I was surprised to find yellow banding on a few of my pines this fall. It’s not something I’ve seen much of in my garden over the years so it caught my attention when small yellow patches appeared. Yellow banding on black pine needles The overall health of the needles is good, and the damage […]
Search Results for: black pine development
BDS #19: Encouraging interior buds on young red pines
After more than twenty years of growing pine bonsai from seed, I noticed a big difference between red and black pines this year. Red pines are harder. Specifically, red pines are less likely to develop small shoots in the tree’s interior that can be used to create primary branches after thickening the trunk. Here’s an […]
Bonsai Development Series #18: Timing cutback to support development goals
I’ve often sat in front of trees and wondered if it’s a good time to prune or if I’m better off waiting. Even when the trade-offs are clear, it can be difficult to figure out the best approach year after year in a young tree’s life. One of the best ways to overcome this is […]
Bonsai Development Series #17: Thin foliage to preserve interior shoots
Generating new shoots on Japanese black pines is easy. If a healthy tree is pruned, you can expect lots of new growth. Over time, however, crowded shoots can prevent light from reaching the tree’s interior. When this happens, the interior shoots we rely on for future primary branches can die off. The best way to […]
Bonsai Development Series #16: Developing the trunk with multiple sacrifice branches
A sacrifice branch is any branch that assists in the development of a tree, but will not be part of the final design. Sacrifice branches are most commonly used to thicken the trunk. When the trunk reaches the desired size, the branch is removed. Some bonsai are developed with one sacrifice branch at a time. […]