stacy allen muse
Chumono
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JBP healthy to Candle Prune ???
- Thread starter stacy allen muse
- Start date
Smoke
Ignore-Amus
It certainly looks healthy enough to work on.
I would suspect that a needle plucking would reveal some very pom pom like branches. before any needle plucking is done on this tree, I might concentrate on those three year old needles to help chase back some foliage and try to get some budding back further on the branches.
Needle cutting might do the trick.
I would suspect that a needle plucking would reveal some very pom pom like branches. before any needle plucking is done on this tree, I might concentrate on those three year old needles to help chase back some foliage and try to get some budding back further on the branches.
Needle cutting might do the trick.
Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
Remember...summer candle-pruning creates ramification, but most predictably at the site of the cut. As smoke mentioned, this one has growth concentrated out on the tips, and the goal is to chase growth back closer to the trunk. If you candle-pruned this, you will have multiple buds forming at the cut-end of too-long branches, which likely won't be useful to the design. What the tree really needs is new buds popping close to the trunk, and that is achieved by:
1. Keep all old needles (the three-year old needles smoke referred to), and protect these, as it's easier to get new buds when that area still has needles.
2. Pruning branches back to the growth most proximal to the trunk on each "final" branch; in mid fall or early spring.
3. Thinning the needles to let light in and encourage latent buds to grow. Done in Spring on last year's growth, and possibly now on this year's growth.
4. Cutting needles in half (or smaller) to allow light in. New buds may form between the remaining needle pairs.
With pines, while it's about timing, it's also about doing the right activities at the right time. If I owned this pine, I would likely remove some new needles from strong areas now to let light in, then do #2 in late September/October. This sets the tree up for great back-budding in spring 2013, ideally providing some new material to make branches with during the winter of 2014.
1. Keep all old needles (the three-year old needles smoke referred to), and protect these, as it's easier to get new buds when that area still has needles.
2. Pruning branches back to the growth most proximal to the trunk on each "final" branch; in mid fall or early spring.
3. Thinning the needles to let light in and encourage latent buds to grow. Done in Spring on last year's growth, and possibly now on this year's growth.
4. Cutting needles in half (or smaller) to allow light in. New buds may form between the remaining needle pairs.
With pines, while it's about timing, it's also about doing the right activities at the right time. If I owned this pine, I would likely remove some new needles from strong areas now to let light in, then do #2 in late September/October. This sets the tree up for great back-budding in spring 2013, ideally providing some new material to make branches with during the winter of 2014.
stacy allen muse
Chumono
??????????????
Last edited:
Smoke
Ignore-Amus
Kudo's for not making it a race. Make sure the tree responds well to each thing you do before starting on the next insult. Repotting is something that can always be done later unless the tree is really in mud and shows signs of distress which this tree does not.
I find that working and experimenting on trees to be the most rewarding thing I do. I hope you find the chase as much fun.
I find that working and experimenting on trees to be the most rewarding thing I do. I hope you find the chase as much fun.
