The term decandling gets a lot of attention. Rightly so – it’s a key technique in the development of black and red pine bonsai. It’s the technique that helped me get from here:
June, 2013
to here:
June, 2016
in three years.
By itself, however, the technique is fairly limited. Cutback and needle-pulling are equally important to pine development, though these phrases leave less to the imagination. We know how to cut and we know how – and often wish to avoid – needle-pulling.
Without removing selected branches and thinning needles, decandling alone leaves us with impossibly full trees.
June, 2016 – after decandling
I say impossibly full because while it’s clearly possible to make a tree look like this, it would be impossible to maintain this silhouette and branch density by decandling alone.
I find decandling – simply removing spring growth – to be fun and easy. The various approaches and techniques require some practice for optimum results, but the cutting part is straightforward.
I find cutback and needle-pulling satisfying. Knowing that interior buds are getting adequate light feels good. Knowing that I’ve done my part to balance the tree’s vigor also feels good. I’m free to wire the tree at this point, or simply put it back on the bench for the next few months. But more about needle-pulling next time.
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Tony says
Jonas….timely post for me!…hahaha….now to get past the fear of the “big cuts”!…thank you
Tony
Leon Temples says
Thank you. I definitely learned something important. Look forward to hear more about needle pulling.
Rusty says
Jonas, great points about the three growth management techniques. I think mekiri (easier to spell than candle cutting) is by far easiest to implement, and arguably the most dangerous of the three. I find that deciding when not to cut candles is the hardest part. But thinking through how the tree will respond to each procedure is helpful in deciding. in the next few weeks I will need to decide whether to cut candles on my best (and most expensive) pine, cut only the strong shoots, or just thin it out in the fall and let it get stronger for next year (I am leaning towards the latter).
Jonas Dupuich says
Thanks Tony, Leon and Rusty – maybe we’ll see a post when you decide Rusty 🙂
Mac McAtee says
I have a black pine that I want to shift into a bonsai pot next spring. It is due for decandling this season. If I do the decandling now is there any reason I should be rethinking moving from a nursery container into a bonsai pot in the coming early spring? And while asking there are two large branches to be removed, I can do one at a time or both at the same time, I usually remove large branches in the winter.
Don’t have to remove them but they need to go.
Can I decandle this season, remove large branches in winter and then move to a bonsai pot in the early spring? Or is that just too much for a black pine to take? Fall back would be decandle and shift to pot this cycle and take the branches next winter, 2018, if I am still walking the earth then.
Jonas Dupuich says
Hi Mac – good question. It’s hard to say without seeing the tree (feel free to pose the question with a pic at ask.bonsaitonight.com). That said, assuming the tree is healthy and in good soil, it doesn’t sound like too much to decandle now, remove a branch or two in winter and then repot in early spring.
Removing the branches could be stressful for the tree depending on how important they are to its vigor, and removing them could also shift vigor to other branches – this may or may not be a good thing depending on the specifics.
Hope this helps!
Mac McAtee says
I’ll try and get photos later on today, it’s raining here now. And post as suggested on ask.bonsaitonight. Should have thought of that yesterday.