jack pine candles

[robert gardner]

I am the proud owner of a MANOMET Pinus Banksiana jack pine Bonsai. I need some help with how many candles need pruning. Every branch is covered with candles, some with two, some with 3, some with 4 and some with more up yo six. I started decandling by just taking the longest with that done where do I go next. I would like to control the growth direction some but let nature dictate the rest. Any help will be really great and
appreciated. THANKS in advance.
Robert Gardner

 

[Cosmos]

I am the proud owner of a MANOMET Pinus Banksiana jack pine Bonsai. I need some help with how many candles need pruning. Every branch is covered with candles, some with two, some with 3, some with 4 and some with more up yo six. I started decandling by just taking the longest with that done where do I go next. I would like to control the growth direction some but let nature dictate the rest. Any help will be really great and
appreciated. THANKS in advance.
Robert Gardner

Do you have a few good pictures of the whole tree and the main branches? What stage of development is it in? What kind and size of container is it in? What kind of subtrate is it in?

 

[0soyoung]

Usually bonsai development involves a sacrifice leader that one just lets grow for the purpose of thickening the trunk.

Otherwise, especially with branches that likely will be kept, you only want two terminal bud/candles. The usual choice is to eliminate the strong center one and keep two opposing buds so that the branch will be ramified in the plane of a foliage pad (IOW, a bud on one side and another on the opposite as opposed to one above and one below). You will be able to wire these in the following fall/winter, principally to maintain the sun exposure of all this low foliage. Hence, worrying about steering branches via bud selection, beyond basically horizontal, isn't a big concern. You can and should utilize this process to set up the structure of your bonsai as its trunk is thickened. If you are trying to make a curvy trunk as opposed to a zig-zagging one, you should wire and bend it into the shape you want before thickening it via sacrificial growth.

Regarding the sacrifice, keep only the strong central bud/candle until it is tall enough that more foliage at its tip won't shade the branches below (one or two seasons is usually enough). Then, you can let it do what it does as more foliage = more production of the goodies that thicken it, right down to the ground = faster thickening. Of course, you won't be doing any of this 'sacrifice stuff' if your tree trunk is already the thickness you want. Conversely, if you're trying to produce a literati form ...

I think you can figure it out.

 

[tumhsao]

I am the proud owner of a MANOMET Pinus Banksiana jack pine Bonsai. I need some help with how many candles need pruning. Every branch is covered with candles, some with two, some with 3, some with 4 and some with more up yo six. I started decandling by just taking the longest with that done where do I go next. I would like to control the growth direction some but let nature dictate the rest. Any help will be really great and
appreciated. THANKS in advance.
Robert Gardner

Can you please share the pics.