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Cutback at decandling time

June 30, 2023 by Jonas Dupuich

Decandling season is a good time to do cutback on black pines. Although we can’t cut past green needles and expect buds to pop on old wood, we can cut anywhere else as long as there is healthy foliage on the branch. (See “A cutback decandling technique” for details.)

Here’s an exposed root black pine I showed at last year’s Expo before and after decandling. The tree is 19 years old from seed.

Before decandling

Before decandling

After decandling and cutback

After decandling and cutback – 10″

Simply decandling the tree would have reduced its size, but to keep the tree compact, I removed all long branches and cut back into the old needles wherever there were needles to cut back to.

A small pine in the garden needed the same treatment. About 10″ tall before decandling, the tree is now 8.5″. (Thanks to Adam Toth for the work!) This tree was part of the same batch as the above pine – they were both started from seed planted in 2004.

Before decandling

Before decandling

After decandling and cutback

After decandling and cutback – 8.5″

To keep the top of the trunk in check, a large portion of it was removed.

Wound

Wound from removing the top of the trunk

It’ll take considerable root work to get this tree back down to shohin size (under 8″) so I’ll get started with the work next winter and see how far I can get.

News & Updates

  • Exhibit catalogs from the 2022 Pacific Bonsai Expo are available online at the Expo website.
  • Soil update for bulk orders: The next soil shipment (akadama and kanuma) is scheduled to arrive in September. In the meantime, small Aoki Blend, medium akadama, and medium pumice are in stock.
  • In lieu of a new episode on the Bonsai Wire Podcast, I’d like to recommend the Black Pondo Podcast this week. Hosted by Jeremiah Lee, the podcast features interviews with bonsai practitioners across the US and beyond including the following familiar names: Julian Tsai, Bob Shimon, Adam Toth, Matt Spinnaker, Eric Schrader, and Kaya Mooney. Check it out in your favorite podcast player or listen here.
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Filed Under: Bonsai Development Tagged With: Black Pine, Decandling

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Francisco says

    June 30, 2023 at 10:59 am

    Jonas,
    Could you do this cutback and decandle on a tree that is “ground-growing” in a Root Pouch? I moved the trees into the bags this spring, and they are growing super strong, 12-16″ candles on multiple branches. This would be their first cutback in order to induce back budding/branching in the lower region and transition to a single leader. This is their 4th growing season, I bought them as 4″ pot seedlings from Brent in DEC 2020. What percentage of foliage would be safe to remove at this time, if it is possible to do this at this time? If not, when would be the best time? Spring?

    I’m guessing it could be different because they are in development and not in refinement as your tree above.

    v/r,
    Francisco

    • Jonas Dupuich says

      July 3, 2023 at 3:28 pm

      Hi Francisco, you can definitely prune trees like this in earlier stages of development. The main question is how much cutting needs to happen if the overall goal is to continue thickening the trunk.

      Hard to say what percentage of foliage you can remove, but if the tree is healthy, you can remove a pretty high percentage (well over half).

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