AusBonsai

Hi All,
I have a couple of Black Pines that I have removed the first set of candles around the 1st of December and now have new sets of candles. The question is when do I thin out these to two per branch?

Cheers Alan

Hi Alan,click on to Grant Bowie's topic - Japanese Black Pine From Seed After 21 Years,page seven,9 to 10 replies down, good information for you there.

Not 2 per branch Alan but only 2 close together. if you are lucky enough to get a bud further back on the branch leave it and 2 at the tips when you thin.

My notes of Ryan Neil's strategy says to leave ALL buds to grow then select buds in Autumn. His strategy is that the strongest buds at the tips will have taken strength from the inner buds. strong tip shoots will be larger and stronger and in Autumn he removes all these very strong shoots leaving a weaker inner bud as the new leader on the branch and also thins out the remaining weaker buds so there is only v forks left (Grant Bowie's 2x2 rule). You will note that this strategy of removing the stronger tip bud means you need to have at least 3 buds around the tip so that when you have removed the strong one there will still be 2 left.

I think the above probably applies to more developed pines. Trees in early development can be treated differently. If i had one with lots of buds at one spot and the branch was threatening to get too thick I would thin the buds earlier.
Hope that helps a little.

Black pines are an interesting subject and the opinions and experiences are varied.

I describe them as complex; not difficult. However; there are lots of permutations and combinations as to the outcomes depending on the age,size, health and stage of growth.

If the tree is immature I would keep more buds and then come back to 2 in autumn as per Ryan. This slows down the over vigorous growth. and you can balance the tree in autumn

If the tree is old, mature and slowing down I would select back to the 2 buds now or earlier. This allows the tree to fully expand its growth with the vigour it has available by autumn; ready for display in winter.

My pine in another thread is about in the middle of both of these techniques but I have chosen to select the buds/growth in autumn; rather than now, to keep the growth compact.

Grant

I'd just like to say a big thankyou to all who have contributed to the recent threads/posts with advice on black pines, this info is invaluable and exactly what I have needed to read at this point in time. Grant you are dead right, complex but not difficult...... and to a newbie mind boggling.

The recent influx of info should I hope help to keep my recent investment growing happily into a great tree in the future, and in 20 years time it will be this sort of help that I look back on as the reason it got there (fingers crossed)

Kez

kez wrote:I'd just like to say a big thankyou to all who have contributed to the recent threads/posts with advice on black pines, this info is invaluable and exactly what I have needed to read at this point in time. Grant you are dead right, complex but not difficult...... and to a newbie mind boggling.

The recent influx of info should I hope help to keep my recent investment growing happily into a great tree in the future, and in 20 years time it will be this sort of help that I look back on as the reason it got there (fingers crossed)

Kez

Join the local clubs, both Wollongong and Illawarra at Gymea, and go to the Illawarra Tops Weekend and Bonsai By The Harbour as well. You will learn lots of invaluable information hands on.

grant

Thanks for the feed back it will help
Cheers Alan