Bunjin Pine Progression

[Rodrigo]

I recently purchased this black pine which I'm planning on styling into bunjin style later this summer. I'm on the lookout for a shallower circular pot to repot into this spring since I think this one is too bulky but no luck yet. I plan on updating this thread with progress in the future.

I do have a question though if anyone can help out. The tree came from Michigan and the seller mentioned that it was decandled late in the season but to me the candles look like they didn't have enough time to fully open. What's going to happen in the spring? The candles do have new terminal buds, will the current needles keep extending in the spring? Will the terminal buds open and the current needles stay the same? Or will the current needles keep extending AND the new buds pop as well?

 

[Rodrigo]

Bumping this thread. Any ideas on the candles?

 

[Nybonsai12]

My guess would be the tree was decandled too late. It’s good that it formed new buds and I suspect they will extend and open in spring. Not much you can do now besides play a little unsettling game called “wait and see”.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Give one of the old needles a tug, and try to remember how much force you needed.
Do the same with a new one. If they're properly hardened off, which it looks like they aren't, then the force should be equal.
If the younger needles come off way easier, they're not fully hardened and might continue their extension in spring.

There's not much you can do about it. But it might flush late in spring, or like any regular tree. Difficult to predict. It could also be the case that the candles enter their final growth phase during the winter and don't extend any further in spring. But that is a sign that you'll have to be careful this year, as non-unfolded needles have just half their photosynthetic capacity, since they're shading one another out.

There is a chance that a light frost could kill these candles all together. So be cautious about frost exposure.