JBP Tanuki Starter: What Next?

Originally Posted by FlyBri

Gday folks!

Firstly, let me just state that the only thing I know about Pines is how to spell 'Pines'. (Did I get that right?) Let's just assume that I have done the wrong thing by repotting a JBP in the middle of Summer, and that all those Pine experts out there have gasped in horror and posted to scold me for my impatience...

Now we've gotten that out of the way: onto the tree at hand. When I visited Lindsay Farr at BonsaiFarm, I left with a couple of JBP rooted cuttings in 3" square plastic pots. I had bemoaned the fact that I could only keep a few select species alive on my unshaded benches, and Lindsay assured me that I would be hard pressed to kill these little whips. Thanks Lindsay!

Anyway, I found myself hungover and bored on Boxing Day, so I decided to finally do something with the little Japanese Black Pines and this dead stick.

I screwed some plastic mesh to the underside of the stump, placed the stump upright in a small bucket, and poured about 2cm of polyester resin into the bucket. I then shoved some strands of sphagnum moss into the top surface of the resin, and 20 minutes later, the stump was able to stand freely.

Next, I wrapped some pipe cleaners around the stump in order to work out where the live vein should run, then traced this line with a marker (you might be able to see that I did this once or twice before settling on a final line). This line was then carved to form a channel with a C-shaped cross section, a little wider than the 10mm JBP whip.

Finally, I placed the young Black Pine into the groove, beginning from the base, and progressively fixed it into place using stainless steel screws. (It was good luck as much as good management that the 'whorl' of 4 branchlets ended up more-or-less exactly where I had intended: at a branch junction on the deadwood stump.)

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The astute reader will remember the "What Next?" in the title: this question attests to my lack of knowledge about the care and culture of JBP. I roughly know the style I'm trying to achieve with this Tanuki, but I don't know the technical details of Pine training that will allow me to attain this goal. Some of my questions have been answered by Brent Walston's article, and some have been answered by our very own Ms Victrinia Ensor in an extensive Chat session yesterday, but I'll ask them again here:

When can I begin the initial styling? You have already begun styling by creating this tanuki--remember, 1 insult per growing season with pines. Leave this be to recover for at least one growing season.

When should I prune to create back-budding? You're going to need everything this little whip has got to create a tree from; no pruning for at least one additional growing season.

Will the branches of JBP tolerate being wired into a downward position? Yes and No. Wire them down from the trunk out and bend the tip with the terminal bud facing upward. If you orient the terminal bud of a branch tip downward, it will lose vigor and eventually weaken and die.

Can I remove any/all of the extra branchlets without sacrificing overall vigour? You haven't got ANY extra branchlets on such a young, recently rooted cutting to sacrifice; leave this tree alone at least one growing season before contemplating additional insults.

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I hope to be able to share what I have learned/read about the styling of JBPs in the next post, but now it's pic time.

Thanks.

FlyBri.

PS: The turntable comes courtesy of the Bonsai Society of Victoria's annual show: I won it in their raffle! It's a bit rustic, but works a treat!

Originally Posted by GregB

Originally Posted by Sylvester McMonkey McBean

They never will learn; no, you can't teach a Sneetch!