Hey Jim,
you're right about being sure your black pines are healthy before removing
candles.
I almost lost 2 or them by being over-ambitious. After de-candling 2X in
one season, I noticed a severe drop in their strength. Needles became
yellowish and secondary candles ceased to form. It took two seasons of
growth to bring the trees back to their original vigor.
Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Stone"
To:
Sent: Saturday, May 17, 2003 10:32 PM
Subject: [IBC] BONSAI Digest - 15 May 2003 to 16 May 2003 (#2003-137)


ive read that it is possible to get japanese blackpines
to candle more often than the spring/fall norm. Has any
one had experience in this? and what did you do?

Lou,

This is possible but I'll start out warning you that this is
not a beginner's technique- familiarity with JBP care and
how they respond in your climate is very important. My
guess is it helps living in a climate with an extened
growing season i.e., CA for Ernie, TX for myself...

First, I'd practice before I applied these techniques to a
tree with potential- besides, this gives you time to work on
the premise by which any drastic technique should be applied
to a JBP- the tree must be HEALTHY and WELL fertilized the
year before and throughout. There should not have been
major stress in the recent past- i.e,
rootprunings/repotting, etc.

While overenthusiastic bonsaists may have stumbled on this
phenomena, it first appeared in English in an article
written by Ernie Kuo in Bonsai Today #48 (BT).

Essentially it amounts to applying basic ramification
techniques repeatedly (i.e, 3X per Kuo) as soon as the tree
responds. Ernie recommended starting in autumn but I've
kicked in succesfully anywhere in the cycle- i.e, you only
get 2X in of you start late, etc. You cut candles back to 5
needle pairs. You thin the resulting buds to two, break new
candles to limit extension, then remove old needles and cut
back to 5 pairs again, repeat. You'll also probably get
adventitious buds breaking. I typically do not do this more
than one year straight with at least a year or more of light
"normal" technique. I'd also recommend protecting from any
extremes of heat, drought or cold for several seasons after.

I recommend Brent Walston's site (EvergreenGardenworks.com)
for some JBP "primers". There are also TONS of articles in
BT; I think Mike Persiano posted message listing some of the
best that might be worth searching the archives for.
Understanding how JBP's balance their energy helps. It will
also allow you to modify the technique to acheive specific
goals. Applying this to a weak or a new adventitious bud
may cause dieback.

Good luck and share your experiences with this technique.
I'd bet Andy Rutledge can tell of his also when he's back in
town.

Sincerely,

Jim Stone
TX


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