Rationale for pinching

[paulbrennan]

Folks, I'm new to this and have a juniper recumbens nana that I purchased as a bonsai. I think my guy said that I should pinch new growth tips - which is what I have right now. There are some online resources on how to do it but what I'm curious about is why I'm doing it and what the effect is supposed to be. Is it to get more density in the areas behind those tips, or maybe some other reason?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Don’t pinch tips. It kills the tip.

 

[misfit11]

As Brian says, don't pinch. This was the common practice that people did with Junipers up until 10 or 15 years ago. With guys like Ryan Neil and Bjorn coming back from Japan, we were corrected of this behavior as doing it, especially continuously, weakens the tree. Rather than pinching out tips, you cut at the node. This will encourage backbudding and is much less stressful for the tree.

Hope that helps

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

... That means you let them grow out until they stop by themselves for this season, and then you cut back to a node or a bifurcation.

The growing tips supply hormones to the roots, the roots need a boost before summer. If you cut back at the right time, it'll have plenty of growing season left to bud back and grow out again. Sometimes they flush once, sometimes twice so you could repeat the process one more time later in the year. But the second growth will be denser and don't always need another prune.

 

[Japonicus]

I am literally spending YEARS correcting extraneous growth errors
from using pinching to define my pad shape or to keep it in parameters.
It never weakened my trees, I never got browning tips from doing it
but the pads became too thick shading out interior growth within each pad
and the strong upwards and outwards tertiary branches continued to be what
the pads were built on. So now, I have to deform the pads in attempts to correct this behavior.
The growth was too thick for the size of the tree and trunk as well. Very thick pads.

It is not inconceivable to pinch dangling under growth if it is rather new growth.
The best advice I've received in bonsai is to clean the underside of branches to define pads.

Then we come in and remove error growth too thick to the sides, and upwards growth that is
not going to be used to cut back to, to shorten the branch.


Same branch, here is an example of what pinching can do to a pad over 22 years.
It is not defined, it has strong upwards and outwards growing secondary branches.
I began 2 years ago correcting the pads on this procumbens. It will take several years
more, if not fully removing the upper half of the tree.


Here a pad has been thinned using bonsai sheers or scissors to remove upward and downward growth
and the resulting back budding in the left pic is obvious. Light and air penetrate. Disease and pests are reduced.
Neither are fully developed, but easier to wire, and the pad will not be deformed (chopped up leaving holes) later
trying to correct the issues that pinching brings.

Problem with pinching is the remainder of the shoot stays in tact and side shoots above the pad
grow more and more dense choking off light and air. Then, the interior foliage weakens and dies off
leaving upwards growing branches to make the pad. Keep it on the original plane by cutting.

Don't try to always keep a bonsai "show ready". Let it get strong after and before working on it.
Keeping one "pristine" looking will weaken the tree. Always clean underneath foliage on junipers.
Pinching will deform a pad eventually.

I think my guy said that I should pinch new growth tips -...Is it to get more density

Yes it will get dense upwards and outwards.

 

[Japonicus]

Here I'll hopefully semi walk you through how I thin an overly thick branch.
But also this is how to just touch up a branch that isn't so overly thick, if done
on a much lesser scale.

Now I can move onto another branch. To avoid juvenile growth, I may wait till July.
Then the following year another couple of branches, but that's a debatable subject I'm sure.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Nice job illustrating the steps to reduce a branches foliage.!

Although….I’d catch heck if I did that to one of my better half’s planter junipers without a form signed in triplicate!

cheers
DSD sends

 

[Japonicus]

Nice job illustrating the steps to reduce a branches foliage.!

Although….I’d catch heck if I did that to one of my better half’s planter junipers without a form signed in triplicate!

cheers
DSD sends

I normally do the heavier work in July, so am experimenting with late Spring this year.
Just no wholesale cut backs till July if needed.
I've had this tree at least 13 yrs, and pinched branches to maintain definition until I joined up here.
The lack of interior growth (I did not remove) is a result of shading due to pinching.
The OP being in new to bonsai forum, probably has a younger procumbens
which can be saved from this dilemma if proper thinning is carried out from the beginning
The 4th pic above is a good place to stop and carry this out for the remainder of the branch
exposing the bones of the branch. It will fluff back up in time.

 

[Japonicus]

Folks, I'm new to this and have a juniper recumbens nana that I purchased as a bonsai

Could you post some pics of this procumbens?

 

[paulbrennan]

Could you post some pics of this procumbens?

Thanks for those great pics - I got distracted but I will post some pics of the procumbens

 

[paulbrennan]

Here they are:

 

[Japonicus]

Here they are:

Sorry I cannot intelligently make any suggestions based on the picture.
A picture with less static behind it and of the juniper in question as a whole
rather than just a portion in this case would probably help somewhat.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

I have found that these

Baby Shimpaku!

Found this Shimpaku, grown in Boring, OR, at a local Maryland nursery, which caught me off guard. Thought it was a fun find and a good chance to grow something up. Would you have bought it?

www.bonsainut.com

don't mind minor pinching. The long overgrowing end ones.
At least for me. New growth starts at the end of the pinch.

 

[River's Edge]

Pinching is an interesting term that is often misunderstood. Both sides of the inquiry need to be clear as to the process actually involved and the timing or it is a wasted conversation.

 

[paulbrennan]

Sorry I cannot intelligently make any suggestions based on the picture.
A picture with less static behind it and of the juniper in question as a whole
rather than just a portion in this case would probably help somewhat.