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 […]
Decandling
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 before and after – red pine forest
Decandling is a great technique for improving ramification or for maintaining it. What little ramification my red pine forest has can be attributed to a few years of decandling. I don’t currently have any plans to further develop the trunks in this forest, so the branches are getting all of my attention. Here is the […]
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 […]
Pine decandling
The progress continues on a Japanese black pine I’ve been working on since digging the tree from Lone Pine Gardens some years back. This summer’s work consisted of decandling, thinning a few needles, and reducing the two temporary branches at the top of the tree. Japanese black pine, approximately 18yrs old – before decandling After […]