A bonsai is said to lean forward when its apex lies in front of the base of the trunk. For example: Pine viewed from the left side – the apex is over the front edge of the pot. A forward lean is common to many, many bonsai in Japan. I don’t know when or why this […]
Black Pine
Decandling a shohin black pine
I wrapped up my decandling for the year by removing the new shoots from a small black pine last weekend. I waited fairly late to decandle the tree as there’s a chance I’ll show it in the upcoming Bay Island Bonsai exhibit and I didn’t want the new needles to be too long. Shohin black […]
Decandling aftercare
To restate a common theme – decandling is very stressful for pine bonsai. In some cases trees can lose up to 60% or 70% of their foliage during decandling. One-year old needles that have been growing beneath the shade of new shoots are newly exposed to full sun. Scores or even hundreds of small wounds […]
Putting it all together – approaches to decandling
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 […]
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 […]