Originally Posted by bonsaikc

I'd still suggest waiting until late winter to wire. There are two best times to wire Japanese black pine. The first is late winter or earliest spring before the buds begin to move. The second is immediately after removing all the candles, when the new buds haven't formed yet. This is a good time not to worry about breaking off tender buds.

cool as chris i like the idea of wire july.

I don't know that I'd cut this one down. If you cut it, then you have to begin again, developing the new trunk line for taper. This one tapers pretty well except for one little knot that can be disguised. You could, however, shorten this one considerably just by wiring judiciously. Think about it..the pointy "apex" idea is long past. Young trees have pointed apices. Old trees have rounded crowns.

im with you on this pines with rounded crowns are the way to go, no christmas tree or my wife will start decorating it. i think to is ok height as long as we keep that apex in check and the two knots/chops can become shari at some stage, they dont phase me in the least in fact will be cool with the bottom jin later.

If you wire without a major pruning in, say, July for you, and do it without manhandling it too much, I don't see why you couldn't repot in August or whichever month would be normal repotting time.

late august to early sept is a good time here for repotting. i have no fear of it i think it will be fine not like im doing any trunk bending and i wont man handle the branches to much.

My question early in the thread about your weather had more to do with the differences in geography than hemisphere. My advice about repotting etc. would be far different for Kansas than for San Francisco, and we are in the same hemisphere. In the San Francisco Bay area, repotting time is in January for almost everything! In Kansas, we still have at least two if not three months of winter left while the umes are blooming in SF.