Scots pine

Fishtank307

Shohin
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I picked up this rather tall scots pine at Noelanders. Last week I decided to give it its first rough styling.

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Absolutely love the bark!

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This will probably be the final front of the tree, but I haven't really decided what angle suits best. The movement in the trunk is subtle, not too straight imo.

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This tree may have some flaws, but it really reminds me of the way scots pine grows here. Especially at the edges of dense forests, slightly tilted, with the majority of the foliage to one side.

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Still learning, so comments are appreciated!
 

Vance Wood

Lord Mugo
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You need to wire out to the ends turn them up and align them together to make pads as much as possible.
 

rockm

Spuds Moyogi
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I agree. Erring towards "this is the way the tree grows in nature" can lead to some bad choices visually. The two lower branches are redundant in design. They force the eye to separate them, as they both have the same direction and movement. given the tall trunk, I would also opt to remove the lowest branch--or at least make it a short jin...
 

Fishtank307

Shohin
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Eventually, I would remove one of the lower left branches. Probably the higher one.

I agree. Erring towards "this is the way the tree grows in nature" can lead to some bad choices visually. The two lower branches are redundant in design. They force the eye to separate them, as they both have the same direction and movement. given the tall trunk, I would also opt to remove the lowest branch--or at least make it a short jin...

Thanks for the input! The lower branches (together) are indeed a bit too much, visually speaking. Chances are that one of them will be removed in the future!
I do have another (possible) front, slightly turned clockwise, tilted forward and more to the right. I should take some pictures of that side... To me it kind of 'balanced' the heavy branches out. But as you said, they're pretty symmetrical!
 

Fishtank307

Shohin
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Repotted into a training pot. It was very pot bound and planted in regular soil.. Now it should have some room to grow!
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PeaceLoveBonsai

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Have you considered literati? Crude markup, I know, but hopefully you get the idea..
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erb.75

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I love Scotts pines. If it were my tree, I'd get rid of the bottom 2 left-most branches. The needles are too far away from the trunk to be in proportion, especially when they are sticking out horizontally from the tree. if you were able to lower those to bring the foliage closer to the trunk, the branches would be too low and close to the base. I'd cut them off in the fall
 

erb.75

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IMG_20190526_130502.png

then the branch on the bottom right can be bent with wire so it's not so straight. a bend 1/2 way in the branch that moves more toward the front would look good. basically, that branch and the one right above it have parallel lines right now and I'd try to change that with wire
 

Adair M

Pinus Envy
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You have a tall tree with a thin, elegant trunk. The two lower left branches are long and stick out to the side. The primary movement your tree should display is verticality. It’s desire to go UP, be tall. The long horizontal branches don’t fit the image.

If you could bend them down, a lot, so that they make an angle only 30 or 45 degrees with the trunk, it would be very dramatic, and bring the foliage much closer to the trunk. This would make the tree look much more narrow, and, I think would make the tree look far older.

I suggest that you employ a couple pieces of rebar to help make these bends. What you want is the bend to occur right at the crotch where the branches attach to the trunk. And, you want the branches themselves to be fairly straight. You DONT want the rainbow curve the higher of those two branches has.

Employ this technique:

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Look at Fig 8, above. Make a saw cut into the trunk just above the branch. When you bend the branch down, the trunk will split a little, but the life line will keep the branch alive. You can place a pebble in the opened V to help keep the angle. Fill the V with cut paste.

Also employ this technique:

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Look at Fig 16. See how the rebar is attached under the branch? Pad the rebar and tie it snugly to the branch at least 3 places on the branch. The end of the rebar closest to the trunk should be about 3/4 inch away from the trunk. The other end should extend out farther than the end of the branch. So, when pulling the branch down, pull the rebar down! NOT the branch! This forces the bend to be right at the saw cut. And, it keeps the branch straight, no rainbow curve.

You can pull the rebar down by hand, then use a guy wire to secure it at the angle you prefer. On really heavy branches, you can use a jack to do the pulling.

This method works! John Naka’s “Goshin” was trained in exactly this manner. With saw cuts on the branches. (I don’t know if he had to use rebar or not). You can leave the rebar in place.

If you want, a week or so after the initial bend, you can come back and bend some more, and tighten the guy wire.

This technique will make a 100% improvement to your tree!

Work slowly and carefully, and good luck!
 
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