Bonsaify | Harnessing Growth in 3 Year Old Japanese Black Pines to Make Shohin Bonsai: Fall Work

[@mattbrennan647]

I’ve watched dozens of JBP tutorial videos. Yours are BY FAR the best. Please keep them coming. Thanks, keep growing

[@Bonsaify]

Thanks Matt! I've actually tried to do fewer juniper and pine videos because even though that is one of the main products of much of my work and business I didn't want people to get bored! But I'll definitely be doing more.

[@PatriciaOConnorBonsaiBalcony]

Excellent video Eric, Thank you so much for all the info, This is one of those that you watch and then save to watch again later. Chalked full of good stuff.

[@pauloarakaki212]

Very very good. Regards. PJA😀😀😀

[@wshow11]

Excellent information guys. Thanks!

[@jiijino_bonsai_ch]

Good material.😍 I'm looking forward to seeing how it grows.🤗

[@robertobreglia9224]

Thank you very much for sharing this very interesting video!👍👍👍

[@dermo1981]

Excellent Eric. Thanks 👍

[@9daywonda]

Great tutorial as ever keep up the good work and I trust that your keeping well my man?

[@Bonsaify]

Just as crazy as ever. 🤷‍♂️

[@gymnosophist7471]

Thank you, that was super helpful! Would you mind explaining to me why these trees were decandled in the growing season? I ask because I have a JBP that is larger/older than the ones in this video but basically still in development, and everything I have read suggests that developing trees should not be decandled in order to thicken the trunk. Have I got that wrong?

[@hyperionhelios190]

great video thanks Eric.

[@kylepurvis8818]

Great video Eric, super loaded with info that is impossible to find in a book- wish I could spend a week with you learning your propagation techniques. I have about 800 JBP seedlings started this past spring- I’m in coastal SC, can I safely start potting them up now or best to wait till spring? I don’t currently have a heat bed to place them on.

[@GreenPumpkin767]

I enjoy your content immensely. I have learned to much and finally purchased some Japanese Black Pines from you and they are beautiful. Could you tell what I should do to specifically grow a thick truck. Do I cut the candles or leave them to grow. Thank you for everything you do.

[@Bonsaify]

To get a thick trunk you need strong growth - so with pines you cut back most of the branching while allowing the central bud to become a sacrifice branch. That way you can just cut off the sacrifice branch later. If you decandle everything trunk growth is nearly zero. If you decandle nothing you get a tree rather than a bonsai. You might consider the pine eCourse on bonsaify.com for more details.

[@NatureBros1220]

Are theese what is being sold in the 6 pack currently? Just 3 years ago?

[@william8078]

Do you send to Florida? Another great video, man.

[@Bonsaify]

Hi - yes we do. We ship to all 50 states.👍

[@cherylandrews3195]

Thanks so much for the video! What size pot will you be putting them into when you repot? I wish I could get some of your trees but they wont let me get them across the border to Canada :( Do you sell seeds for them? I would so buy them!

[@Bonsaify]

Pots - pond baskets like 20cm size or even the 6" round ones work. People use Chinese plastic colanders also. A standard nursery 3-gallon works fine, but you'll need to do more root pruning to get good nebari. Seeds - we'll be offering JBP seed from the Alameda parent tree soon!

[@cherylandrews3195]

@@Bonsaify I tried to buy them, says it wont ship to Canada :(

[@Bonsaify]

Hi! I think I fixed it. See if you can do it now. (BTW, we're not 100% sure we're allowed, so if they get confiscated at customs there's not much we can do.)

[@cherylandrews3195]

ok it worked! Thank you!

[@jaybolinger2865]

I have a 3year black pine as well. How should I treat it if I'm trying to let it get big?

[@Ashley-ti6mp]

Can I do this work now on pine in North Texas?

[@Bonsaify]

Yes! Anywhere in the northern hemisphere - Late Oct through December. with trees that were NOT decandled, it can be done earlier in the fall also.

[@MarkusMh]

Hey Eric I was wondering what recommendations you had for substrate for young pines. I know you like your coarse and extra coarse perlite, but that isn't easily accessible for me. Alternatives?

[@Bonsaify]

Pumice, Lava and Fir bark is a viable alternate. But you could use Pumice/Lava and coir or leave out the pumice and use Lava/Bark and/or another aggregate like decomposed granite. Avoid Turface at all costs. Bark/Coir should be about 20-30% of the mix, not more, not less. Vermiculite I believe is also fine, but I haven't used it personally. Carful with pumice - washing it is best as it can have sodium in the dust. Careful with lava - it can have excess manganese and other salts - so washing is also best. Bark should be screened to larger than 1/8" and smaller than 3/4" ideally. The bark will break down over time, but as long as the percentage isn't too high it wont degrade the soil structure.

[@MarkusMh]

@@Bonsaify Thank you! Will probably go with lava and coir or bark, since I already have that stockpiled. Excited to try the deeper pots and see if I notice any differences in results. Usually been making seedling cuttings like everyone else, but your results are impressive in the deep containers. Thanks again.

[@MarkusMh]

@@Bonsaify Thanks for the insights Eric. Quick question, do you plant your seeds directly in the finer perlite and coco mix or do you germinate them in a different way? When do you do the first repot of the seedlings? (Assuming you grow the seedlings yourself)

[@Bonsaify]

Yes, seeds go directly into the perlite/coco mixture in Anderson flats in a greenhouse. Repotting usually waits until the first winter afterward, but if they are too dense we pull them apart earlier. If you're doing seedling cuttings, you'd want to do it about 3 weeks after germination.

[@MarkusMh]

@@Bonsaify Gotcha. Experimenting with the finer perlite and coco this year. So all this info is great. Thanks

[@jeffjernberg1810]

What do you use to treat for phytophthora?

[@Bonsaify]

At the moment I'm treating pines with Phyton 32, which is a copper compound. But normal copper spray or daconil are good for stopping the spread. There is nothing curative you can really do to existing needles that are infected. Propiconazole ( amzn.to/454WM4x ) is a systemic that's pretty good at slowing it down. A rotation of fungicides is best.

[@Kwood10]

I have some pine seedlings I got they don’t have much thick growth & I haven’t wired them yet should I just keep letting them grow taller & de candle them when they get tall candles? What time of year to De candle in the PNW ?

[@Bonsaify]

Wiring is perhaps the most important thing if you want a good bonsai - otherwise you just have a straight tree, right? Decandling is a control and refinement technique - wiring is a shaping technique. You need to use both in combination. As for the timing - mid-growing-season is when you decandle. Here in SF that's June 1st-15th, probably similar where you are, but could be earlier or later depending on how hot your summers are (e.g. how close to the ocean you are etc.)

[@jonathanaristone2468]

Thanks Eric I'm in Canada and acquired two JBP 18 mo. old from BC. Did you already wire these and begin the shaping process? Thanks

[@Bonsaify]

Yes, wiring in years 1-2 is better. At year three the trunks are normally too stiff to wire anything but gentle curves. Although that can happen with overly vigorous 2 year olds also. Or you may find some three year olds that are still flexible, in which case go for it!

[@jonathanaristone2468]

@@Bonsaify Thanks Eric our Ontario Bonsai groups ordered a flat of these from Gerald Rainville in BC so we are all tuning into your YT channel for guidance. Thanks so much.

[@bobmccarlie382]

What percentage of the seedlings you produce do you discard after 1, 2 or 3 years because you don’t think they will ever be worthwhile?

[@Bonsaify]

In years 1-2 there is not enough there to make any decisions. In year 3 there typically is the beginning of an idea of the budding pattern and some problems may be obvious. But, I think it's year 4-5 where you should cull trees you don't think you want. Keep in mind that something that doesn't work for an 8-inch shohin may work fine for a 24" field-grown trunk, or a 6-foot tall niwaki. Also consider that hard cutback can lengthen the timeline for creating a finished tree, but conversely solve some problems. By year 4-5 you should be able to identify any trees that are genetic outliers - e.g. very long necks on the candles, poor budding characteristics or bad needle quality.

[@brucedeacon28]

👍👌🙂