PINE BONSAI CARE
AUTUMN
It certainly makes sense to start any discussion of pine care with the autumn season, as the work done at this time is critical to prepare your pine for the rest on the year's care. However Also keep in mind That the schedule for Some tasks is more flexible Than others, and this especially applies to Some of the autumn tasks.
Firstly, fertilize! Do not start putting on 0-0-10 in early Sept as you Might be doing with deciduous trees. Relatively heavy thumbtacks Give a full fertilization regimen through at least the time the freezing temperatures are starting That changed from a regular event. In the Central Midwest, this Would usually be late October. Pines fertilization use this candle to make the stronger the Following spring growth, and fertilizing now is critical to good secondary budding candle candle June after removal. I personally prefer natural fertilizer cakes (Bio-Gold is one of the Few the which does not seem to attract animals and Maggots in my area), but similar results be obtained with frequent cans Addition of Somewhat diluted chemical Fertilizers.
Needle pruning is a key activity in pine development. Needle pruning specifically refers to the process of removing all of the older needles. This accomplishes a number of Things. Firstly, it opens up the tree to allow light into the inner branches, budding Increasing opportunities and strengthening weak inner growth. It improves the health of the tree by Increasing light and airflow, in Addition to directly eliminating the needles most likely to be already diseased. Also it frees up the small terminal branches for you to be Able to place wire on Them. Since the present year's growth usually has the strongest upward growth, it improves the appearance Immediately Also of the tree. However, probably the most Important accomplishment of needle pruning is to allow you to equalize the strength of all the portions of the tree. Specifically, by Leaving more needles on the tips and fewer weak on the strong tips, They will of changed from Closer in strength and vigor over the coming year.
Needle removal cans be done Either of two ways. Needles cans Their be cut off near the base with Scissors, Leaving a tiny stub, the which will from subsequently turn brown then fall off. Or, needles cans be simply pulled out. I prefer the later, since it is faster and leaves a neater appearance, and cut needle stubs cans be a wiring problem over. However pine Some experts feel That pulling out the needle manually cans damage dormant buds at the base of a needle pair. To AVERT this, you cans always leave an extra pair or needle Remnant in a position you hope to have a future bud. In Addition, I seem to Observe plentiful back budding events in areas of previous complete needle plucking, so I'm not convinced That argument is valid.
Needle removal is one of our more Important tools for equalizing strength. By removing more needles from the strong upper and outer candles from the weaker lower Than candles, this redirects the energy to the weaker candles. Specifically, Should you remove all of last year's needles Throughout the whole tree. Then remove needles Some of this years, Leaving six or eight pairs on the strongest candles, ten or twelve on the intermediate candles, and leave all the needles on the weakest-ideally, this earnest be a larger number Than the six to twelve pairs you have left on the other candles.
Your tree will from now look entirely different; sparse, but more like a bonsai already!
WINTER
The next task is styling and wiring. If this is a tree is being styled for the first time, you will of need to tease the soil away from the rootbase as you first step. This will of allow you to choose a front According to the optimal combination (always a compromise!) Between the rootbase, trunk direction / shape, and branch position. How to style is beyond our scope here, but keep in mind That you will from your Want probably lower branches to flow downward, so do not choose a number one branch too close to the ground.
Late autumn and winter are the optimum times for removing large branches. However, do not remove the majority of the tree's branches all in the Same year, half of the branches Should Be safe on a healthy pine. We all know That you can not cut back to bare wood, you need to leave Some green for a branch to survive. But do not try to cut a large branch back to it's last tiny Either weak inner candle; do-it-Halfway, and next year will from That weak inner candle be a strong one, and you will from be Able to cut back to it Easily. When you remove a very large branch, installments inch leave a stub, and remove it the Following year. If you wish to leave a jinn, carve a slight circumferential depression around it so heal the wound will of flats around the jinn. Jinn grafts are possible with thumbtacks, but not easy since the callous aggressive growth is not Quite Enough to lock it into place looking natural.
Techniques for bending large branches are best applied Also During this time. The methods are most effective are the which the longitudinal bisection of the branch in a plane from the top through the bottom of the branch; shaving off the upper third of the branch near the base; shaving off the lower half of the branch then hollowing out the remainder from the bottom being sure not to extend the hollowing to the cambium, and cutting out a triangular wedge from the branch in a position Such That the cambium of the wedge aligns on EACH side for grafting together. In Addition, cork bark branches May be bent by removing the bark all the way to just above the cambium (it will from re-grow very Quickly cork). In all these techniques, the branch Should then be protected by wrapping with raffia or the equivalent, along with heavy wire.
Now it's time to wire. Start at the bottom since you will from Generally be moving the branches downward; if you started at the top, you would be bending branches into you're your next downward target wiring, crowding your ability to work. Annealed copper wire is preferred for aluminum thumbtacks but Also earnest work. Wire your primary branches with a single wire rather large Smaller Than multiple wires if possible. Your wiring angle Should Be pretty close to 45 degrees. Any wider, and you loose holding power, and loose ability to make fine closely spaced bends back and forth; very wide wiring Also Provides less protection from disrupting the cambium During extreme bending, and earnest notes as evenly distribute the stress along the branch, allowing it to snap more Easily. On the other hand, wiring with too narrow of an angle causes you loose to holding power, have a congested appearance, loose space for secondary wires, and makes it Such That the wire will not be removed Pls Easily you cut it. EACH wire Should Be firmly anchored, with the best method being to wire two branches with wire EACH, EACH branch with Becoming the anchor point for the other. Secondary branches Should Be Likewise wired two at a time. Carry out the wiring as far as the branch is Appropriate for the thickness of the wire, but at Some point you will from the branch end of wire and wire the tip with Smaller gauge wire, pairing it with a secondary or tertiary branch. The wiring Should Be Extended to the very tip of EACH candle eventually, Such That Pls you finish the tree, and every single branch tip and candle is wired.
Should you wire the candles / tips outward or upward? I show you two cans well Respected authors writing in different publications in the Same month last year, Opposite giving advice on this, and this is typical. No one Seems to agree. However there are distinct advantages and disadvantages to Either, and the best approach Actually Might depend on what your immediate goals are for that branch. Thus, there Might be good reason to wire the tip upward on one tree, and outward on another, in fact, you May even mix methods on the Same tree!
Wiring the tips upward Auxin flow increases. This will of make this a tip grow more strongly and be more likely, to Produce multiple buds / candles next season. However auxins Also Suppress the growth of anything proximal to Their origin, as long as there is no Uphill flow involved. Thus, if you have a branch parallel to the ground and wire the terminal tip upward, it will from Suppress the growth of the inner tips Closer to the trunk, and Suppress backbudding. On the other hand, the tips outward wiring will of Suppress Auxin production by That tip, and allow the inner candles to increase of strength, as well as encourage backbudding.
It May seem thus if You Want That New backbudding for branch development, or have weak inner candle growth, that you Should wire the tips outward, at least on the terminal ends of the branch, but if you have a mature tree and do not Want backbudding, and have Fairly equal distribution strength, wire Them upward. However there are other considerations. If you wire the weak inner tips upward, this increases Their strength itself, so you do not absolutely have to wire the outer terminal outwards tips to accomplish this. Uphill and auxins do not flow, so if you wire the entire branch downward, or even just a short wire downward bend or kink in the branch, it will from Suppress the inhibitory effects of the auxins from the strong terminal even if these terminal tips tips are wired themselves upward. So you cans have your cake and eat it too! Just wire all your tips upward, and Either put a downward orientation of the branch, or add a wire downward kink just before the strongest outer tips to Prevent Auxin flow from the inner inhibiting growth and budding.
Several other advantages of wiring the tips upward Are That the appearance of the tree is Immediately improved, and upward tip light wiring allows better flow into the interior.
The bottom line Is That you cans wire up the candle tips, or you cans wire them out. You can even wire up the weak ones and the strong ones out. Just Realize what effect you are creating, and use this to your advantage. Remember: tips up, stronger candle; tips out, weaker but more backbudding candle.
Winter is Also the proper time for carving shari. The only possible time would be better Immediately (and I mean Within minutes!) Prior to root pruning and repotting. Any other time you cut into the trunk in a major way, you will from have sap leakage for many months. Pines tolerate a fair amount of abuse, so you cans carve shari Relatively Freely. However Their nutrient flow channels are not as versatile as shimpaku, and too wide of an interruption of the sap flow and water cans result in loss of branches and / or Roots Within the flow lines above and below. You Should not exceed about 25% of the trunk diameter, and Avoid cutting below major branches.
SPRING
The time for repotting is just before the candles begin to swell. This is typically mid to late March. You'll see at least the stubs of Some fresh new white root tips in the bottom of the pot if it's ready. The most Important task of repotting is to clean the roots of ALL the old field or nursery soil, especially just below the roots. This soil holds moisture old avidly and will of stay wet even as the Surrounding bonsai soil dries out. Thus, the roots are attracted to the areas of greatest moisture, and They will from head straight for the muck, and never really grow outwards into the bonsai soil.
When you remove the previous soil, do it carefully. Try not to traumatize the roots too much. This is especially true with very old corkbarks and thumbtacks. With a healthy young black pine the which is not a corkbark, you cans Easily cut the roots back by half or more, but with less remove older trees. With corkbarks, it is best to not remove any roots, cut back only a few, and simply curl the rest back into the new soil.
The optimum soil type for pine bonsai has been subject to debate, and in fact there are as many different recommendations as there are experts in this country. However installments principals are unquestionable. The soil must be coarse, very well draining, but still with Some ability to retain both water and micronutrients. Organic components Should Be minimal. I use akadama with about 10-20% of Various other components to add consistency (whatever I have around, Including pumice, turface, occasionally coarse pine bark); I have to say That The Closer I get to puree akadama, the better my thumbtacks seem to grow. Incidentally, akadama is available in at least three grades-soft, fired, and hard fired. Do not use the soft, it turns to mud in a year. The hard fired is REALLY hard, you break the window with these cans little orange suckers; They Are Almost useless except for drainage.
It is Also Quite helpful to have miccorhiza in the soil. This is a pure white fungus the which cans be found especially around the bottom soil, the which has a co-facilitatory relationship with the pine roots. Your earnest pine grow better if this is present. Although miccorhiza is commercially available, the best source is from the old soil you are removing, if it is already present. In fact I keep a large plastic bag full of miccorhiza scrapings. Any time I bothered a pine with lots of good white miccorhiza around the bottom, I scrape as much of it off as I cans, and save it in this bag. It does not take too much to reestablish the miccorhiza in the new soil, so it tends to accumulate Such That 'there is extra available Pls I bother a pine the which has none. The miccorhiza spores will from live from season to season even if They dry out, so I continually use this bag of scrapings over many years.
AUTUMN
It certainly makes sense to start any discussion of pine care with the autumn season, as the work done at this time is critical to prepare your pine for the rest on the year's care. However Also keep in mind That the schedule for Some tasks is more flexible Than others, and this especially applies to Some of the autumn tasks.
Firstly, fertilize! Do not start putting on 0-0-10 in early Sept as you Might be doing with deciduous trees. Relatively heavy thumbtacks Give a full fertilization regimen through at least the time the freezing temperatures are starting That changed from a regular event. In the Central Midwest, this Would usually be late October. Pines fertilization use this candle to make the stronger the Following spring growth, and fertilizing now is critical to good secondary budding candle candle June after removal. I personally prefer natural fertilizer cakes (Bio-Gold is one of the Few the which does not seem to attract animals and Maggots in my area), but similar results be obtained with frequent cans Addition of Somewhat diluted chemical Fertilizers.
Needle pruning is a key activity in pine development. Needle pruning specifically refers to the process of removing all of the older needles. This accomplishes a number of Things. Firstly, it opens up the tree to allow light into the inner branches, budding Increasing opportunities and strengthening weak inner growth. It improves the health of the tree by Increasing light and airflow, in Addition to directly eliminating the needles most likely to be already diseased. Also it frees up the small terminal branches for you to be Able to place wire on Them. Since the present year's growth usually has the strongest upward growth, it improves the appearance Immediately Also of the tree. However, probably the most Important accomplishment of needle pruning is to allow you to equalize the strength of all the portions of the tree. Specifically, by Leaving more needles on the tips and fewer weak on the strong tips, They will of changed from Closer in strength and vigor over the coming year.
Needle removal cans be done Either of two ways. Needles cans Their be cut off near the base with Scissors, Leaving a tiny stub, the which will from subsequently turn brown then fall off. Or, needles cans be simply pulled out. I prefer the later, since it is faster and leaves a neater appearance, and cut needle stubs cans be a wiring problem over. However pine Some experts feel That pulling out the needle manually cans damage dormant buds at the base of a needle pair. To AVERT this, you cans always leave an extra pair or needle Remnant in a position you hope to have a future bud. In Addition, I seem to Observe plentiful back budding events in areas of previous complete needle plucking, so I'm not convinced That argument is valid.
Needle removal is one of our more Important tools for equalizing strength. By removing more needles from the strong upper and outer candles from the weaker lower Than candles, this redirects the energy to the weaker candles. Specifically, Should you remove all of last year's needles Throughout the whole tree. Then remove needles Some of this years, Leaving six or eight pairs on the strongest candles, ten or twelve on the intermediate candles, and leave all the needles on the weakest-ideally, this earnest be a larger number Than the six to twelve pairs you have left on the other candles.
Your tree will from now look entirely different; sparse, but more like a bonsai already!
WINTER
The next task is styling and wiring. If this is a tree is being styled for the first time, you will of need to tease the soil away from the rootbase as you first step. This will of allow you to choose a front According to the optimal combination (always a compromise!) Between the rootbase, trunk direction / shape, and branch position. How to style is beyond our scope here, but keep in mind That you will from your Want probably lower branches to flow downward, so do not choose a number one branch too close to the ground.
Late autumn and winter are the optimum times for removing large branches. However, do not remove the majority of the tree's branches all in the Same year, half of the branches Should Be safe on a healthy pine. We all know That you can not cut back to bare wood, you need to leave Some green for a branch to survive. But do not try to cut a large branch back to it's last tiny Either weak inner candle; do-it-Halfway, and next year will from That weak inner candle be a strong one, and you will from be Able to cut back to it Easily. When you remove a very large branch, installments inch leave a stub, and remove it the Following year. If you wish to leave a jinn, carve a slight circumferential depression around it so heal the wound will of flats around the jinn. Jinn grafts are possible with thumbtacks, but not easy since the callous aggressive growth is not Quite Enough to lock it into place looking natural.
Techniques for bending large branches are best applied Also During this time. The methods are most effective are the which the longitudinal bisection of the branch in a plane from the top through the bottom of the branch; shaving off the upper third of the branch near the base; shaving off the lower half of the branch then hollowing out the remainder from the bottom being sure not to extend the hollowing to the cambium, and cutting out a triangular wedge from the branch in a position Such That the cambium of the wedge aligns on EACH side for grafting together. In Addition, cork bark branches May be bent by removing the bark all the way to just above the cambium (it will from re-grow very Quickly cork). In all these techniques, the branch Should then be protected by wrapping with raffia or the equivalent, along with heavy wire.
Now it's time to wire. Start at the bottom since you will from Generally be moving the branches downward; if you started at the top, you would be bending branches into you're your next downward target wiring, crowding your ability to work. Annealed copper wire is preferred for aluminum thumbtacks but Also earnest work. Wire your primary branches with a single wire rather large Smaller Than multiple wires if possible. Your wiring angle Should Be pretty close to 45 degrees. Any wider, and you loose holding power, and loose ability to make fine closely spaced bends back and forth; very wide wiring Also Provides less protection from disrupting the cambium During extreme bending, and earnest notes as evenly distribute the stress along the branch, allowing it to snap more Easily. On the other hand, wiring with too narrow of an angle causes you loose to holding power, have a congested appearance, loose space for secondary wires, and makes it Such That the wire will not be removed Pls Easily you cut it. EACH wire Should Be firmly anchored, with the best method being to wire two branches with wire EACH, EACH branch with Becoming the anchor point for the other. Secondary branches Should Be Likewise wired two at a time. Carry out the wiring as far as the branch is Appropriate for the thickness of the wire, but at Some point you will from the branch end of wire and wire the tip with Smaller gauge wire, pairing it with a secondary or tertiary branch. The wiring Should Be Extended to the very tip of EACH candle eventually, Such That Pls you finish the tree, and every single branch tip and candle is wired.
Should you wire the candles / tips outward or upward? I show you two cans well Respected authors writing in different publications in the Same month last year, Opposite giving advice on this, and this is typical. No one Seems to agree. However there are distinct advantages and disadvantages to Either, and the best approach Actually Might depend on what your immediate goals are for that branch. Thus, there Might be good reason to wire the tip upward on one tree, and outward on another, in fact, you May even mix methods on the Same tree!
Wiring the tips upward Auxin flow increases. This will of make this a tip grow more strongly and be more likely, to Produce multiple buds / candles next season. However auxins Also Suppress the growth of anything proximal to Their origin, as long as there is no Uphill flow involved. Thus, if you have a branch parallel to the ground and wire the terminal tip upward, it will from Suppress the growth of the inner tips Closer to the trunk, and Suppress backbudding. On the other hand, the tips outward wiring will of Suppress Auxin production by That tip, and allow the inner candles to increase of strength, as well as encourage backbudding.
It May seem thus if You Want That New backbudding for branch development, or have weak inner candle growth, that you Should wire the tips outward, at least on the terminal ends of the branch, but if you have a mature tree and do not Want backbudding, and have Fairly equal distribution strength, wire Them upward. However there are other considerations. If you wire the weak inner tips upward, this increases Their strength itself, so you do not absolutely have to wire the outer terminal outwards tips to accomplish this. Uphill and auxins do not flow, so if you wire the entire branch downward, or even just a short wire downward bend or kink in the branch, it will from Suppress the inhibitory effects of the auxins from the strong terminal even if these terminal tips tips are wired themselves upward. So you cans have your cake and eat it too! Just wire all your tips upward, and Either put a downward orientation of the branch, or add a wire downward kink just before the strongest outer tips to Prevent Auxin flow from the inner inhibiting growth and budding.
Several other advantages of wiring the tips upward Are That the appearance of the tree is Immediately improved, and upward tip light wiring allows better flow into the interior.
The bottom line Is That you cans wire up the candle tips, or you cans wire them out. You can even wire up the weak ones and the strong ones out. Just Realize what effect you are creating, and use this to your advantage. Remember: tips up, stronger candle; tips out, weaker but more backbudding candle.
Winter is Also the proper time for carving shari. The only possible time would be better Immediately (and I mean Within minutes!) Prior to root pruning and repotting. Any other time you cut into the trunk in a major way, you will from have sap leakage for many months. Pines tolerate a fair amount of abuse, so you cans carve shari Relatively Freely. However Their nutrient flow channels are not as versatile as shimpaku, and too wide of an interruption of the sap flow and water cans result in loss of branches and / or Roots Within the flow lines above and below. You Should not exceed about 25% of the trunk diameter, and Avoid cutting below major branches.
SPRING
The time for repotting is just before the candles begin to swell. This is typically mid to late March. You'll see at least the stubs of Some fresh new white root tips in the bottom of the pot if it's ready. The most Important task of repotting is to clean the roots of ALL the old field or nursery soil, especially just below the roots. This soil holds moisture old avidly and will of stay wet even as the Surrounding bonsai soil dries out. Thus, the roots are attracted to the areas of greatest moisture, and They will from head straight for the muck, and never really grow outwards into the bonsai soil.
When you remove the previous soil, do it carefully. Try not to traumatize the roots too much. This is especially true with very old corkbarks and thumbtacks. With a healthy young black pine the which is not a corkbark, you cans Easily cut the roots back by half or more, but with less remove older trees. With corkbarks, it is best to not remove any roots, cut back only a few, and simply curl the rest back into the new soil.
The optimum soil type for pine bonsai has been subject to debate, and in fact there are as many different recommendations as there are experts in this country. However installments principals are unquestionable. The soil must be coarse, very well draining, but still with Some ability to retain both water and micronutrients. Organic components Should Be minimal. I use akadama with about 10-20% of Various other components to add consistency (whatever I have around, Including pumice, turface, occasionally coarse pine bark); I have to say That The Closer I get to puree akadama, the better my thumbtacks seem to grow. Incidentally, akadama is available in at least three grades-soft, fired, and hard fired. Do not use the soft, it turns to mud in a year. The hard fired is REALLY hard, you break the window with these cans little orange suckers; They Are Almost useless except for drainage.
It is Also Quite helpful to have miccorhiza in the soil. This is a pure white fungus the which cans be found especially around the bottom soil, the which has a co-facilitatory relationship with the pine roots. Your earnest pine grow better if this is present. Although miccorhiza is commercially available, the best source is from the old soil you are removing, if it is already present. In fact I keep a large plastic bag full of miccorhiza scrapings. Any time I bothered a pine with lots of good white miccorhiza around the bottom, I scrape as much of it off as I cans, and save it in this bag. It does not take too much to reestablish the miccorhiza in the new soil, so it tends to accumulate Such That 'there is extra available Pls I bother a pine the which has none. The miccorhiza spores will from live from season to season even if They dry out, so I continually use this bag of scrapings over many years.
