In training JWP branch cuts

[ibnozn]

I purchased a nursery Fukuzumi white pine several weeks back to begin training. It was a 3ft tree 1.25" at the base. So far I've slip potted it into a pond basket and this past week I chopped it 1.5" above the second whorl. I've left a stump to die back that I'll reduce this winter or next. Also just decandled it. I have a new leader selected from the main branches at the second whorl. There are two other main branches at that whorl along with many smaller ones about 2+ candle/buds in length. Can I also knock down the other two main branches at the second whorl to direct growth into the new selected leader at this time? I'd leave 3/4" stubs to cut flush later on.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

WOAH! easy now...you've done plenty, and probably too much for this time of year.

1. Slip-potting a white pine into a pond basket probably won't speed things along too much. If you're new to bonsai, learning how/when to water a pine in a pond basket is going to be challenge.

2. If the pond basket was intended to speed up growth, making a big trunk chop is more than contradictory to that goal.

3. The right time for trunk chops is the dead of winter.

4. Decandling isn't a technique that should be practiced on a white pine. Done properly, on 2-needle pines, it is intended to increase density in the later stages of ramification development. What was your goal?

5. Removing still more is very risky. You may have gone too far already...bonsai is a marathon, not a sprint. and white pine bonsai is probably the slowest type of tree to develop as bonsai. If you want to have constant "work" to do., get some ficus trees and some Chinese elms; but get enough that they can recover a little before you get back around to them again.

 

[ibnozn]

Thanks, I'll hold up then. I said decandled when I meant removed terminal buds and I only did that on the ends of primary branches. I put it in the pond basket for the way the root mass and nebari develop and to promote more basal swelling. I'm using a chopstick to help with watering.

 

[tanlu]

Is the tree still in the nursery soil? If so, and since you only slip potted it(not messed with any roots at all) I highly recommend getting rid of at least half of the nursery soil next spring when you repot it into the pond basket. Root growth is key for nebari development and a healthy tree. With nursery soil it's too easy to over water, even if it's in a pond basket. Inorganic bonsai soil like Akadama, turface, or some other type hard baked clay granules are what's necessary to develop pines into bonsai.

 

[ibnozn]

It's not in all nursery soil, some fell away when I repotted it. An inch or two from the bottom and maybe an inch on the sides of the nursery soil came away from the rootball. I sat that in the basket and filled in the rest with 3:1 Turface/MG Orchid Soil + a bit of the nursery soil mixed to get mycorrhizae. I didn't cut anything and it didn't look like I lost any superfine roots either. I do plan on a full re-pot in the spring but will try to make sure the middle of the root ball doesn't stay too wet until then. Maybe I'll try a couple of chopsticks at a time to see exactly how and where the basket is retaining moisture. Thanks for the tip.

 

[tanlu]

The tree should be fine until next spring, but when you do a FULL repot I highly recommend using inorganic bonsai soil like turface or akadama. Better drainage promotes root growth, which is especially necessary for pines.

Do you have any photos you can post?

 

[ibnozn]

Here are some shots, looking a bit bushy right now though you can see the branching from underneath. There are three potential new leaders to choose from. Apparently this variety grows in a natural cascade shape so it came with that nice low bend in the trunk. The graft kind of looks like a c-section but it's almost at soil level so I should be able to turn the tree enough to hide it well when I re-pot. Going to see if I can coax roots over the graft too later on. Not to mention that nice sacrifice branch at the base.
So how was my tree picking for a noob?