There are many ways to decandle red and black pine bonsai. I don’t believe that some techniques are better or worse than others as I’ve seen many techniques used to great effect by professionals and hobbyists alike. Rather, each technique has its benefits and drawbacks. I tend to use several approaches during any given decandling […]
Bonsai Development
Bonsai Development posts form the heart of Bonsai Tonight. Learn about varieties like Black Pine, Shimpaku and Japanese Maple, techniques like Decandling and Grafting and Air Layering, and bonsai features like Deadwood.
Pulling pine needles
As several approaches to decandling red and black pine involve pulling needles, I thought I’d include a few tips about how to properly pluck pine needles. Why do we pull pine needles? To reduce food production. Decreasing the number of needles on a tree slows food production and reduces vigor. It also encourages the tree […]
Making the cut – redux
I mentioned last week that an important aspect of making the decandling cut is leaving some new tissue. Having decandled a number of pines this past week, I thought I’d illustrate the point with a few photos. One thing that can make it difficult to see how far one can cut is that the base […]
Techniques for controlling vigor
So far we have covered techniques for controlling the vigor of summer shoots for an entire bonsai. Today we’ll look at three techniques for controlling vigor branch by branch. One of the greatest benefits of decandling is the ability to weaken strong branches and improve the vigor of weak branches. It is through the successful […]
Decandling black pine – making the cut
After many years of decandling red and black pine bonsai, I find I still need to pay close attention as I work. It’s easy to cut too high or too low, cut at an angle, or accidentally cut nearby needles. If you can avoid these cutting mistakes, you’re off to a great start. Making the […]