I’ve been working on the cork bark black pine below for about twenty years. It’s had it’s ups and downs but had filled in enough in recent years that it felt like a good time to thin the tree. The idea is that by reducing the needles on the upper branches I can help the […]
Search Results for: decandling
Wiring at decandling time
Fall and winter are my favorite times to wire black pines. The trees are relatively dormant, the foliage is mature, and I have a long time before spring to get the work done. I can also do this work when I decandle, but I don’t always make the time for it. As a result, I’ve […]
Cutback at decandling time
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 […]
Decandling and thinning a red pine forest
Late spring is a great time to decandle healthy black and red pines (see “Decandling” for details). It’s also a good time to thin dense areas or remove extra needles that didn’t come off in fall. Over the years I’ve found it relatively easy to decandle pines at the right time, but hard to do […]
Wrapping up decandling season
I finished decandling my black and red pines about a week ago. And since I’d neglected to pull needles or thin branches last fall, I did that work too. (If you’re new to decandling, see “Decandling: an in-depth guide” for details.) Here’s what this work looked like on an 18 year-old pine. Before decandling After […]