Penjing and Bonsai

The Difference Between Penjing and Bonsai

In the picture, there is poetry
In the poem, there is meaning
In the silence, there is movemen
In the movement, there is rhythm-

Robert Steven opinions about penjing and bonsai

Some people say that my bonsai are contaminated penjing, and that my penjing are not authentic. Before going further, I would like to explain the difference between penjing and bonsai. Are penjing the same as bonsai? Is there a difference in concept and philosophy?

The answer is: Yes- and No! It depends on the context we are discussing. This has long been a controversial issue since there are few articles written about penjing by competent sources from China. Confusion on this matter can be seen in books, articles, and in online discussion forum threads. In these instances the two arts are considered to be the same — simply a matter of translation — but at other times they are referred to as two different art forms. So what is the truth?
Let’s start from the basic understanding of the words, “bonsai,” (Japanese) and “penjing” (Mandarin). Pen = pot, jing = view or landscape. penjing means “landscape in a pot”. Bonsai in Japanese means ” planted in a pot,” which if translated into Chinese is penjai or penzai. This simply means “plant in a pot.” Any plant that is in a pot is called penjai. So penjing does not have the same meaning as bonsai, as we understand it today. What we call bonsai, in Mandarin is called shujuang penjing. In articles and discussion, the word shujuang is usually left off, leaving just the word penjing. So, in a very general context, bonsai is the same as penjing because we all know what we are talking about – by eliminating the word shujuang. But in a specific context, penjing is different from bonsai.
Penjing has a broader context in this art form with its own specific nuance. Shujuang penjing (bonsai) is just one of the styles in the broader penjing art. There are shanshui penjing (rock penjing), bigua penjing (wall-hanging penjing), shuihan penjing (water and land penjing), shushe penjing (tree and stone penjing)-etc-The basic philosophy of penjing is “Yuan yu je zan, Gao yu je zan,” which means “Inspired by nature, admired as superior to nature.”
With penjing we try and recreate the beauty of nature without eliminating the imperfections of nature. There is a great deal of creative and natural freedom in how the artist may do this with penjing. The soul of penjing is revealed more in the whole presentation; the thematic message, the symbolism and poetry. The presentation is natural, without too much of the aesthetic depending on the anatomical details of the tree. Penjing is involved more with a subjective expression, with very strong individual emotional references. Anatomical perfection is not a main requirement in penjing because nature is imperfect. The technical engineering skill important to bonsai is not so important in penjing. Instead, the application of skill should be relevant to the tree only in order to successfully convey the thematic message to viewers. The essence of the whole principal in Penjing is “Hua jong you se, se jong you yu; Jin jong you dong, dong jong you diao,” meaning “Inside the picture, there is poetry, inside the poem, there is meaning; in the silence, there is movement, in the movement, there is rhythm.” The objective aspect of penjing is to follow the phenomena of natural imperfection. The subjective aspect is based on balancing the presentation of the captured moment from nature with the implicit message of the theme. In the presentation of the message, nuance and symbolism should be used to accent the overall presentation. This fact requires imaginative interpretation by the artist and viewer.
What I am doing with my own work is to combine the objective aspect of bonsai with the subjective aspect of penjing, the beauty of the structural refinement of bonsai with the inner beauty of the symbolic presentation of penjing, all to lend a unique nuance to the result. In my opinion, the term “authentic” has no relevance to art. An artist should be able to make his own statement of character and identity. I am not trying to create my own style, but rather trying to find new, innovative possibilities based on my own applications of aesthetic concepts. There is no absolute in art and beauty. For appreciation of artistic creation to occur there should be an emotional interaction between the art object and the viewer. This requires communication between the art object and the viewer.
If there is a strong Chinese flavor in my work it is simply a reflection of my personal taste and interest in Oriental philosophy, like poetic Chinese calligraphy or the sentimental and melancholy Tang poems.
As has been said before, art is a living thing that continuously interacts with life through those who view it. The medium of bonsai is also a living subject that changes according to the rules of nature and horticulture. So the rules of bonsai art are based both on the rules of natural phenomena and the whims of individual and societal convention. My definition of beauty may not be the same as someone else’s definition of beauty. Interpretation and perception of beauty are very individualistic. It depends on the viewer’s background, knowledge, culture, local social values, experiences, even the current condition of the viewer’s emotions.
My work is a reflection of my personal feelings and attitude. In making bonsai, I am not too concerned with the final destination, but rather with the joyful process. I enjoy the slow process of revealing the character and identity of the tree — a process that brings my life into parallel with the tree’s life journey. This sort of endeavor is more of an active meditative process and the cultivation of a soulful relationship with the artistic medium, instead of simply a superficial exploration of the medium. The communication between my medium and me may not take place with verbal communication, but there is an echo of understanding, nonetheless.

Bonsai-Black Pine Trees

How To Plant And Care For Black Pine Trees

Hello bonsai enthusiasts wherever you are. I join you intended to share experience and knowledge of bonsai plants. My personal experience I will become a kind of plant for bonsai, because every crop has its own nature and character. First here I want to tell my experience about the types of Loa (ficus glomerata). The first is discussed Loa Loa varigata, with characteristic pale yellow leaves and green stripes (photo coming soon), a common disorder of the Loa who leaves only the color green.

This Varigata Loa bonsai material I choose. I drove the car with my employees to show the road. When he arrived home sellers bonsai, I see there are dozens of small bonsai and Mame. Among them there are some trees have become a great bonsai, while others are still a few trees and semi-finished material. Later we were invited to go see the garden contained materials planted in bonsai and in polybags. There was derived from seeds, setekan, slips and hunted from the wild.

Dikebun I see there is a flowering tree that Varigata Kaliandar scarlet flowers clustered like bungur, and I am interested in buying them. But unfortunately you will not sell it with the reason as being the dry season, so it will die when dug from the ground. I was surprised because this tree has reached two meters high and have many children. Why is this man not separate the child and planted them in pots or poly bags for sale. I think this tree actually good, because it has yellow and green striped leaves, in contrast combined with a striking dark red flowers, I have never found it ornamental plant market. It attracted the attention and I think certainly a lot of people who want to buy it.

When you're talking, this man said to have varigata Loa, but the growth can not be fertile. Very interesting to hear these things I was curious to want to know this tree varigata Loa. Indeed I am happy to collect rare trees, all the more rare types that can be made bonsai. I look towards him who show such Loa tree, planted in polybags and media, only rice husks alone, placed in the middle of the trees that are higher than this loa, and therefore may be incomplete because penyiramannya tall trees blocked it. Sunlight was just hit no more than one hour, and that varigatanya only the top section just three branches of trees only. While the bottom of the green twigs of trees many of which are not discarded, so that varigatanya defeated by the original, so I guess its cause could not be infertile is because the factors described above.

After I bought and taken home to home, I immediately re-potting with using the media as follows: first the loose soil bg bg + 2 + 1 bg humus lava sand. Prior to this mixed media inserted into the pot, put pot basic pieces to cover the hole mosquito ram based pot. Above the ram given coarse sand size - + 2-3mm cover ram mosquitoes, given the coarse sand layer above the sand size - + 1 mm, given a coat of grease on it again ripe goat with rice husk with a mixture ratio of 1:1. Finally after a throw from the base of the trunk all the branches of green leaves, and the entire leaf including leaf varigatanya, Loa was removed from the poly bag and scraped the soil lumps. Then cut out and discard the roots and root-me tunjang greatness, this new varigata loa ditanamlah with the above mixture into the pot of media who have provided it. Once planted and watered wrong, put in the shade. Then to come out new shoots, placed in a place the sun in the morning approximately two hours. After varigatanya leaves out a lot, a new full-dried, and then shoots out green leaves immediately discarded.

The results after six months, these trees become fertile and I began to shape it with style slenting. Until now after less than two years with the care and attention, 80% become qualified bonsai. I will take care of it to perfection, with the aim of the road show matched natinya for bonsai.

But one day bonsai enthusiasts from outside Indonesia have come to our place to see bonsai. And this gentleman became so fascinated when I saw this bonsai varigata Loa, which insisted on buying it. Because I had never experienced conditions like this bonsai enthusiasts father, so I understand the feeling of what if the things we want to have a hobby, let alone a good and rare stuff. By forcing who handed the money in my opinion quite well, and also because I already have a son who obtained from the grafts where the latter I was still able to make a bonsai type this again, I finally let go of this bonsai as well (I even felt proud of my own bonsai work of someone who enjoy it).

So my experience, how meripotting and planting bonsai going so well, which turned out to be fertile with the media that I created specifically for tree Loa who love this water. Hopefully my experience this can be useful for my friends bonsai devotee. Thank you for your attention and goodbye in the next blog, where I'll tell you my experience of how to plant and care for Black Pine trees (mainly pine species)

Bonsai-More Complex Care

More Complex Care

For this type of care bonsai - particularly growth - indeed, quite easily - especially going to transplant that would have grown healthier. But to sustain the movement, so it is difficult. For one piece just a little, then the result could be destroyed.
This condition makes sense, try to compare with large sizes as we cut a branch 10 cm, the effect is not too big. But when we Mame size pieces of equal length, would be problems, especially if the position is wrong. There, owners need to brooding over to see the potentials of Mame, because a smaller size, then the viewpoint must be greater. For, even the smallest bonsai should give greater nuance to enjoy it, so the challenge is more given to treat type Mame.
Own big impression can be achieved by forming dimensions, especially in the rear of the plant. So even though small, the plants still look wide with branches in the back of the plant. Well, another difficulty is the resiliency of the plant, which is considered less harsh for  

Mame.
As a result of cuttings along the top of the plant, despite having old impression, so biologically young plants grow faster. There, more control should be done, so that the desired movement can not deviate from the initial concept.

Root Grafts for Bonsai

Root Grafts for Bonsai

Introduction
Grafted plants for bonsai often present problems in the training stages, or later as the plants get older due to differing rates of growth between the root stock and scion and because of differing bark characteristics. This can be overcome by using cutting grown material whenever possible, or by using special types of grafts that will minimize the problems.
Avoiding Grafts
I try to avoid grafts for bonsai whenever possible. It is almost always better to have a plant on its own roots than grafted to a rootstock. Cutting grown material is becoming much more common for bonsai suitable species and you should look for it to avoid the problems of suckering and rootstock scion mismatch.
Suckering problems occur in such genera as Liquidambar, Malus (apple), Pyrus (pear), and Prunus ( cherry, plum, apricot), Crataegus (hawthorn), and others deciduous woody plants. Profuse suckering leads to endless pruning and bud rubbing to keep the suckers from overrunning your cultivar. The problem is particularly bad after major pruning, for example, after a trunk chop to get a low curve and taper to the trunk. Sometimes the scion will actually die and the understock will take over the plant after such drastic pruning.
In addition, there is often an unsightly graft union in these plants. The differing bark characteristics can make the union stand out dramatically and detract from the trunk, and the illusion of an ancient rugged tree. Growth rate mismatches can often lead to a 'necked down' appearance for smaller dwarf cultivars on standard rootstocks, exactly the kind of plants we are looking for in bonsai. Even worse is the problem of the scion growing faster, resulting in REVERSE taper. Prunus species often form a burl at the graft union that is prone to insect damage and completely unusable for bonsai purposes.
Most of these species can be grown from cuttings without too much difficulty. Some are extremely difficult, such as cultivars of Crataegus (hawthorn). Crataegus laevigata 'Paul's Scarlet' cuttings will sometimes take three years to root. It is also possible to air layer many of these species to get them on their own roots.
Conifers present the larger challenge. While most Juniperus, Chamaecyparis, and the broad leaf evergreens can be grown from cuttings, it is the pines that pose the greatest problems. Some pines can be grown from cuttings, but it is almost always easier to graft them.
Root Grafting Pines
Japanese White Pine, Pinus parviflora, make particularly bad grafts, especially the dwarf cultivars since the understock soon outgrows the scion portion and necks down abruptly. Sometimes they are grafted onto Japanese Black Pine, P. thunbergii which of course has totally different bark. If this is done for effect it is usually grafted about four inches up and the trunk bent at the union. It gives the appearance of great age but the abrupt transition of bark types has always bothered me.
Other than this style, the grafts should always be low. It is very difficult to obtain low grafts. 99% of the pine grafts are made for landscape and not bonsai, so it takes a nursery dedicated to bonsai or one which is sensitive to the needs of bonsai enthusiasts to produce good bonsai grafts. A few large nurseries that produce the bulk of grafted pines in this country have been persuaded to produce some grafts for bonsai, so things are beginning to change.
The very best grafts are 'root grafts'. The scion is not actually grafted to the roots, but rather to the stem tissue below the 'crown' that forms when the seed emerges from the shell. This is a small ring of tissue on the stem that clearly marks the division of root type tissue (was the radicle of the seed) and the true stem which is capable of producing foliage. On pines and cedars this 'root' portion of the stem can be very long, as much as six inches or more before actual roots appear.
For bonsai the seedling understock is potted up high so that the root portion of the stem stands several inches above the pot. This makes is easy to do a low graft. The graft can be placed just below the crown ring and after the graft takes, about a year later, the whole thing buried so that the graft sits right at the soil line. Since the buried stem portion is root tissue it can stand this procedure and has the possibility of forming roots. Grafted in this fashion the union will blend perfectly into the nebari (crown and surface roots). Also, since there is usually a bulge for dwarf cultivars, what was once a liability now becomes an asset since the swelling will be right at the crown.
If your graft is below this ring of tissue, you may bury it up to the graft. If it is above the crown ring you can still bury it, but you must be much more careful. It is akin to air layering. Bury the stem section in sand after making some vertical slices in the stem where you want roots and treating with hormone. This will work for all pines that are 'low grafted', that is have a graft only an inch or so above the crown ring. If the pine is 'high grafted' it will have to be air layered.
I recently went to a local bonsai nursery and checked out the potted up White pines and the grafts were hideous. Very nice little styled trees, a dwarf cultivar, grafted onto white pine with the understock about twice the diameter of the scion with no effort to conceal the graft.
This procedure also applies to Japanese Black Pine cultivars, Pinus thunbergii, as well, and is especially important for the rough bark ones. There is nothing more ludicrous than a nicely styled Nishiki Kuromatsu with two inch bark wings floating above a relatively smooth lower understock section. To get really picky, the very best rough or cork bark black pines will be grown from cuttings so even the surface roots will show the corking. I have a rough bark Japanese Maple, Acer palmatum 'Arakawa' that has such corked surface roots (cutting grown). It is quite amazing.

Spruce Bonsai

Spruce Bonsai, Money Received

By Bina BL
 

Bonsai is one of the crops that never die. This unique plant is always the last game and the price is relatively high although the price of other crops more often fluctuates over the seasons. The beauty of bonsai is not separated from the role of artists formers which also known trainers.
In the beauty of the art of bonsai, bonsai trainers supposing players behind the scenes. In bonsai contests, their name did not even once referred to his work winning bonsai. Who came forward more beautiful bonsai owners.

But, among the lovers of bonsai, these trainers are no longer foreign. In fact, the profession became seizure. Its amount was not much, make a bonsai collectors and sellers are usually willing to spend money does not bring in a bit to make this trainer.

One of the trainers of bonsai is "Sabarr". Man Sabarr, so she frequently addressed, is one of the bonsai in Trowulan trainer of Indonesia. The owners must know Man Sabarr bonsai. You see, since 82 years, he has been wrestling in this area.

Man Sabarr learn about caring for bonsai autodidact. "Initially, I was interested just interested. Eventually, serious learning," he said. Besides capitalized, like, a nurse takes patience as well as instinct bonsai art. "This job is too complicated," he added.

If all the provisions that have been mastered, with special scissors, wire of different sizes, and knife in hand, Patient Man can turn ordinary plants so classy.

Within a day, an average of three working Patience Man bonsai. "But, also depends on the degree of difficulty," he said. He got the call to care for bonsai supplies bonsai grown from the collectors and traders of ornamental plants.

Within a day, Man Patience can be paid at least $ 25, instead of bonsai care services. "Standards of each trainer is different, depending on the experience and hours of flying," he said modestl

Diverse Style

Dark impression and Diverse Style
 

By quality, do not underestimate the small form, because Mame also have the same quality with other measures, even in some kind of contest could be a champion Mame. The old impression of the broken rod is not impossible that can be owned by this type. Especially for a small form factor, though can take all the movements, but still limited, because the area was not large.
However for some species, could make the sideways movement, even downward. For the formal style and in-formal remain a favorite, including in-class mini size. This conventional style was most sensible to be taken, due to limited space and the triangular canopy upright stalks will provide a wide dimension, despite its small size. But do not rule out the possibility of other styles, but this condition still depends on the preferences of their respective owners.
For styles are quite diverse. The simplest style choice model using a single stem. Can the concept of straight bars, curl, italic or broom-shaped (wide). Can also using three-rod style, but must be temple-patch process or cuttings.
When the process of cutting a lot can be done, do it with the technique of lying / sleeping. Other styles that may be taken, among others, hang and also slenting (unidirectional). Can also be formed as growing on the rock. For grouping / Land Scape (style forest) could be done by implanting a lot of stems in one pot with the help of stone accessories.

BONSAI CARE

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.