Scots pine questions

[chansen]

This is the same pine in I posted earlier. I was inspired by Chris and Irene's thread on the black pine, so I started thinking that I may need to start some maintenance on this one. I want to make sure that I don't remove the needles that shouldn't be. So, in the pic, remove from the red line to the right (everything on the main branch, but not on what I think is this year's growth, in yellow)? One more question, when is the best time of year to do this work?

Thanks

Christian

 

[Chris Johnston]

Christian,
Now is a good time to do the work. Get the tree cleaned up before winter and it will be less of a haven for insects, plus it will stimulate back budding. I will detail a good way to deal with the needles in yellow very soon on Irene's thread.

 

[BONSAI_OUTLAW]

I would like to add a question to chansen's thread since there has not been a thread on "BONSAI" here for several days.

I would like to know some techniques to bring the foliage back to the trunk on a Scots pine. For example if I have a healthy tree with green growth at the tips of the branches and I need to get it to backbud like crazy closer to the truck what can I do to accomplish this.

 

[grouper52]

I would like to add a question to chansen's thread since there has not been a thread on "BONSAI" here for several days.

You have a lot of nerve coming 'round here trying to get these great discussions off topic by bringing up something as mundane as a bonsai-related question - sheesh!!

I would lke to know some techniques to bring the foliage back to the trunk on a Scots pine. For example if I have a healthy tree with green growth at the tips of the branches and I need to get it to backbud like crazy closer to the truch what can I do to accomplish this.

Whether you can accomplish much or not has a lot to do with the specific species and cultivar of pine, and I'm not sure about Scots pines in particular. About the most powerful back budding technique I know of for Japanese black pines, short of heavy pruning during winter dormancy, is to cut off all the current year's new growth just as the new buds are starting to form in the fall, forcing another crop of buds to form back onto 2 or 3 year old growth, and sometimes, if you are lucky, even further back onto really old wood. Not a good technique to use year after year, but every few years is usually tolerated well if the tree is otherwise in robust health.

Hope that helps.

 

[Chris Johnston]

My opinion is that we spend too much time and energy chasing buds back closer to the trunk, anyway. Most of the branches we try to keep are too large to do what we want. Sometimes I think it's better to graft new buds at the base of the branches and get rid of the ones that are too thick to put convincing bends into or too knobby from whorls to look graceful.