I just received this beautiful Japanese black pine, and I’m excited to work on it in the coming years—I think it has a lot of potential.
The problem is that it arrived with the pot completely shattered… For now, I’ve wrapped plastic film around the pot to hold everything together.
I live in France, by the Mediterranean. Do you think I can repot it right away, or should I wait another month or two for the temperatures to rise?
The next work is planned for early June, with candle pruning and needle plucking. Will I still be able to carry out this task, or since it will have been repotted this year, should I let it grow freely throughout spring/summer and do candle selection and wiring next autumn?
The tree seems to be in good health, and I think it can handle both the repotting and the June work, but I’d prefer to get your feedback on this.
I would go about the report now assuming you can keep it from freezing temps. I would see how much root work is done and how it responds before planning to work it in June. Let the trees response answer that question
I must admit I’m not sure if I want to change the angle @Eastbayvet. The one you’re suggesting brings the apex in line with the nebari, but I prefer to keep it off-center, let the branch on the lower right grow to make it the defining branch, and thus create some tension. But maybe it is possible with the angle you’re suggesting ?
I’ve noticed that some wire has been left on the tree for many years in certain spots, and it’s very embedded. I’m afraid removing it might cause more damage than leaving it in place. Is it a serious issue for the affected branches? Could it eventually cause them to die?
So the blue line keeps apex directly above nebari
The nebari is strong on left which would support angle change and would bring apex off center , purple line. Howvever I’m no expert. Great tree
You might be right, I’ll try it when I repot (the pot is being shipped on Monday), and I’ll let you know what I ended up doing. All advice is worth considering
If it isn’t totally girdling (circular in a singular spot) the trunk it shouldn’t kill a pine as it can move resources horizontally. I say that because if you cant get the whole piece out in some spots and leaving parts might be the better play depending on how embedded it is. Its been a while since I watched the video but I am sure Ryan probably mentions this or how else would I know this lol
@Eastbayvet following your advice, the repotting is done with a modified angle for the tree.
The pot isn’t final, but I’m not unhappy with it.
I still need to do the top dressing, and then it should be good for the next 4 or 5 years.
Thanks for your advice, I definitely prefer it this way.
We’ll see how it reacts by June, and depending on that, I can wire, select branches, etc.
Just a quick update on this JBP. It seems to have recovered well from the repotting.
According to Ryan, June 1st is the ideal time to cut the candles, remove old needles, and eliminate unnecessary branches.
However, I’m not entirely sure the tree is vigorous enough to handle all of that this year. The energy distribution seems uneven:
On the right and back sides, candles are around 3–4 cm
On the lower left branch, they're only 0.5–1 cm
At the apex, they're about 2 cm
There are also quite a few branches that aren’t helpful for the design — or for the tree itself — as they’re very interior, small, and mostly shaded.
Here are the options I’m considering:
Cut all the candles / reduce to ~12 pairs of needles per branch / remove unnecessary branches to open up the tree
Just reduce to ~12 pairs of needles per branch / remove unnecessary branches
Only remove unnecessary branches to improve light and airflow
Do nothing and wait until fall
I’ve attached some pictures to give you a better idea.
Well. Looks super healthy which is great. I would think now you wait till fall and remove third year needles and wire. I don’t Remember what species this is. Maybe Mirai community will have additional recommendations
It’s a Japanese black pine, so it should normally handle a decandling just fine in early June. If I don’t touch the candles, do you think it’s still worth removing all the useless inner branches that drain energy, produce very little, and are bound to disappear anyway?
Does anyone else have a different take on the situation?
That white pine is gorgeous by the way, and the forest in the background looks beautiful too!
I have maybe two dozen trees in my garden and no Japanese black pines so the mirai community will step up with the best advice I’m sure. Time to water. Again:)
!
!!
