I give the history of my dwarf Japanese white pine ('Kinpo') bonsai. Even after all I've put it through in the last half year, it looks like it's going to live!
Whoah! I can't believe that happened to the top of the tree! Was there any sign that it was going to happen? How do you know how much to wire the tree?
No, there wasn't much warning, the snap surprised me. I was overly optimistic about how much bending it could take. Pines are generally quite flexible and can handle big bends, however, it's smart (and perhaps necessary based on my experience with this tree) to wrap the tree where you will bend it with raffia or the like. I think it wouldn't have broken if I had done this. Conifers can also heal partial breaks (where only part of the tree breaks) well. However , this was a complete snap. No worries though, I prefer the tree's shorter height now, and it will also make for better trunk taper. As for wiring, you need to use wire that is big enough to hold the branch in place. To check this I push a straight section of wire against the branch I want to bend. If the wire bends, I need bigger wire. If the branch bends, the wire is thick enough to hold the branch.
Yikes, too late! - I've already spent the money and am a year into this tree! Any other advice, now that I have it? Also, any recommendations for other dwarf varieties of Japanese White Pine? I've read that 'Aoi' is a good one. I'm enjoying this tree, the needles are beautiful, and plan to stick with it. I plan to train it slowly. It's quite healthy, but yes, I can tell and anticipated that it isn't a strong grower, like other dwarf conifers.
![[TH] 2024 PMSL SEA W3D1 | Fall | สัปดาห์ตัดสิน ทีมไปไฟนอล](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZBU3GyzqErI/mqdefault.jpg)
Seems to be really healthy and looks great...Looking forward to watching its progress on your channel...Good content...Thanks for sharing...
Thank you! Yes, I was worried for a few months but it's doing great - put out a ton of growth and looking really healthy.
Whoah! I can't believe that happened to the top of the tree! Was there any sign that it was going to happen? How do you know how much to wire the tree?
No, there wasn't much warning, the snap surprised me. I was overly optimistic about how much bending it could take. Pines are generally quite flexible and can handle big bends, however, it's smart (and perhaps necessary based on my experience with this tree) to wrap the tree where you will bend it with raffia or the like. I think it wouldn't have broken if I had done this. Conifers can also heal partial breaks (where only part of the tree breaks) well. However , this was a complete snap. No worries though, I prefer the tree's shorter height now, and it will also make for better trunk taper. As for wiring, you need to use wire that is big enough to hold the branch in place. To check this I push a straight section of wire against the branch I want to bend. If the wire bends, I need bigger wire. If the branch bends, the wire is thick enough to hold the branch.
Good information! Thanks for sharing!
This tree is the most weak of all Japanese White pines! Stay away from it !
Yikes, too late! - I've already spent the money and am a year into this tree! Any other advice, now that I have it? Also, any recommendations for other dwarf varieties of Japanese White Pine? I've read that 'Aoi' is a good one.
I'm enjoying this tree, the needles are beautiful, and plan to stick with it. I plan to train it slowly. It's quite healthy, but yes, I can tell and anticipated that it isn't a strong grower, like other dwarf conifers.