AusBonsai

Hey all, I recently got this black pine and im not sure where to start?
i understand that it will take a long time to develop into a nice bonsai but i have plenty of other trees to occupy myself with.

so basically what should i do to get it on the road to becoming a decent bonsai tree?

this is my first pine so all help would be appreciated

1. Pines do not bud reliably on bare wood but they do usually produce buds from the base of needles so it is important to prune before the needles get old and drop off.
2. Pine needles have a 2-3 year life span. That means that you can allow your pine to grow freely for 12-18 months before cutting back if you want it to increase in thickness.

Do not worry about pine maintenance schedules (decandling, needle removal, etc) while you are GROWING a pine on. Pine maintenance is for pines that are well developed and ready for the final ramification stage or show.

As with other species, TAPER is best produced by pruning.
Wiring early will give the trunk good shape which rarely occurs naturally in fast grown trees and is hard to put in after the trunk is thicker.

At this stage you need to consider what shaped and size tree you think you want so you can work towards that.

Larger, thicker tree: slip pot into a larger grow pot then feed and water well and allow the tree to grow freely all summer. Wire any movement into the bits you think might be part of your finished bonsai. Next spring or summer prune back to the lowest needles on each shoot to force back buds. Repeat for as many years as needed to produce the trunk of your dreams.

Smaller tree: Leave the tall bit to grow freely this summer as a sacrifice branch to thicken the base. Prune the lower shoots now to get low budding so you will have something to choose branches and leader from. Maybe wire some of those lower branches but you should still be able to do that next year. Remove the sacrifice branch when the base is thick enough OR when it gets too thick and will leave a scar that will be too large OR if the lower shoots do not look healthy or don't bud properly.

Growing pines is easy. Growing good bonsai pines is a little more difficult and you may need a couple of tries to make it work or someone experienced to show you how. It is rather complex to write down in one go and lots of ifs and buts to complicate the process. you will also get lots of different, sometimes conflicting advice - most work but best advice is pick one method and stick with it for several years because it can take 3-4 years to take full effect. but look on your first attempt as a learning experience.

KyBonzai wrote:Hey all, I recently got this black pine and im not sure where to start?
i understand that it will take a long time to develop into a nice bonsai but i have plenty of other trees to occupy myself with.

so basically what should i do to get it on the road to becoming a decent bonsai tree?

this is my first pine so all help would be appreciated

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Hi KyBonzai

Why don't you give it a basic wiring and then let it grow, just watch and make sure you don't get any bad bulges (reverse taper) with branches growing from the same point!?

Make sure you keep branches low at the trunk and make sure you select a future leader.

Put in the ground in a colander and let it grow to increase trunk and nebari! I know it takes some time but worthwhile spend.

Looks like Shibui said it all!!

Cheers

Rolf

I would lop the top off ( down to just above the first whorl of branches) and use 1 of those as the new leader. Remove any more than 1 branch and the leader at that level.
Wire the low trunk, new branch and leader to give changes of direction and by cutting back that hard, you start to develop taper.

Plant into a large box or the ground to grow on and then rinse and repeat every 1 - 2 years

Ken

Thanks shibui, your response cleared up a few questions!

in regards to the size i think i want it to be a medium size tree haha not too big not too small, know what i mean haha

G'day ken, i think your suggested route would be good to create some nice taper, just one question tho if i was to chop just above that fist branch and make that my new leader would it be okay to wire some movement into the trunk and leader then just slip pot it into a grow box ?

Yep you can slip pot whenever you like and wire it now

You can also leave the long trunk for now as a sacrifice branch. the lower trunk will thicken far more with that trunk still intact. Just watch that the lower branches don't start to look miserable. If that happens lop the top as soon as possible to allow more energy to the lower branches you want to keep.
You can wire some shape into the trunk and branches you want to keep at any stage. Just leave very new shoots alone until they harden off a bit. You can wire and/or prune and slip pot at the same time or in the same season if you want.