A Japanese black pine caught my attention in a Bay Island Bonsai workshop a few months ago. The tree perfectly exemplified the signs of recovery common to pines that have been struck with pests, poor care, or general neglect. Weak pines typically take on a yellowish color, the buds become weak, and interior buds wither […]
Black Pine
Fall decandling – thinning new buds
My fall decandling project has been moving along slowly – as expected. After trimming spring growth last October, small buds appeared before the tree slowed down for winter. By March, the buds had begun growing again. Some of the more vigorous branches produced five or six new buds. To keep these areas in check, I […]
How to repot a young Japanese black pine (2 of 2)
One of my favorite repotting activities is often neglected. After removing the tree from the pot and working with the small roots (see part one of How to repot a young Japanese black pine) it’s time to improve the nebari. “Nebari” refers to the area where the roots emerge from the trunk – it’s the one […]
How to repot a young Japanese black pine (1 of 2)
I have been growing Japanese black pine bonsai from seed for the past 17 years. During this time, I’ve done a lot of repotting. This past January, it dawned on me that I had to repot almost 50 young pines. Very few needed repotting last year, but this year all but a handful needed it. […]
Big cuts
On my first and only visit to Kihachiro Kamiya’s nursery in 1999, I found Daisaku Nomoto working on a young black pine. It was close to 30 years old, and the tree was beautiful to me; it had a large base and fast taper and was more full than the pines I was used to […]