Advice on my first bonsai creation - bonsaiTALK Community

28-Oct-2007

jalbright

bonsaiTALK Journeyman

Join Date: Oct-2007

Location: Central Nebraska

Country: USA

USDA Zone: 5

AHS Heat Zone: 7

Posts: 18

Advice on my first bonsai creation

I've owned a mature Fukien Tea for a couple months and now want to try creating something from (almost) scratch. I bought a nursery dwarf white pine for "practice". I'm more concerned with the process of taking it through a bonsai transformation than what this plant finally looks like. My plan is to create a windswept style using the existing trunk (nice lean already in place) and eventually remove all branches except the two left-side horizontal branches marked with red twist-ties in the photo. I could really use some advice on how quickly to proceed (chop everything away now, or proceed in stages) and also how to coordinate the work on the roots with the branches. I've got several branches that could be jin'ed and any comments there would be appreciated as well.

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28-Oct-2007	#2
gregb bonsaiTALK Master Join Date: Jan-2005 Location: Hood River OR Country: U.S. USDA Zone: 7 AHS Heat Zone: 4 Posts: 436	My take on this is that you're going from having one tropical species directly to a pine (a white pine at that!) , which is one of the more difficult trees for bonsai for those with little experience. I would recommend you put this pine in the ground if you have the real estate, and bone up on pine technique before styling it. In the meanwhile, pick up a juniper and try your plan on that now if you can't wait. The end result won't be a pine but if you're itching to style something, a juniper will be more forgiving. If you do decide to go ahead with styling this pine now, I would say that now isn't a good time for beginners to style pines before going into winter. If you had more experience, now would be o.k. But if you're just starting out, spring is the most forgiving season to work on almost any tree; that is the time when they are most vigorous and the weather works for you, not against you. I think it gets pretty cold in Nebraska in the winter, doesn't it?

29-Oct-2007	#3
anttal63 bend me twist me Join Date: Jul-2006 Location: melbourne Country: australia Posts: 1,768	although now is better for any chopping of major limbs, less bleeding. then look at your bending and twisting in spring. i have good results repotting jwp late summer but maybe early summer for you? now you need to go slow how much chopping you do top and bottom, they dont like too much at once. maybe some can be used to thicken up the tree further then take it out the following year. another rule of thumb with pines cut & shape one year repot the next. you need to get ya prioroties happening. good luck with it. __________________ Antonio . . . ------------------------------------

29-Oct-2007	#4
jalbright bonsaiTALK Journeyman Join Date: Oct-2007 Location: Central Nebraska Country: USA USDA Zone: 5 AHS Heat Zone: 7 Posts: 18	gregb, I guess I've learned something already - didn't know pines were hard to work with. Is it that they are hard to shape or that they're easy to kill? I don't mind waiting until spring. Juniper (aka red cedar) grows profusely out here, so I'll look for one. BTW, the cold here isn't so bad until you put a 20-40mph wind with it (common in winter). I'm a transplant from the southeast but even the "natives" don't deal with that very well! Jay

29-Oct-2007	#5
gregb bonsaiTALK Master Join Date: Jan-2005 Location: Hood River OR Country: U.S. USDA Zone: 7 AHS Heat Zone: 4 Posts: 436	Jay--about the last thing I want to do is discourage your love for pine bonsai But they take a little more time to learn about than most other species used for bonsai. That's why I recommended planting it in the ground to thicken the trunk while you look into the techniques needed to make your tree a credible bonsai. One thing you can work on while it is in the ground is getting the branches to bud closer in to the trunk. Stone Lantern has a good book out on pines, I would recommend a copy for your library. I would let it get established in the ground the first growing season and do your pruning the following year. And fertilize it well! Try some other pines while you're at it; black pines are generally a little easier to work with and may be a nice complement for your white pine. If you've got native junipers, definitely keep your eye out for one to collect but it will need at least one growing season to recover before you want to work on it. See if you can find a nice one at a local nursery and go ahead and style that (don't do anything to the roots the same time you style it)Good luck with your projects

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