Nine Things you might not know about JBP decandling...

Eric Schrader

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Alright, who am I kidding...most of you guys probably know all this already, but I wrote an article for my blog recently since it was on my mind. I think I decandled over 50 JBP's this year. The article includes not only a lot of details about decandling but also a short video that I made mostly just for fun....

http://www.phutu.com/nine-things-you-might-not-know-about-decandling-japanese-black-pine/


Hope you guys enjoy.

Cheers,

Eric
 

Cypress187

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I love video's. :) Ill sub u when I get home.
 

JoeR

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Finally, information on decandling JBP- thanks Eric! Believe it or not, I know nothing of JBP care and I am not alone as there is little to no information about the subject online.
 

watchndsky

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Finally, information on decandling JBP- thanks Eric! Believe it or not, I know nothing of JBP care and I am not alone as there is little to no information about the subject online.

theres info out there, search for posts by brian van fleet or adair on here. (sure there are others but most everything i learned about jbp i learned from reading posts from those two)

or check out these links

http://www.bonsainut.com/threads/bonsai-tonight-japanese-red-and-black-pine-articles.16300/
 

JoeR

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theres info out there, search for posts by brian van fleet or adair on here. (sure there are others but most everything i learned about jbp i learned from reading posts from those two)

or check out these links

http://www.bonsainut.com/threads/bonsai-tonight-japanese-red-and-black-pine-articles.16300/
Thanks for the link,

You're right, let me correct myself: I meant that theres not much concentrated info on JBP out there. The two you listed are great sources, but the information by them is often scattered bits here and there. Most of the time I forget it and can't ever find the post again. Also, it's hard to apply what they do to what I need to do here. I can't really learn about timing and such by their posts, and timing is the hardest part to grasp for me. But I do have a bunch of Adair JWP posts saved on my phone!


I completely forgot about the bonsai tonight articles, I'll have to look at those.
 

Adair M

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Alright, who am I kidding...most of you guys probably know all this already, but I wrote an article for my blog recently since it was on my mind. I think I decandled over 50 JBP's this year. The article includes not only a lot of details about decandling but also a short video that I made mostly just for fun....

http://www.phutu.com/nine-things-you-might-not-know-about-decandling-japanese-black-pine/


Hope you guys enjoy.

Cheers,

Eric
Excellent, Eric!

The only thing I do different is I start at the top rather than the bottom. The reason is as I pull needles, they fall on the lower branches. If I start at the bottom, when I pull the ones above, they fall on the lower branches, and I have to go thru and clean them again! By starting at the top and working down, I only have to clean once.
 

Eric Schrader

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I start at the bottom decandling, then at the top with needle pulling. Honestly, I think it's because I got used to decandling the weaker growth first, which is normally more prevalent at the bottom...but with needle pulling it definitely helps to start at the top and work down!
 

Paulpash

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Excellent, Eric!

The only thing I do different is I start at the top rather than the bottom. The reason is as I pull needles, they fall on the lower branches. If I start at the bottom, when I pull the ones above, they fall on the lower branches, and I have to go thru and clean them again! By starting at the top and working down, I only have to clean once.

So.. Stub or staged removal for you... Or both?
 

Adair M

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So.. Stub or staged removal for you... Or both?
I use both. But I prefer the all at once using stub method. It's just easier for me to remember.

When you get very highly refined trees, the 10 day method is probably better. It doesn't leave unsightly stubs you have to come back and remove later.

For my trees at Boon's I have to do the 1 day method.


It's actually possible to combine the two! You can vary the stub using the 10 day method. This gives you a lot of control. Combine with proper needle pulling, and you can get the tree balanced, and keep it there for many years.
 

Eric Schrader

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Yeah, Adair's about in line with me. I use the stub method for trees that are less important to have the balance exactly correct (e.g. not going in a show soon) or where I don't have the ability to return a second and/or third time. The 10-day intervals give the most control, but stubs are more convenient. I have trees at Boon's place also, and I use the stub method on them.
 

Adair M

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By the way, folks, the temptation is to just watch the video, and forget to read the blog post. Eric posted a link to his blog that has detailed explanations of what he did in the video. Well worth your time to study!
 

RickMartin

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Been there done that. Also bookmarked it for future reading again. One of these days i will be able to keep a JBP alive and healthy. Very good material Eric.

Rick
 

Adair M

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Well, I'm in Georgia, Boon is in California. 2000 miles away. I go there 3 times a year.

I've bought several trees either from Boon, or other members of his club there in the SanFrancisco area. These are generally not small trees that are easily shipped. I have brought shohin trees back with me on the plane.

Some trees are rather highly refined. You don't want to pack those and have them shipped by FedEx or UPS. They would have to be crated.

So... It's easier to leave them at Boon's. I'm there at the time of year they need to be worked, and Boon is there for additional guideance.

I have been thinking about how I'm going to get them home...

Marie, when you take the Intensives at Boon's you work on Boon's trees. Or sometimes, you work on trees of Boon's clients if the client had granted Boon permission to use them. Boon, of course uses his judgment about assigning a student to the tree.

I remember when I was first assigned the job of decandling and needle pulling and thinning one of John Kirby's trees. I was honored that Boon had decided I now had the skills to do it without messing up the tree, and I also felt the stress of responsibility of working on someone else's fine bonsai! It was quite the rite of passage!

When I was there last time, he gave another student the task of working on one of my trees! It was kinda fun for me to see the look in his face as as I'm sure he felt the same stress as I had felt! He did a fine job, by the way! And I thanked him for the job well done!

After I had completed the first year of the three year program, and I knew I wanted to continue, I felt it just made sense to aquire some trees to keep at Boon's to use in my classes. So, over the years, I've bought a few.

I am bringing 3 nice trees home this fall. One of my trees is going in the National Show in Rochester. Several trees from Boon's garden will be going, so we've arranged for a truck to take those trees from California to Conneticut a couple weeks before the show, then on to Rochester for the show. I'll take advantage of the truck to bring two other trees home at that time. I'll drive up to Rochester, and bring my trees home from there. The other California trees will be returning after the show.
 

Eric Schrader

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And for me - I live in San Francisco. Unlike many people in the city, I have a yard, but it is only about 500 square feet of usable space.

As you might already know I started a bunch of pines from seed in 2006 and have been growing them in large containers. When I moved back from SoCal I didn't have enough space in my yard to continue with all the trees, which are each now in large containers. So, I rent space from Boon, a bench worth that is big enough for about a dozen large trees. He takes responsibility for watering and fertilizer and I take care of everything else during workshops when I'm over at his place. I have some of my seedling pines at my house and some there. I keep most of my older trees and my show trees in my own yard.
 

Eric Schrader

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I have some photos, but this post by Bill Valavanis shows pretty much everything:

https://valavanisbonsaiblog.com/2014/02/03/a-visit-to-bonsai-boon-a-suiseki-collection/

19.jpg
 

Paulpash

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Thanks @Adair M & @Eric Schrader for the explanation. I guess being in the UK you forget just how big the states is... From my home you can literally get anywhere in the UK in 6 hours or so. I admire your dedication travelling 2k miles for bonsai!
 

Adair M

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Thanks @Adair M & @Eric Schrader for the explanation. I guess being in the UK you forget just how big the states is... From my home you can literally get anywhere in the UK in 6 hours or so. I admire your dedication travelling 2k miles for bonsai!
It's a 4 hour plane ride for me!

Marie, there are a few people who are very dedicated to high end bonsai. I know of one guy who will fly in from New England to California to work on trees for two days, then return.
 
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