Japanese Black Pine: Sun-Loving Tree [Bonsai]

creativetruth(70)

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This is my Japanese Black Pine, which I am training into a bonsai tree.

In Summer, it has a lot of dry needles from last year's growth. All of this year's needles are bright green.

The needles grow in pairs attached by a papery junction to the branch. I usually do not pluck off the dead needles if one of two in the pair is still healthy green. Sometimes a new bud can form between the needle pair.

I am still learning quite a bit about how to train and grow Japanese Black Pine. It has a very different development cycle than any other tree.

Historical Details

ID: 0028
Nickname: Cheetara
Type: Japanese Black Pine
Age: 2 years (estimated)
Grown: seed (gift from nursery stock)
Last repotting: March 2, 2019
Wired: July 2020

Plans

Eventually I'll need to think about how to prune this tree. The three small branches at the base are all competing for sunlight. They are all helping to fatten up the base of the tree, so I may let them remain another year, or focus on letting one grow out and multiply the buds into a nice pad. I tend to favor the lowest branch, as it will likely form buds that will grow upward.

The two top branches, I am preparing to prune off the central one, favoring the side twisting one to continue as a main leader. If I can get it to angle back in to the center, I think I will develop it to backbud there to form the true tree top shape.

The place where left branch bends, I would like to see a new leftward branch form on the outside of that bend eventually to frame and balance the tree.

Past articles featuring this tree:

Photos in this post are all #originalworks by @creativetruth, unless stated otherwise.