My Austrian Pine, Part 2, The Bonsai Zone, Dec 2023

I finish thinning the needles and pruning the branches on my Austrian Pine ( Pinus nigra) bonsai in the second half of a two part series.
To see previous videos of this pine, click on the playlist here...
• Austrian Pine Progression
#TheBonsaiZone

[@ThreeMinutesAday]

Oh it's beautiful! I tell ya..., the musical crescendo playing while you display the finished pruned bonsai was like a wonderful hair-raising Disney movie! Of course, another video enjoyed! 😊👍

[@grobonsai]

I remember when you stripped the coarse textured bark of this one, looks like a finer texture is coming in nicely

[@LimeTreePrickly]

Im just saying this because you mentioned the option of growing the tree taller if the trunk gets too thick... This tree looks way too stumpy to my austrian eyes. The thickness of the trunk spoils the illusion a bit for me. I have seen plenty of austrian pines in my life and i have never seen one with such an overall thick trunk. I would recommend letting it slowly grow a little taller. Otherwise it's a very beautiful tree with a natural look. I don't mind the bulge in the middle that much. It happens in nature as well.

[@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951]

Cool trunk. I bet if you had some mini lights, this would make a great Christmas tree.

[@FrostBiteBonsai]

That tree is great! Tiny flaws make it look more natural in my opinion. Like it would look out in nature. It's not a Pinus Plasticus... Hahaha! Great trim Nigel!

[@sharonbuckley4591]

Looks really good. Thank you once again for your detailed instructions and clear video shots.

[@HansWeberHimself]

Looks Christmassy! 🌲 🎄

[@mattbrennan647]

Really natural looking tree. I’m liking it. Thanks, keep growing

[@JasonSchmidt-1979]

She’s a real beaut!

[@n8tyler]

Really interesting process...Looking forward to watching how the tree responds...I think its great that you look to your peers for suggestions...Thanks for sharing Nigel...

[@katedodd79]

I've always liked this tree a lot (flaws and all!), Nigel, such gorgeous old bark. Thanks for sharing as always 🤗

[@ianrowe9337]

Nice job Nigel, the hair cut worked out well ... thanks for sharing ! regards from England .

[@justlucky13]

Foist

[@t3dwards13]

Wow! Those Austrian Pines sure love knuckle sandwiches!!! Lol

[@paulschaefer5241]

This time of year you think about holiday plants. I remember some time back that you had a poinsetia bonsai. I would gather by the fact that I haven't seen an update that the plant died. Have you ever thought about replacing it?

[@ouskaer]

I understand leaving pine needles on the soil is good for it and gives back some nutrients. Is that only true for pines or do any other trees benefit from their own leaves decomposing on the soil? Spruces, larches, willows...?

[@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951]

A lot of mulch from the cuttings for an outdoor tree for you. Nice finish on this tree. Magnificent!

[@PolinaS-gq1te]

The tree looks much older now! Actually it looks a lot like Pallases black pine, that grow in Crimea.

[@MultiVic1982]

Nice tree, but i would like it to have less thick branches, they look way to fat at the moment. I don't know what you can do about that though...

[@percyacutt3110]

To accelerate the increase in girth of our pines in late summer early autumn when the trees naturally thicken we wind thick wire tightly around the very bottom of the base and leave it till wire scarring occurs then remove it and the healing process of the tree then automatically thickens the trunk, maybe you can try this in that reverse taper section of your pine

[@dk2614]

I don't know if you celebrate Christmas with a tree or not but I for one would love to see lights and ornaments on this pine!

[@greenhawk1592]

Nice work , do you winter protect the pine , after this kind of work? 🌲🌟

[@lukasmihara]

Looks clean! I hope the stategy with the sacrificial branches will work 🌲

[@TheBonsaiZone]

I hope so too!

[@thenaturecreater8906]

Nice haircut nigel!

[@brucedeacon28]

👍👌👌

[@meijerm6180]

Love it!

[@jballenger9240]

What about the lichen at the base? Will it in time soften the bark like moss can do?

[@dk2614]

Lichen is generally regarded as an indicator of a healthy tree. I have never heard of an instance where Lichen damage bark or the health of a tree.

[@jballenger9240]

@@dk2614 Thanks.

[@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951]

On those small bud/branch cuts, I wonder if you could take a couple and put them in a mini pot to see if they would overwinter during the winter months and then start some root growth in the spring. Now that would be cool. Mini's for an easy storage and for a bonsai show. Just a thought on that.

[@dk2614]

Pines almost never root from cuttings. Infact I only know a a single cultivar of Japanese White Pine that does root from cuttings out of all the pine species that I know. And it's name escapes me right now. It only roots at about 60% of the time and it is agonizingly slow to grow until it reaches 10 year of age. Zuisho that's the name of the cultivar. Zuisho. It's really only grown for it's novelty because it doesn't have any truly distinctive features that would set it apart like cork bark or variegated needles ect.

[@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951]

@@dk2614 Thank you. You are a wealth of information. Must be the lack of life to root that does this to the pines. The pines are then geared for seed growth to spread out and to populate. I took some cuttings off some boughs that I got from a fir and I am giving them a try. Even if nothing roots, I just like to try for the curiosity in me. Thank you for answering my question. Have a nice relaxing evening with a cup of tea.

[@dk2614]

​@@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951 Thank you Tom. A cup of tea sounds good!