It’s still a bit early in the year to “work” JWP. Better to wait until mid/August or September. Check to make sure the sheaths at the base of the needles are gone. That’s the signal the needles are hardened off, and won’t be damaged if you mess around in the branches.
That’s also when you can start fertilizing to build strength for next year.
The old needles should start to turn yellow soon. If they fall off easily when touched, you can clean them out. If they still tend to hang on, don’t pull them off. Just wait until they let go. You can remove any brown ones anytime you see them. I have several pair of good tweezers I use for cleaning my pines.
Your next project will be to begin to search for a good pot!
Also, watch the wire. Especially up towards the apex. You want to remove it before it cuts in too much. If the wire starts to look like it’s flat on the bottom, it’s cutting in.
You could perform “soji”, which is removal of the top 1/2 to 3/4 inch of soil off the top, and replacing it with fresh bonsai soil. This will remove moss, weeds, old fertilizer fines, algae, etc which might be causing water to stand. The time to do a full repot isn’t until next spring, and soji can help in the meantime.thank you good advice. I havent done anything other than removed a few really dominant shoots as it wasnt pinched this year so was a bit straggly. I've generally removed the central shoot and left the two weaker in a fork.
agree would like to find a good pot. its in bad need of a repot as the water takes about 30 seconds to drain off the surface during watering.
it is able to take a drink but just have to do carefully. my gut feel is to leave it as its still showing vigor and do a proper repot in the spring rather than doing soji now and then another insult in the spring.You could perform “soji”, which is removal of the top 1/2 to 3/4 inch of soil off the top, and replacing it with fresh bonsai soil. This will remove moss, weeds, old fertilizer fines, algae, etc which might be causing water to stand. The time to do a full repot isn’t until next spring, and soji can help in the meantime.
Use a pair of sturdy bent tip tweezers to scrape across the top of the soil from the base of the trunk to the edge of the pot. It should be a one way scrape: from the nebari towards the edge. Remove the loosened soil material. Get it even, all the way around. Replace with fresh bonsai soil. No need for moss.
ok let me do some research. I like to really understanding what im doing before i leap.Hydrogen peroxide is an insult!
Soji is not an insult! It’s routine maintenance. I do it to all my trees, every year.
Your trimming is more of an insult than soji.
That sounds exactly how I described it.ok let me do some research. I like to really understanding what im doing before i leap.
just for anyone who comes across this thread in the future, found this with pictures showing the process
https://aijoubonsai.wordpress.com/tag/soji/
Thank you. Have learnt something new. I'll hunt out some strong tweezers to useYes, soji is done every fall for the trees I am not planning to repot the following spring. The reason not to is wasting good new soil if it’s going to be replaced in a month or two. I tend to do it whether the tree drains well or not. It’s a preventative step.
However, if a tree isn’t draining, I would do it immediately regardless of my future potting plans.
i tried gently with a chopstick, unless i use a hammer it aint getting in there! i'll see if i have an awl kicking around. it makes me nervous messing around too much in the pot this time of year though, its been drilled into me too much!Have a pointy awl or something similar to insert into the soil, much like aerating a poorly growing lawn?
That sounds, not so good....unless i use a hammer