Eric answers questions he’s received from YOU on what to do with 3 year old pines in various states of growth! He uses six different pines to provide examples of what you should be doing.
00:00:33 First two in 3″ containers (available at https://www.bonsaify.com/collections/pre-bonsai-trees/products/japanese-black-pine-potted-bonsai-starters). These are 3 growing seasons old, from Fall 2019 into Spring 2020. They’ve all had 1 to 2 wirings, and Eric has focused on harnessing growth to make them into small bonsai (shohin for the most part).
00:01:36 Pine #1 has sent out little branches around the 1 year node. As long as they don’t get shaded out, they can become low branches on a small tree.
00:02:37 Second year node side buds – Eric removes 2 to avoid reverse taper and ensure low branches aren’t shaded.
00:04:25 Pine #2 removing buds and needles, cutting some needles short to remove burnt-looking tips (if your plants have these, it could either be from stress on the tree or a fungal infection.)
00:06:22 Eric plans to repot prior to spring to get nebari going in the right direction.
00:06:54 Pine #3 in 2 inch containers, decandled in June thus we see a lot of branching. In fact, “too many buds”! Eric needs the large branches to take off and run to bulk up the trunk.
00:08:35 Thinning needle buds.
00:11:43 With pine #4 Eric is ensuring good placement of buds by removing larger buds and keeping the smaller ones.
00:14:32 Pine #5 is even more vigorous and has a sharp bend.
00:17:10 Eric eliminates a good portion of new growth from Pine #6 to create a smaller pattern of growth and create more options for styling the tree when the trunk gets bigger.
Thank you for sending us your questions about what to do with 3 year old Japanese Black Pines! Let us know how these ideas help you, in the comments below. Please like and share this video, and subscribe to our channel!
