Late June through mid-July marks the end of the decandling season in my area. This means it’s time to start working on the smaller pines in my garden.
The tree below is sixteen-years-old. It grew strong this spring which is a reflection of the fact that the tree is still young and not fully ramified. In time, I hope for the spring growth to be less than half as vigorous.
Shohin black pine – Gyozan pot
The work this time of year includes decandling, needle-pulling, and minor cutback. I’ll postpone the wiring until fall or winter and will repot the tree in a shallower container around the end of the year.
Here’s the tree after decandling, needle-pulling, and cutback.
After decandling and pulling needles – 7.5″
I’ll hold off on fertilizing the tree for one-to-two months but will make sure the tree gets a moderate amount in fall. In November, it will be time to prune, pluck, and wire. Will provide an update when I do!
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Gary McCarthy says
WOW!!! That’s a SWEET little tree!
scott chadd says
jonas one of the things that i would like to know is how many hours does an activity like this require. i know you are a trained, experienced and skilled bonsai practitioner and so your work will probably proceed at a more rapid pace than a novice. however, i think a few words about the commitment required to perform these tasks might be helpful
Jonas Dupuich says
Thanks, Scott, that’s a great idea. For this tree, my girlfriend decandled it in about 15 minutes, and a friend plucked the needles and did the cutback in about one hour. I checked in along the way to see how the work was going. I expect I’d do the work in a similar amount of time. Will try to make similar notes in future posts for the more intensive activities!
Jonas Dupuich says
Thanks, Gary!
Guilard says
ou la la ,il est presque a poil le pauvre !!!
Jonas Dupuich says
Yes, they’re thin now but I expect them to fill in again over the summer.