I am loving this species of JBP, it had alot of buds per de-candle. Sometimes I took of the stronger buds and used the weaker ones behind them.
Looking like a plucked chicken this is all very new and exciting for me I have cleared the ground cover as best I can Bodi I think I will leave the wiring for another month or so. Have to watch my Boon wiring dvd see what he has to say again
Thanks Hacker, I reckon I still have a challenge or two with this one yet. I have never liked how the first branches come from what can be perceived as an inside corner. I am looking at bending to the right just above this branch to hopefully solve that.
I reckon I will need to use a block and wire for bending but have a mind blank on that setup at the moment. Time for a google search
Then some carving and a few more years we might have something