Pinus parviflora 'Aoi' repotting

[MaciekA]

I would prefer to wire the branches personally, but whatever gets you there works, be careful to protect the branch if guy wiring.

Judging by the apical shoot, this is not yet at peak vigor (but looks healthy). Keep that apical line running uninterrupted over the next couple years, with full sun and regular fertilizer, and you should see future apical shoots start to transform in appearance. The sacrificial tips on this cultivar are very beautiful when they become very vigorous, I noticed quite a shift between nursery soil appearance vs. the appearance when finally recovered and vigorous again after the initial repots into aggregate (pumice/lava).

 

[pandacular]

Good to hear! I was planning to use guy wire just to lower the lower branches, as I think i’d have a lot of trouble wiring them without damaging branches given the density and my skill level. I always use plastic tubing on my guy wire where it meets the bark.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

@pandacular - guy wires are occasionally useful in specific settings, but they are not a good alternative to learning how to wire a tree. Please invest the time to learn to use wire, your bonsai will improve immensely. My teachers had me wiring branches cut from landscape trees and shrubs until I got the "hang of it". Only then was I "turned loose" on a tree. The Seattle area has at least one or two bonsai clubs and several bonsai nurseries. Take a class. It will be time well spent. Guy wires often result in branches torn off of trees. Accidents happen, A guide wire might look "safe", then a cat walks along your bench and the wire gets tugged on and the branch gets broken. My personal experience. Learn to use copper wire right away, it has the best holding power. Aluminum wire is a distant second best. But aluminum will work.

@MaciekA - I appreciate your enthusiasm, but making up jargon like "poodle" is not helpful. It is a "sacrifice leader" or a "sacrifice branch". Making up terms when accepted terms already exist is not needed. You clearly understand the purpose of sacrifice growth, use the terms the authors you learned from used. Sorry, not trying to bust your chops, but I just found the term "poodle" annoying.