Nursery Japanese White Pine Styling/Pruning Advice

[DrBonsai]

Recently when making the rounds at Local Nursery, I found a Pinus parviflora 'Glauca Early Cones' on sale. The Graft was low and a little ugly but I thought it was acceptable. I was looking for a JWP for experience and I thought this had potential. I thought trunk chopping above the first set of lower branches would make a nice shohin tree. Knowing JWP do not like the removal of too much foilage I planned on doing the hard pruning in stages starting this winter. I wanted to know if it would be prudent to remove everything above the 2nd whirl of branches this year, then remove the rest the following year?
Also does anyone see the possibility of a Bunjin, if extended past the 2nd whirl ?

 

[sorce]

Don't know how this got missed since Sunday. .......

But I wouldn't chop lower than the 2cones quite yet, if at all!

Some adjustments may make that usable as a sacrifice.

But I don't know White Pine passed they are friggin beautiful ! By far my Fave!

I think this is a good project. Till the pine guys come say the graft is gonna suck and the cultivar is slow..etc.
I hope that's not the case!

Sorce

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Your whole tree resides in the second photo. Develop the tree from the first right branch, and everything above it should be considered sacrifice branch. You don't have to be in any hurry to make that happen. In fact, I'd start developing the finished bonsai now, and allow the sacrifice trunk do its thing for w few more years. I'll try to find a photo to illustrate, maybe tomorrow.

 

[ysrgrathe]

I picked up a similar white pine on closeout last week. I was wondering if it was advisable to repot this late in the season to get it out of the bark mix in the nursery can. It looks like you did a repot (and are in a similar climate to mine -- i.e. expecting freezing weather soon). Should I repot? Any tips on cold protection?

 

[Adair M]

Totally agree with Brian. The distance from the first whorl of branches to the second set is longer than the distance of the soil to the first branch. This is a major fault. Similiar to Having reverse taper in the trunk.

Ysrgrathe, at thi point I'd wait until next spring to repot. O

 

[DrBonsai]

I did not repot. I just cleaned the surface soil to expose the nebari and used my bonsai mix as a top dressing.

 

[Andrew Robson]

Totally agree with Brian. The distance from the first whorl of branches to the second set is longer than the distance of the soil to the first branch. This is a major fault. Similiar to Having reverse taper in the trunk.

Ysrgrathe, at thi point I'd wait until next spring to repot. O

I third this idea!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Here's what I would do with this tree. Move the branches in the direction of the red arrows using wire, until they're in the positions shown by the tan lines. Remember to get a little movement in those branches, front to back (so from above, they have some wiggle...use this wiggle to push foliage tufts to the outside of curves; see inset).

Then, let the sacrifice branch (current trunk in blue) grow for a few years to thicken the lower trunk. If you do this, you will shorten your learning curve by half, and end up with a decent bonsai in 5 years.

 

[Giga]

with Brians design the tree will actually be something good down the road, nice find. I need to make the round and see if I can get anything on the cheap like this-I don't normally get anything but sometime there are diamonds

 

[Giga]

doh double post

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

with Brians design the tree will actually be something good down the road, nice find. I need to make the round and see if I can get anything on the cheap like this-I don't normally get anything but sometime there are diamonds

Very similar to advice I gave you on a JBP last year.
http://bonsainut.com/index.php?threads/large-black-pine.17509/
What did you end up doing with it?

 

[Giga]

Very similar to advice I gave you on a JBP last year.
http://bonsainut.com/index.php?threads/large-black-pine.17509/
What did you end up doing with it?

Did something very different I ended grafting a few branched here and there and doing something very interesting. I really like more trunk on pines(that's what she said) then a lot of what you see in shows n such with short fat trunk and pads right there. Granted a "finished tree" like this is something to gawk at but not really my taste.

Like this


Since the pine I got was a steal i'm trying something more to my style. I love this pine

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

With an arrow-straight trunk, you'd get to photo 1 many years before photo 2, but I hope you achieve your vision.

 

[Giga]

With an arrow-straight trunk, you'd get to photo 1 many years before photo 2, but I hope you achieve your vision.

oh I wasn't trying to achieve those images I just like the latter rather then the former, in terms of style.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

oh I wasn't trying to achieve those images I just like the latter rather then the former, in terms of style.

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