Summer is not the most interesting time of year in the bonsai calendar. The trees rarely look their best, and it’s too hot for them to grow much. They do, however, require a lot of water this time of year. We essentially had our entire summer last week – 4 days over 90° F – […]
Search Results for: pine
Daisaku Nomoto bonsai critique
It always feels good to be a member of Bay Island Bonsai. This week it feels great. Bonsai professional Daisaku Nomoto of Miyazaki, Japan, provided the program for this month’s meeting. It was a critique – members were invited to bring trees for comment and some minor re-working. Turned out to be a great evening. […]
Why decandle?
There are many techniques for developing Japanese black pine bonsai: pinching, plucking, and pruning among them. All are necessary, but none do the work of decandling. I’m surprised each year at how well decandling balances vigor, improves ramification, and reduces needle size. I began caring for a cork bark Japanese black pine in 2004. After […]
Decandling secrets revealed!
Remove the new growth from your pine bonsai and you’ve decandled the tree. Within a month or two, new shoots like these will appear: Summer growth – Japanese black pine Easy enough. Place another pine on the turntable, pick up the scissors, and get started. How to make that first cut? I typically consider the following: […]
Decandling techniques
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 […]