Obviously, there’s no way to know what was in someone’s mind...In Koji Hiramatsu's garden, a mature/finished JBP which needles have been cut on all the tree.. Maybe to lower the strength of the tree (?) To let the sun enter easier (?)
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I don’t think your assumption is correct about decandling frequency.I agree with you on the fact that this tree probably has not been decandled the past year because the needles are very long and fat. Maybe, as it seems that mekiri (decandle) isn't done every year in Japan (but every 2 years), 1 year is mekiri and the second year is just pinching back in spring, and then needles cut to lower & balance the strength of the tree. Just a supposition.
The real story is insects ate the new candles. Mr Suzuki thought the tree had been killed, and tossed the tree on the compost pile. It was several weeks later that he noticed new buds emerging from the base of the old shoots that had been eaten.yes it may dépends on trees, climate & masters.
Kyozuke GUN advise to do it every two years maxi. He explains the discovery of this technic as an accident : a JBP fall on the ground, some candles were cut, and the owner (no name mentionned) discovered with surprise that new buds appeared a few days later, and later new small candles with smaller needles. This fortunate discovery changed the way to cultivate JBP because before the only way to get smaller needles was to weaken the tree with very few fertilizers and water, although the JBP like to be watered and fertilized frequently.
You decandle your JBP several years and it works. What is the reason why you stop decandeling after 4 or 5 years ? Your "teacher" or "master" advised you to do so, or you see the pine becoming too weak to carry on one more time ?
This is very true. I remember a day when many of these new refinement techniques came out for balancing vigor, reducing needle length and ramifying a tree. Every body was reading and paying attention to these things especially those just starting out. It was really tuff making people understanding that there was a difference between two major categories of pines and two major categories of development and it was important to know the differences. You cannot use refinement techniques on a tree that is years from needing that kind of treatment, and you cannot use some techniques for one variety of Pine developed to facilitate the other variety of Pine; two flush and single flush Pines.The real story is insects ate the new candles. Mr Suzuki thought the tree had been killed, and tossed the tree on the compost pile. It was several weeks later that he noticed new buds emerging from the base of the old shoots that had been eaten.
Yes, decandling is stressful for the tree. If you notice the tree is getting weak, skip a year.
It’s just like repotting. Refined JBP need to be repotted every 5 years or so. Failure to repot will result in the tree getting weaker and weaker.
Long term maintenance is a skill that’s rarely taught (or even considered to be a skill to learn). Because most of us are focused on bonsai creation. It’s not until you have refined bonsai that you have to learn to maintain them. Most of us don’t have refined bonsai, they’re in development.
Al, I know you cut the needles on this tree as a demonstration for this thread, but it’s really too sparse! Feed it heavily this spring to build some vigor! Are planning to decandle it this summer? Some of the low branches look pretty weak.That pine I cut the needles on.......
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Maybe with time, (repetition), and needle removing selection, (more in the crown and less in the lower branches) you will get the same size of the candles all over the tree. i'm sure the japanese Professional don't do it for pleasure only as it take time.That pine I cut the needles on.......
Thanks, I appreciate the clarification.Maybe with time, (repetition), and needle removing selection, (more in the crown and less in the lower branches) you will get the same size of the candles all over the tree. i'm sure the japanese Professional don't do it for pleasure only as it take time.
I suspect that Naoki cut the needles on this tree to show what he envisions as what the final image will look like after the tree had settled into the design. If it still had long needles, it would look a mess, and you wouldn’t be able to see what’s there.Hi, here is another example of JBP needle cut, with the Bonsai instructor Naoki Maeoka : One pic from the link here : http://www.espritsdegoshin.fr/forum-bonsai/topic.html?id=14686
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Sorry but can you please tell me where you did the needle plucking. The strong bud on right in both the pictures is same. I am sure there is a difference but if you can please highlight, I will be really thankful as I want to learn about this.Here is a Shohin JBP that I cut the needles on:
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Like Smoke’s tree, I also have brown tips.
The candles on my tree appear to be stronger than Smoke’s and I AM planning to decandle it this summer. A few of the candles were particularly strong, and I can do a new technique I learned from Daisaku Nomoto:
In the fall, we usually pull old needles, right? And to balance, we sometimes pull some of the new needles. When that’s done, the needles pulled are generally those closest to the trunk. Usually...
Daisaku taught me a new way to combine needle pulling along with decandling to push growth back towards the trunk and shorten internodes, which is especially effective for Shohin JBP.
On the strongest buds, I pulled the needles closest to the new buds, not the ones closest to the trunk! And when I decandle this summer, I’ll cut back to the remaining needles. Forcing needle buds instead of the “adventitious” buds that we usually get at the base of the candle.
I’ve never done it this way before. I wish I knew about this a couple years ago, I have a tree that’s been really vigorous that this technique would have sped development. There’s always something new to learn!
Here’s one of the candles:
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The one at the upper right is strong, and should back bud when cut back.
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Rather that try to take another picture, I made a drawing:Sorry but can you please tell me where you did the needle plucking. The strong bud on right in both the pictures is same. I am sure there is a difference but if you can please highlight, I will be really thankful as I want to learn about this.