The practice of decandling refers to the removal of spring growth on pine bonsai. The goal of the practice is to balance growth and reduce needle size. Simply removing spring growth from a pine will result in smaller needles, but it will only go so far towards balancing the tree’s growth. Over time, the bonsai […]
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.
Decandling basics – Japanese black pine
The basics of decandling Japanese black pine are straightforward. The application of the basics is more of a long-term pursuit. At its most rudimentary, decandling is the practice of replacing vigorous spring growth with moderately-vigorous summer growth – a technique for removing one shoot and replacing it with two. It’s a powerful tool for balancing […]
Decandling black pine – case study
It’s common to divide a tree’s shoots into three zones based on strength during decandling season. A long-term project of mine had me dividing a tree into three zones for very different reasons. Japanese black pine – after decandling The lowest third of this sixteen year-old Japanese black pine is beginning to develop branches that […]
Decandling a red pine forest
Sixteen years ago I planted a group of red pine seeds. I made seedling cuttings, watered, and fertilized the trees, but never created a plan for their future. As a result, fate determined their present form. The trees were healthy but ungainly – perfect candidates for a forest planting. Red pines are a very vigorous […]
Decandling black pine – case study
There’s a lot to say about decandling Japanese black pine. I’ll start with some basics. Here’s a pine going into decandling season. Japanese black pine – front Japanese black pine – back And here’s the same tree after decandling: Japanese black pine – front It won’t take much effort to see that I didn’t decandle […]