• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Bonsai Tonight

An educational website about bonsai development

  • Blog
    • How-to Guides
  • Podcast
  • Shop
    • Bonsai
    • Books
    • Soil
    • Soil (wholesale)
    • Supplies
    • Tools
    • Video Consulting
    • Northern California Bonsai Resources
  • About
    • Workshops

Balancing vigor on black pine

June 24, 2016 by Jonas Dupuich

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.

Subscribe to Bonsai Tonight

New Posts Delivered Every Tuesday and Friday

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by Kit

Filed Under: Bonsai Development Tagged With: Black Pine, Decandling

Previous Post: « Stimulating new buds on cork oak
Next Post: Pulling needles on black pine »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tony says

    June 24, 2016 at 6:55 am

    Jonas….timely post for me!…hahaha….now to get past the fear of the “big cuts”!…thank you
    Tony

  2. Leon Temples says

    June 24, 2016 at 7:14 am

    Thank you. I definitely learned something important. Look forward to hear more about needle pulling.

  3. Rusty says

    June 24, 2016 at 8:59 am

    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).

  4. Jonas Dupuich says

    June 24, 2016 at 11:02 am

    Thanks Tony, Leon and Rusty – maybe we’ll see a post when you decide Rusty 🙂

  5. Mac McAtee says

    June 24, 2016 at 4:53 pm

    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.

  6. Jonas Dupuich says

    June 24, 2016 at 10:19 pm

    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!

  7. Mac McAtee says

    June 25, 2016 at 4:59 am

    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.

Footer

Follow Bonsai Tonight

Subscribe

Instagram ● Facebook ● Twitter
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Shop
  • About

P.O. Box 6560, Alameda, CA 94501 · 510-915-2025 · jonas (at) bonsaitonight (dot) com

© Copyright 2009-2025 Bonsai Tonight · All rights reserved · Privacy · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. You can opt-out if you wish. Accept Decline Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT