It’s been a year-and-a-half since my last update on an old cork-bark black pine. I didn’t thin the tree last fall so the foliage was extra dense when I brought it into the workshop. Cork-bark black pine The cutback took several hours. Although it doesn’t look like it, I removed close to half of the […]
Corkbark Black Pine
Increasing density on a cork-bark black pine
I’ve been working on an old cork-bark black pine since 2004. The tree has improved a lot over the years, but it still has a ways to go. The main focus at this stage is increasing the branch density. Cork-bark black pine – 23″ The tree is strong enough to decandle most years, but was […]
Thinning young cork bark pine bonsai
A few years ago I created some cork bark black pines by grafting. The trees have grown well and are now quite full. Corkbark Japanese black pine Some of the oldest needles have recently begun to yellow which is a tip-off that the interior branches will be yellowing out as well. To make sure that […]
Thinning a cork bark black pine
In the mid-1990s, I created a cork bark black pine by grafting foliage on a young pine I’d started from seed. The foliage was yatsabusa cork bark – cork bark that produces very dense foliage and lots of buds. Every year or two I thin the tree out, and on occasion I wire the youngest […]
Cork bark black pine from graft – removing the original foliage
Three years ago I grafted cork bark black pine scions onto several young, non-corking, black pines. Once the grafts took hold, I gradually reduced the foliage of the understock. Now that the desired foliage is strong, it’s time to remove the original foliage. 6 year-old cork bark black pine – the tallest branch is the […]