Developing pines

[ysrgrathe]

I'm interested in learning how to work on pines. I've been doing a bunch of reading and was hoping to get some practical help. How would you go about developing this JWP (P. parviflora 'Fukuzumi')?

The trunk is about 1.25", and there are whorls every 1-1.5", so quite a few branches to choose from. If I wanted to improve this tree over the next few years, what is the proper way to do it? My initial thoughts were to remove branches to a) get more sun on the lowest branches, and b) reduce the number of branches at higher whorls to prevent reverse taper. Is that the correct strategy?

Although the tree stands 18" tall, the main trunk line only runs up to about 11". The whorl there has a ton of branches coming off, including that very strong left branch.



Thanks for any advice!

 

[Adair M]

With JWP, it's important to keep foliage alive close to the trunk. They don't back bud well. What tends to happen is the interior gets shaded out. So all the foliage is at the tip ends of long and leggy branches.

Unless you do something to prevent that.

Wiring the branches down opens up the canopy. Since all pines tend to grow "up", the new foliage shades out the old foliage. This leads to the problem I just mentioned. Wiring the branches down moves the foliage "out". Exposing the interior to more light. This, keeping interior branches alive.

On raw stock like this, it's easy for the upper branches to grow stronger than the old lower branches. Not only will they shade out the lower branches, they grow thicker that the lower branches. Not what we want. So, when choosing branches to keep or remove, keep this mind. Try to use thinner branches up top, and thicker branches down low whenever possible.

Whorls are a problem. Pines naturally produce them. The problem is they create bulges of reverse taper. To prevent the bulges, keep only one or two branches from each whorl.

Without having the tree in front of me, I can't tell you which to cut and which to keep. But the guidelines I just gave you are some of the things I think about as I'm designing the tree.

 

[ysrgrathe]

Thank you very much for your advice! That makes sense to me; I'll do my best to follow it.

 

[sorce]

my best

Welcome to Crazy, ysrgrathe!

I was concerned you may not get helped with your request due to this here holiday madness!

You are in good hands with Adair...

However....if you wish to complete this mission.....we should have some conversation about how/when to get this thing out of the ground....

I ain't the guy.....but this step is crucial!
And likely the most difficult.

Sorce

 

[M. Frary]

How long has it been in the ground? It looks like it still has the nursery tag on it.

 

[ysrgrathe]

It has only been in-ground for 8 months. This was a container-grown nursery plant, so the root system is pretty compact. I partially raked out the roots before planting. My plan was to start training in ground; any tips on how long I should go before more root work is done?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

If you planted it in the ground to accelerate growing, I'd not disturb the roots for several years, or it defeats the purpose.
Next year, in the fall, you'll want to identify sacrifice branches and final branches.

Sacrifice branches need to grow big and tall, and away from the main tree so they don't shade out final branches, while they do their job of thickening the trunk. In fall '16, remove old needles from sacrifice branches, leaving only the current year's needles around the buds set to open in spring '17.

Final branches need to stay compact, and close to the trunk. In the fall, prune them back to the cahoots closest to the trunk...the opposite of how you handle sacrifice branches.

Over time, the difference between sacrifice and final branches becomes pretty obvious. Yours is a white pine, so it will take longer, but here is an example on a Japanese black pine.

A few posts to read up on; mostly on JBP, but the principle is the same.
http://www.bonsainut.com/index.php?threads/jbp-development-thread.17652/
http://www.bonsainut.com/index.php?threads/getting-to-a-big-trunk-quickly-jbp.16778/#post-225089
https://nebaribonsai.wordpress.com/2013/07/13/sacrifice-branches-black-pine-part-2/

 

[Paulpash]

Just my view but the tree is already forming an umbrella of foliage - if those lower limbs are to have any chance of becoming 'keepers' then at least the main top 2 branches need pruning off. I have a similar tree planted outside my front door (I think it's the same type too - the variety name is errr quite distinctive). I've reduced the top by 50% this Winter to give greater vigour to the keeper branches. I'll lop off the remainder staggered over 2 years from the top and by that time I'll have enough to do a first styling with.

I also shoot prune the lower branches to keep them compact and eliminate overly strong buds to keep my styling zone as balanced as possible.

If it ever stops raining I'll take a snap tomorrow - not the best material because of the graft but the principles remain the same.

 

[ysrgrathe]

Thank you both for the tips. I picked up your eBook Brian -- it's nice to see the progression on that tree.

I'm sure this is an extremely dumb question, but when I look at trained pines they always have all of the buds pointing up. I would think that the next season's growth would then be up and out of the plane of the foliage pad. Is this new growth wired down at the end of the season?

 

[Adair M]

Thank you both for the tips. I picked up your eBook Brian -- it's nice to see the progression on that tree.

I'm sure this is an extremely dumb question, but when I look at trained pines they always have all of the buds pointing up. I would think that the next season's growth would then be up and out of the plane of the foliage pad. Is this new growth wired down at the end of the season?

Yep.