AusBonsai

I have this Radiata Pine which I collected 4 1/2 years ago as a very small seedling. I trained it to fit into this small stump as a phoenix graft and it has grown to approximately the size I want to maintain it at. Should I now start to cut these candles or should I prune further back to encourage ramification? Any advice on this would be appreciated.
Cheers, Frank.

I think there is debate on whether these are single flush or multi so I would just treat it as a single flush to be safe. TBH i would put this into a nursery container and let the root mass grow a bit to help stimulate ramification when you cut the candles so the needle length reduces and the trunk thickens.

Hi RB,
I don't have any radiata so can't give you personal experience, but there is an old thread that talks a lot about them, and I think there are even some contributions from people in SE Qld vwhich might help you ... see link below :

https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/forum/view ... 784#p87523

Just a note, if you do plan to grow using a single flush strategy ... then there is no "candle cutting" involved, that is a technique used in refinement of multi flush species, and as you are no doubt aware there are plenty of threads on this! Good luck with it, would be interested to see how it develops whatever you do.

Ryceman3 wrote: ↑September 4th, 2020, 9:05 am Just a note, if you do plan to grow using a single flush strategy ... then there is no "candle cutting" involved, that is a technique used in refinement of multi flush species, and as you are no doubt aware there are plenty of threads on this! Good luck with it, would be interested to see how it develops whatever you do.

The technique for single flush pines definitely includes cutting candles. You just balance the energy of the tree by cutting the strong and medium candles back to the size of the weak candles, making sure to do this at the appropriate time in spring. And also being very careful to cut above where new needles are developing on the candle so the branch still has needle to photosynthesis. Unlike multi flush where you cut the whole candle off.

jehsiboi wrote: ↑September 4th, 2020, 9:42 am The technique for single flush pines definitely includes cutting candles. You just balance the energy of the tree by cutting the strong and medium candles back to the size of the weak candles, making sure to do this at the appropriate time in spring. And also being very careful to cut above where new needles are developing on the candle so the branch still has needle to photosynthesis. Unlike multi flush where you cut the whole candle off.

This is really just a terminology issue, but in general when someone refers to cutting candles I equate this with decandling and therefore multi-flush pines. I think this is how a lot of people see it.
Your explanation in the process above could be applied to Scots and Mugo pines (single flush pines) so could be relevant for Radiata too, but I don't cut those candles, I pinch/break them back to the length I want. This means that there is no "cut" site at the end of the candle and so preserves the integrity of the emerging needles. This variation in techniques also probably added to my confusion... hopefully that clears it up.

I have a couple of radiata that are also extending their shoots now. Keep in mind that they don't tend to backbud on old wood so get the ramification started close to the base of the branches, as you might not be able induce them later.

Since this is a pine you could let a sacrifice branch go to thicken up the trunk while working on the ramification on the rest of the tree. I'd be pinching the shoots back quite hard, they reliably produce buds at the tip of a pinched shoot or candle. Also, since this tree is in the early training stages I reckon it's fine to trim the needles shorter to get air and light into the tree, if improved ramification is the goal.

Matt.

Thank you all for your replies and advice. I will now toss a coin and decide what to do . No seriously, I will contemplate all the answers and look at my other radiatas and how they have behaved in the past and then decide on my course of action.
Cheers, Frank.