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Starting the refinement process on a field-grown Japanese black pine

June 16, 2020 by Jonas Dupuich

About two years ago, I picked up some field-grown pines from Lone Pine Gardens in Sebastopol, California.

The next winter I repotted the trees into smaller containers and let them grow freely to encourage as much root growth as possible. This year the trees are healthy and ready to be worked on.

The process is simple: reduce or remove the largeset branches, and wire the remaining branches. Here’s what this looked like.

Black pine

Field-grown black pine

After removing a front branch

After removing the front branch

After removing a branch on the left

After removing a branch on the left side

After removing a branch on the right

After removing a branch on the right side

After removing branches in the middle

After removing a few branches in the middle

That was it for the pruning. I then wired the remaining branches and bent them down. I didn’t bend them all the way on this first setting, but I can continue to lower them later this year.

After wiring the main branches

After wiring the main branches – 25″ tall

I have yet to decide how to form the apex. There’s a chance I’ll use the large shoot growing straight up, but I’m more likely to use a small shoot on the back of the trunk or to graft a new branch two inches below the existing apex.

My goal is to create a tree that’s much smaller – about 13″ tall – and the lower I can make the apex, the more powerful the trunk will look.

I’ll let the tree grow freely through summer and will plan to prune again in fall.

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Filed Under: Bonsai Development Tagged With: Black Pine

Previous Post: « Exposed root black pine: seven-year progression
Next Post: Leaf pruning Chinese wisteria »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Darth Masiah says

    June 16, 2020 at 5:08 am

    very nice movement. thanks for posting the link.

    • Jonas Dupuich says

      June 16, 2020 at 7:55 am

      Thanks Darth!

  2. Tom Regelski says

    June 16, 2020 at 6:48 am

    Thanks for such graphic help for those of us who are at beginnings stages of skill.

    • Jonas Dupuich says

      June 16, 2020 at 7:56 am

      Thank you, Tom! Don’t hesitate to let me know if you have suggestions for future posts.

  3. Guilard says

    June 16, 2020 at 1:17 pm

    tu la bien dégarni !!!

    tu avais posté un article sur la glycine ,sur la défoliation et j’aimerai la revoir !!!

    • Alessandro says

      June 16, 2020 at 2:12 pm

      https://bonsaitonight.com/2020/04/28/developing-branches-on-chinese-wisteria/

  4. Scott Roxburgh says

    June 16, 2020 at 4:04 pm

    Hi Jonas, were these pines field grown or pot grown? Approximately how long had they been grown for when you picked them up?

    • Jonas Dupuich says

      June 16, 2020 at 8:51 pm

      Hi Scott! The tree was field grown for at least 8-10 years. I picked it up the year it was dug two years ago.

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