Cork Bark JBP "Chris"

bonsaikc

Irene,
I like this tree! There's not much taper, but as the cork extends, that won't mean much anyway. Reverse taper from the cork is common on these trees. You're going to need to wire it in January or early February (unless you will be in Oklahoma by then, then a little later is okay), but be careful since some of the branch bases are already showing corky bark.

The graft union seems to be right under the first branch, which is pretty high. You can still work with this tree, but it would probably be better off air layered at the graft to put it on its own roots in the future. (Full disclosure: I have never done that procedure, it requires high concentration root hormone and instruction from Brent and Graydon, most likely).

Cutting the needles isn't something I have ever been comfortable with, but it probably hasn't hurt the tree too badly. I'd recommend quite a bit more fertilizer than you have on there to really push growth.

Can you give us clear closeups on some of the existing candles? It looks to me like they have pretty long necks on them. Thanks!

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