Old little JBP - has it really been ten years?

[Eric Schrader]

People seem to enjoy the long-term progression threads; Here is one that is less dramatic in the size of the trunk than the seedlings; it's more a slow progression of refinement of JBP branching. I just finished cleaning it up for the fall and wiring and adjusting the crown. The tree ultimately will not be as good as some of the seedlings that I have coming along, but it's ten years ahead at the moment in terms of fine branching.

Here's the tree in 2004:

July 2006, after deciding to turn it around:

two views from November 2007. I had added two grafts to the front branch of the crown because it was too long with no place to cut back to. It ultimately took 7 years before I cut off the old branch in favor of the grafts. (luckily the bags only had to stay on less than a year)

The image from the 2009 BIB show. I was happy with the tree, but I felt that the crown and the pads needed to be more integrated feeling in the long run:

November 2013, I had been ignoring the tree for a couple years. It was not healthy enough to decandle during the summer so the needles are long and messy looking.

On top of that, I had formulated a plan to make the tree more of a semi-cascade than a slant by adding a lower pad on the left side. At this point I had let one of the branches grow two years without decandling, but it hasn't even elongated much:

June 2014, after removing the weak candles, but before removing the strong ones:

November 2014, prior to any cleanup, a couple different views of the tree. I again left the one branch on the left side to elongate, the needles are now strong and the bud at the tip of the branch is by far the strongest on the tree:

looking up into the crown:

The tree after needle pulling, but before wiring and adjustments. The left branch is now more obviously out of sync with the rest of the tree:

After wiring:

Back on the bench in the garden:

Hope you enjoyed that as much as I enjoyed wiring it and taking the photos!

Cheers!

 

[M. Frary]

We do like the progression threads. Thank you Eric. Nice!

 

[Cadillactaste]

I absolutely LOVE progression threads...it gives me such anticipation to develop my own skills and see what I can see with such long term dedication to the hobby. Thanks for documenting this for us and taking time from your schedule and sharing it.

I absolutely love as well your JBP! Love the transition over time as well. Thanks again for sharing! Sweet little tree.

 

[JudyB]

Hi, and thanks for posting this progression.
Question, if this is to be a semi cascade, what will you ultimately do with the top apex part of the tree? I am just having a hard time visualizing. Maybe your lower cascading branch will not be as pronounced as I'm imagining, more like a strong arm branch? And does the separation from the top to that branch still seem to be problematic to you? I'm only asking to understand not criticize.

Nice tree, great progression photos.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Nice pine Eric, good attention to details for sure. I like how you're addressing the base...not quite Neagari, not quite solid, but somehow not awkward.

 

[RickMartin]

Nice pine Eric, good attention to details for sure. I like how you're addressing the base...not quite Neagari, not quite solid, but somehow not awkward.

I hate to do this in public forum, but i dont know how else to do it. Brian, can you pm me please i have some questions. I tried sending you one, but it shows i never sent it and i know i did. Thanks

Eric
Very nice tree..I like it alot.

Rick

 

[Eric Group]

Beautiful tree! Great job!

 

[Eric Schrader]

Question, if this is to be a semi cascade, what will you ultimately do with the top apex part of the tree? I am just having a hard time visualizing. Maybe your lower cascading branch will not be as pronounced as I'm imagining, more like a strong arm branch? And does the separation from the top to that branch still seem to be problematic to you? I'm only asking to understand not criticize.

I've managed to close up the space between the top and the two main branches in the last few years. It's the back branch that was the problem, and it's been growing out enough to come down a bit more to fill in the space there.

As for the "semi-cascade", the shape wont be much different than it is now. Just another line of foliage below the pad on the left. I'm not so good at virts, but here's a rough one.

When I bought this tree it was somewhat unhealthy. In the first year I didn't candle cut to let it gain vigor. But, it's always been a slow grower in the sense that after the candle cutting in the early summer, the summer buds are very short, like 1/2" long (or less in many cases) with a rose of needles. This seems to be a factor of age, the tree has just settled into a very compact growth cycle. If I don't decandle the majority of the tree then the fine branching would be ruined after a couple years and I'd have to start over again.

 

[mcpesq817]

Very nice work Eric, and great wiring. It's a really beautiful tree.

It shows you how responsive JBP are when you follow the techniques. I like my ponderosas, but it's fun playing with JBPs and seeing how you can develop a full canopy if you follow the quarterly schedule.

 

[Great Falcon]

Nice work

Thats a really nice tree, thank you for sharing.

 

[JudyB]

I've managed to close up the space between the top and the two main branches in the last few years. It's the back branch that was the problem, and it's been growing out enough to come down a bit more to fill in the space there.

As for the "semi-cascade", the shape wont be much different than it is now. Just another line of foliage below the pad on the left. I'm not so good at virts, but here's a rough one.

Thank you very much for your reply and the virt which shows your intent nicely. I like your plan. It's good to have a plan...

 

[Adair M]

Eric, your tree is likely some "yatsubusa" variety. I have one that does that. It had 5 inch needles, and when I decandled it, i got about 8 adventitious buds at each terminal. They only grew 1/4 inch needles. I didn't decandle the next year, and they still only grew to be about an inch and a quarter.

So, now, I'm going to thin back to two shoots from two years ago.

 

[crust]

Super nice progression-- I will never have a JBP but am jealous of their vigor-- but then I am jealous of your climate too, well, I guess I am just a covetous man and live by adages like "The bonsai always look greener on the other side of the fence". Anyway it is a beautiful tree and skilled progression.

 

[thumblessprimate1]

Thanks for sharing. I love your pine threads.

 

[Eric Schrader]

Eric, your tree is likely some "yatsubusa" variety. I have one that does that. It had 5 inch needles, and when I decandled it, i got about 8 adventitious buds at each terminal. They only grew 1/4 inch needles. I didn't decandle the next year, and they still only grew to be about an inch and a quarter.

Yatsabusa is like one of those "have you ever seen it?!?" things...maybe not as rare as a Yeti but something like that. I may have a yatsabusa in my yard, but I don't think this is one. The budding is pretty normal, just that the tree has been a bonsai for so long that it's adapted to a compact growth habit.

Boon has pointed out a couple times that this is one of the few trees he's seen that begins to grow the dormant buds at the node prior to decandling. He says that the tree is anticipating the defoliation because it has happened every year for so many years. I'm not sure I agree on the reason, but I can verify that the buds are visible prior to decandling as small green bumps around the base of the spring growth.

The tree I have that I think is a Yatsabusa is part of a two-tree planting, which makes it slightly vexing since it rarely matches the other tree in needle length and growth pattern. It seems to bud profusely, compactly, and in all kinds of weird places.