I just nearly dropped it, lol. Here is the back. No bar branches.
Welcome Joe. Loads of good information and helpful folks here. This is the video for your wiring needs. 
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Thanks!! Not every tree I wire has loose coils like this one. I had the 6mm wire flush and then when I started to bend the tree it kicked out on me. I couldn’t pull it back in close but I didn’t bother to rewire because I had the bend I wanted. I still need to improve my skills, though!! I will be sure to catch up on all the vids.
Regards,
Joe
This is an update to May 20 photos of adventitous buds, the size of fly droppings, that showed up a month ago.The first photo clearly shows the cut into last year’s needles. The shoot was pruned but I left some of those 1st year’s needles, the 2nd year needles and the third year’s that are now yellowing at the base. There are three new buds on this branch. Not all branches are that productive. Some have one, two, three, four or none at all. The tree has been fertilized heavily this season. This is the most productive technique I have seen on pinus strobus to get those coveted back buds. We will seen where they go from here. Hopefully, they will harden and produce buds for next year.
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The tress are amazing! But it’s the space they’re in that made me think you’re more than just a backyard bonsai mechanic…had to look you up and was happy to see a fellow Canadian! I tattoo in Toronto a couple times a year, maybe next time I could come by your garden? Or if the timing is right check out a meeting or workshop.
No problem Jesse. Just let me know when you are coming to the Big Smoke.
Hi David, this is Steve from Ottawa. It was really nice meeting you today in Rochester and chatting about EWP. Any updates on those new back buds? Have they harden off?
Hi Steve,
I’ll have to check. I know some of the new green buds remained green buds. Others developed into needles about 1" long with new buds formed. But again, I will do a sweep of the tree and give the Forum a report back…
Hi Steve and those interested, attached are some more photos showing the development of adventitious and needle buds on one of my pinus strobus using the method discussed in the thread. Some buds developed into productive needle count. Others remained as green buds. Those two types of buds developed on most branches. If there were two branches side by side, sometimes only one of the branches received a bud which is a loss. But overall, more buds were developed throughout the tree than lost.
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Thanks for the follow-up David! The results you got are quite interesting, especially since they seem to go against the method consisting of letting grow instead of pruning to get back buds… BTW I found your thuja at the national exhibition very impressive!!
Steve, the jury is still out on the long term viability of this pruning method. I plan to use both methods and monitor the results. I forgot to add that I delayed wiring the tree fearing that I would damage my precious buds. In the end, I killed two of them.
As for my thuja (“Alejandro”) I’m glad you liked it. Both Ryan and Boon were kind enough to make suggestions to improve the tree. Hopefully better things are coming.
Hey David, I’d love to see a picture of your Thuja “Alejandro”… - and I hope we canadians can have a national show in Ottawa sometime in the future, get together and cry together about how short are our growing seasons…
Hi David, I wanted to share with you a picture of the EWP I collected earlier this spring. It was growing in a rock pocket and the wooden box is full of roots. It recovered very well from the collection process. The bark is not that attractive, but I find the movement quite unusual for EWP. The foliage currently spans about 6-7 feet wide. I doubt I’ll ever be able to get back buds close enough to the trunk, so I’ll probably end up grafting its own foliage closer…
Nice collected strobus. The one advantage of young branches is that the bark is smooth and will more readily respond to back budding than on the older corky bark we strive for. Good luck and let the thread know of any developments. We have to share our experiences in order to take forward the utilization of this species for bonsai. Martin Schmalenberg exhibited his strobus at the recent National.
ohh I know… Martin’s tree is one of the best strobus I’ve ever seen. I’d be interested in hearing about the story of this one.
Steve, I had to do a little back checking but you can begin your journey of Martin’s strobus by checking out an article by same in INTERNATIONAL BONSAI 2009 #3 pg. 21-24.
Thanks a lot David, I will try to find this back issue!
Just came a recently released video on the eastern white pine. lt is almost one hour but well worth watching to the end.
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Pinus strobus on small lake north of Toronto. !
) lt was an unusual situation of not just having fog but of its intensity while partially cloaking the trees and also having enough light to reveal its reflection.
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Cool! Thanks for sharing!