AusBonsai

Sure can Neli
No reason that cannot work at all

Ken

The bottom part is being grown for thickening of the trunk...I dont need to bend it. But there is a part on top that will not be used and will need to be cut...That is the part I was thinking of bending/airlayering...
Thanks for the link and advise.
Just saw this Ken...Thanks! I have already wired crazy so many things and put them in the ground...now I shall wire tops as well...nothing will be wasted.

Lovely trees and great information/inspiration to all

some beautiful trees and great styling

This is the first time I've actually sat down & read all this thread & it has inspired me to try something with a JBP I recently got from Mason at Bonsai @ The Bay.
And what happened after reading this through - I didn't even wait until morning, had to do it straight away! Never tried REALLY bending a pine before & was surprised at how flexible they are.
Need to re-pot this and get feeding it but unsure if it would be safe to do now, especially if it needs a root trim.

Cheers

Dont forget to leave some escape branches to thicken the trunk...How big do you want it to be?

Neli wrote:Dont forget to leave some escape branches to thicken the trunk...How big do you want it to be?

There is one small branch developing down low that you can see in the original pic that I'm leaving free, is the only branch besides the two main ones. Hope that's enough. Haven't done anything with JBP's before (this is my only one besides a few babies I have growing from seed), unsure how well they back-bud.

As for size, probably below 15cm, depending upon how it develops over the next few years.

Cheers

Good work, the hardest part of this growing good stock like the Japanese is actually starting them!

If it were mine, I would not repot it now. you can let the roots grow out of the bottom of the pot into sand or another pot if you want extended growth.

I wouldn't be too worried about shape at the moment. A combination of fertiliser and the wiring will cause back budding and you can choose new branches and a design from there. Just let everything grow at the moment.

With this tree being that it has such tight curves I'd go for a small shohin like these:
http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/fwnt1093/folder/460498.html

I've started a bunch from seed last year and will be wiring them up in Autumn. They are currently just growing in strength getting ready for the punishment.

My shimpaku's went into the ground after a year or two in pots, and my Casuarina's died from neglect.

To end up with a shohin like those would be great.

Will leave the re-pot until later, wired the whole thing into a tray with pumice & will just let it grow & see what happens.
Cheers

Hi guys,

So I'm resurrecting an old but really great post and I have a question for shibui... My twisted shimpakus are about three years old now (2 twisted) and some of them I'd like to grow on into shohin or chuhin sized trees. What's th process for selecting branches to keep in the design and those to use as sacrifice or future Jin? Or I guess more specifically, how do I keep foliage close to the trunk on branches I decide to keep while letting the sacrifice branches run and potentially shade out the keepers? Should I expect to graft foliage on in the future?

I really appreciate anyone's advice on this but would love go hear what Shibui has to say also. I'm very new to growing trunks and I find the concept of growing deciduous and broadleaf tree trunks for bonsai much easier to understand than conifers.

Thanks for the help everyone.

Ces.

Ces. Select a branch or two to let run as sacrifice branches while keeping the remaining branches trimmed back.
If the sacrifice branches get too dominant you can reduce their growth back to a single candle at the end of the branch to balance things out. If you are growing deciduous you can defoliate the sacrifice or cut out some of its bulk to achieve the same.

Joe.

Speaking of resurrecting this thread....... Has anyone got some updates of any stock grown in this manner?

I have a few that were started a year or two ago that are just starting to become interesting. I'll try to get some pics up tonight.

In the mean time I have added a selection of Japanese blogs to my links page that are great inspiration for these small trees.

http://nichigobonsai.com/links/

Oh and here are a few more pictures from my last trip to japan around a year ago to get the the inspiration flowing again.
A very cool Euonymus
A small but very achievable sized something or other. I think i could grow something similar in 2-3 years from seed Maybe less?
Another very cool small tree. Again this would only take a few years to produce from seed and what a great result.

I have a few that are still in the ground and never thought of doing a deciduous tree tho Wonder why?
be good to see some pics of the older original attempted trees now.

Ken

What a timely bump, I just ordered some JBP and trident seeds. Hopefully I'll have something interesting to report in a few years time.