The back pine below appeared on the turntable and I was asked to make the tree “more beautiful.” What an unusual tree! Twisted pine Before looking very closely, I immediately got to work plucking old needles. That gave me a chance to study the tree and let me put off figuring out what to do […]
Black Pine
Wiring a large Japanese black pine
As summer growth hardens on Japanese black pines, the time comes to pluck needles, cut extra shoots and wire branches that need moving. I recently worked on the black pine below with Boon Manakitivipart at the Shinpukuji Temple near Okazaki in Aichi, Japan. Black pine in Fall I’m used to doing fall work on Japanese […]
Brushing branches
I recently learned, a bit late, how to treat black pines that were decandled in fall – see “Fall decandling, year two” for details. After decandling the tree, I took the opportunity to wire it in a workshop with Akio Kondo. After reviewing my wiring, Kondo asked if I had a toothbrush. Too soft, he […]
Fall decandling – year two
Last fall I decandled two Japanese black pines a few months later than normal – see “Fall decandling” for details. New shoots appeared soon after I decandled the trees but they stopped growing during winter. In spring the new shoots became vigorous. At this point I realized I didn’t know the plan for the second […]
Decandling Japanese black pine
I’ve received a lot of questions about decandling since I started writing about it. The basic idea is simple – we decandle pines to replace vigorous spring growth with less vigorous summer growth. There are, however, a number of variables to consider, from timing to needle plucking to after care. The best way to navigate […]