jbp it was time

anttal63

3 years under my belt now and yes it is now time for me to add more advanced tree's to my personal collection. a senior member of my club was thinning out his collection and i was blessed to be able to pick 3 well grown trees in little need of more developement but more refinement,(age doesnt come into this equation, long way to go there). for you out there in melbourne that are looking for this type of material, private collections is where to get it. the trees are better value for your money.
quality verses price is something our nurseries are not cutting and i refuse to buy advanced trees from them. i do understand that it is an extremely tough buisness and competetive. all the more reason attention to detail and quality needs to be paid. i stress again it is not about age only time can change that and our country is very young as far as bonsai goes.
to all of you out there who in the past have professed about the need to buy advanced stock; it is now that i am ready and totally get what you were all on about.
i thank you all for your willingness and your patience in waiting for a newb to catch up.

here is a jbp i got and am posting some different views. it is the 4th week of autumn and am keen to start working on it. i am thinking that before i take anything off i should wire down all the main branches and get a better feel and look for it. what do you jbp buffs out there think?

hiro is coming out in june the first month of winter and as much as i would like to take this tree to his work shop, i have my reservations about doing the work needed that time of the year.

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Antonio . . .
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Vonsgardens

When growth starts to stop- within the 3-4 next weeks or so, remove the old needles, reduce to two candles per branch tip, and let sit until fully dormant. Then you can wire- June your time. John

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"Wiring is simple; However, it is not easy to do it right" Boon

eeiko321

thats a very nice tree

but do u think that the needles are too long?

have u tried shortening them?

anttal63

john thanks for the reply as always, reliable answer to both my questions, hopefully i can get into hiro's workshop still .


eeiko thanks. the needles will reduce in the refining process over the next 2-3 years. i dont and wont cut needles shorter.

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Antonio . . .
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TimD

Really great find you have there. JBP's are awesome to work with. Enjoy yours.

kingkong

Now this is the best explanation yet. This is the mother-load of jbp needle work in one paragraph. I went to college so I am a little handicaped when it comes to understanding. Too much speed, woman an all-nighters...and beer.

So.....when the candles stop increasing in length in 3 to 4 weeks, snip off old needles, reduce whirls to two candles per branch tip and then hands off until dormant. Wire when dormant.

Next questions please. If the branch is a sacrifice trunk blower-uper than hands off?
If the branch is frail, in the proper position but needs caliper...hands off?

Vonsgardens

Kong,
what I do for sacrifice branches (trunks) is to pull all the needles up to the top- only leave this years needles. Limit to a single lead (no side branchlets).Let blow and go- 3-6' if necessary.

Weak interior branches, leave all needles (old and new) and reduce to two buds- more than two can weaken them.

Hope this helps.
John

__________________
"Wiring is simple; However, it is not easy to do it right" Boon

kingkong

Very good John....thanks for the tip.
Oh..one more please. Does needle cutting, say halph length achieve anything? When I cut old needles, I leave a quarter inch stub sometimes so as to not injure potential buds.

Vonsgardens

Actually, the only time I cut needles for growth purposes is the year a tree has been dug from the field or when I am trying to stimulate some back budding on container black pines that have really dense branches and long needles. I do that in early spring.

Once a Japanese Black Pine has entered more advanced training, that would include needle reduction, we only pull the needles. Two at a time using good straight tweezers (Masakuni 8812's (stainless) or 812's (black) (these could be 11's not 12's)). Black pines growing wel have so many buds that you will usually be reducing buds. If you want more buds give them more fertilizer.

Part of needle removal is to reduce the food supply to the developing buds to somewhat restrict their growth giving shorter needles and (most people forget this) shorter internodes.

Hope this helps,
John

__________________
"Wiring is simple; However, it is not easy to do it right" Boon