japanese black pine "corticosa" restoration

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Some history:
The previous owner bought the tree from a bonsai store in 2010. I bought it from this guy in February 2014. By that time the tree had lots of brown needles and lost some of the bigger branches. The tree was placed on the roof 2 meters high to be out of the way and not looked after. The weeds in the pot were drying out so it was obvious to me the tree was neglected big time. It was late winter and the few buds it had where looking viable. Since "corticosa" pines are not that easy to find and since the health was low i was able to purchase it for a reasonable price. The first issue would be to bring this one back to health. The tree was loose in the pot, soil medium was not draining at all, but bone dry at the beginning. It took me more than 1 hour to saturate. After that i did not water for 2 months. At the end of march 2014 i did a repot in akkadama / bims. The only roots that were alive on the tree where under the trunk in the old black nursery soil from some decades ago. It was the only place where the conditions were right to survive. So i could have put this one in a shohin pot at once... The tree is 65cm high (25,5 inch).
I left it alone till fall 2014 and then removed all the dead needles and thinned some needles to start the balancing act. I wired the branches to let light and air in the tree.

I will let the tree grow for this year and try to maximize health. At this point the candles are growing bigger and backbudding is occurring, so i think this one is on the good way. Styling is not important for the moment. I have read the cork bark japanese black pine compilation of Brian Van Fleet, but couldn't make out what cultivar it is. Does someone have an idea?
It has 3-wing cork, and i guess red buds, but i find it difficult to tell the difference with white...
First image: 2010

20101.JPG
Januari 2015
IMG_3556.JPG
I guess this one is on it's own roots. I will check again in a few years...
Thanks for your thoughts.
Dirk
 

JudyB

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I know nothing of these trees, but I do know about bringing something back from neglect. So much promise, and potential. I wish you luck on your journey with this tree!
 

Brian Van Fleet

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Nice corker. If I had to guess, I'd say Kyokko.

Take...it....slow. I'd probably give it 2-3 years to fill back in from where the Jan '15 shows. But you established the structure well. Eventually, I'd work that first left branch down (not the corky part, but the new growth), and bring the second right (back?) branch a little more into the space above the first right branch to improve the silhouette.
 

fredtruck

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If the tree is on its own roots, there aren't many possibilities. It could be a Mi Nishiki, an Akame or a Hachi Gen. I know those 3 can be grown from a cutting. I could tell a lot more if the nebari was visible.

Whatever it is, the corking is just great.
 
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Thanks for the input, i will look at the different cultivars again. Brian, the idea is to tilt the tree to the right a bit and use the first right branch as the main branch. Removing the one on the left. But I don't remove branches on a tree like this before the others are settled. I will work the green part down over the years to come. The second branch on the right was actually pointing 45° upward and i bend it till it cracked, still green so it's going to be ok. It's a little in front of the main branch. The part that is pointing down in the picture is actually more forward. The outward pointing shoot is lateral and will be the main branch there. I do miss a back branch between these two. I've bent one down from in the top to fill in the gap over the next 10 years... I suppose grafting on these is not simple. Thanks again for the remarks (it's always good to hear multiple opinions), i will update this over the next years i hope...
 

Cmanz

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Nice cork. I can only hope for bark like that from my trees in the distant future. Nice styling as well.
A close up of the buds might help with identification.
 

M. Frary

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Quick question for the cork bark pine aficionados here.
Are there full grown examples of these trees or are they just used for bonsai. I tried looking them up and only come up with bonsai.
I get why you guys like them but they sometimes link a little freaky.
 

garywood

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Mike, good question. When you think of any of the "odd" trees we see in landscape or bonsai they're usually a (chance) seedling or a sport from the specie and sometimes a sport from a sport. Chances are that only one started that particular 'cultivar'. So when you see 'cultivar' it means clone and that means it originally came from one source.
 

M. Frary

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I thought maybe that was the answer. I think a full grown one would be one of the coolest trees you could have in a landscape.
 
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Small update. The tree is happy, long needles, big buds, backbudding starting. There was no real extension of the growth so i will not decandle for another number of years. Filled in nicely so i had to remove needles to balance the tree, and to keep the backbudding alive. Removed some branches in the apex. I'll post an update in a few weeks after wiring.
2015-12-16 09.18.54.jpg

It has white buds i guess..
2015-12-16 09.19.22.jpg
 
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So i didn't wire this one last year. Decided to let it grow for another year.
IMG_20160924_132422.jpg
big buds, enough
IMG_20160924_132449.jpg
buds on lower branches as big as higher up
IMG_20160924_132506.jpg
Good portion of back budding
IMG_20160924_132555.jpg
the wings are big
IMG_20160924_132650.jpg

This fall i will thin this one out and see what i can do with it. The top is bending to far forward to my taste, so i might cut things shorter. Back branches should get longer. Might cut the left lower branch.
 
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So i didn't wire this one last year. Decided to let it grow for another year.
View attachment 117929
big buds, enough
View attachment 117930
buds on lower branches as big as higher up
View attachment 117931
Good portion of back budding
View attachment 117932
the wings are big
View attachment 117933

This fall i will thin this one out and see what i can do with it. The top is bending to far forward to my taste, so i might cut things shorter. Back branches should get longer. Might cut the left lower branch.
Great stuff mate.....keep us posted!
 
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Time for repotting.
Before, left side. Note how far it hangs forward.
IMG_9637.JPG
Front
IMG_9638.JPG
Prepare pot, drainage layer bims
IMG_9639.JPG
smaller layer akadama - bims
IMG_9640.JPG
Red clay in the middle, not akadama
IMG_9642.JPG
Nice to make clay balls, but not for roots.
IMG_9641.JPG
Last repot, for the sake of saving this one from a certain death i did left the core intact. Now that the tree has regained vigor i went ahead and did a HBR. Washing one side out.
IMG_9644.JPG
Left the other side.
IMG_9643.JPG
Time for letting it to grow.
IMG_9646.JPG
The lower branch on the left side will go in the future. I might try a layer this year.
 
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Yes i've been looking for wings or bark on the roots. But i haven't found any. The good thing is that the graft is so low i can sit the wings just above the soil. The pine is healthy so i guess it will turn out ok. In 2 years i want to do the other half and from then on i can build the bonsai-rootball and but it in a smaller container. This bathtub is to large for this tree. Thanks for the feedback.
 

Adair M

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Yes i've been looking for wings or bark on the roots. But i haven't found any. The good thing is that the graft is so low i can sit the wings just above the soil. The pine is healthy so i guess it will turn out ok. In 2 years i want to do the other half and from then on i can build the bonsai-rootball and but it in a smaller container. This bathtub is to large for this tree. Thanks for the feedback.
Were you able to do anything about those two crossing roots?
 
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It would have been possible. The only good option would be removing the one coming from below but there were not enough roots to take it over. Since to my feeling it was a rather big repot, i left it for next big repot.
 
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After cleaning old needles. Both the top branch (left on to help thicken the top portion) and the lower left branch will be layered normally this year. It would amaze me if one takes, but having an extra small corcker would be nice.
IMG_20171224_110705.jpg
 
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