Corkbark JBP, 'Hachi Gen'

[Brian Van Fleet]

That pine is sofa king nice. How are the candles this year ? Are they reduced so much overtime they do not extend the boundaries of the needles ?

Thanks, the candles stay pretty small. Here is an updated shot after some needle-pulling. It will need a detail wire job in the fall. I’ve put it off as long as I can.

 

[Shogun610]

Thanks, the candles stay pretty small. Here is an updated shot after some needle-pulling. It will need a detail wire job in the fall. I’ve put it off as long as I can.
View attachment 434557

Hell yeah

 

[Moridin]

Such a nice tree

 

[TreeJunkie]

Hey Brian, wondering what you ultimately did to fix the color. Ive got a Brocade from EGGW that seems a bit out of color. Compare to the darker green of the Hinoki on the left

 

[Scorpius]

Hey Brian, wondering what you ultimately did to fix the color. Ive got a Brocade from EGGW that seems a bit out of color. Compare to the darker green of the Hinoki on the left

I bought all three corkers this year from Brent that he had available. Two were lime green like yours. I got them into free draining soil and fertilized heavily. Watch your watering. They like it on the dry side. They both have greened up considerably.

 

[TreeJunkie]

I bought all three corkers this year from Brent that he had available. Two were lime green like yours. I got them into free draining soil and fertilized heavily. Watch your watering. They like it on the dry side. They both have greened up considerably.

Thanks for the info. I am going to repot this spring because I didn’t know how fresh the graft was so I didn’t want to disturb it too much this year. The current soil drains pretty well its been a hot summer so i water about once per day and tip the pot around to force excess water out.

 

[Scorpius]

Thanks for the info. I am going to repot this spring because I didn’t know how fresh the graft was so I didn’t want to disturb it too much this year. The current soil drains pretty well its been a hot summer so i water about once per day and tip the pot around to force excess water out.

Sounds like a plan. They're 2 yr old grafts iirc.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Finally got around to wiring this tree last night. Pretty sure I haven’t wired a full tree in a year, so I was a bit rusty.
Before:

Needles pulled, light pruning:

Wired out and adjusted:

I may try to candle-cut it this summer and see if I can get a good response.

 

[quietobserver]

Finally got around to wiring this tree last night. Pretty sure I haven’t wired a full tree in a year, so I was a bit rusty.
Before:
View attachment 475315
Needles pulled, light pruning:
View attachment 475316View attachment 475318
Wired out and adjusted:
View attachment 475317
I may try to candle-cut it this summer and see if I can get a good response.

Good to read/see you’re back at it.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Shot in the sunshine today.

 

[MaciekA]

Hey Brian, this is a wonderful tree and I'm thankful for your progression log.

I am curious:

- How many bifurcations does each primary branch have at this stage? Do you expect that bifurcation depth to hold steady from here on out (i.e thinning out shoot-by-shoot as density gets too cluttered), or do you think you'll be able to squeeze more ramification levels into the silhouette?
- Do you plan to candle cut this year or will you defer that decision until you see the new shoots?
- Will you delay your candle cut timing on this tree relative to your larger JBPs?

Thanks again for this thread

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Hey Brian, this is a wonderful tree and I'm thankful for your progression log.

I am curious:

- How many bifurcations does each primary branch have at this stage? Do you expect that bifurcation depth to hold steady from here on out (i.e thinning out shoot-by-shoot as density gets too cluttered), or do you think you'll be able to squeeze more ramification levels into the silhouette?
- Do you plan to candle cut this year or will you defer that decision until you see the new shoots?
- Will you delay your candle cut timing on this tree relative to your larger JBPs?

Thanks again for this thread

Hard to say, probably 4 courses, but some shoots are still individually emerging from the trunk and primaries. It should continue to increase, but I’m already having to selectively prune to thin out congested areas. Ultimately I would like one or two more subtle layers.

Candle-cutting has not been well-tolerated by this tree, but if growth is strong this year, I may give it another try since it’s not a repotting year and it’s been quite a few years since I last tried. Timing would be close to the larger JBP since it is a slower grower.

This tree would be pretty impressive with 1” needles.

 

[MaciekA]

Hard to say, probably 4 courses, but some shoots are still individually emerging from the trunk and primaries. It should continue to increase, but I’m already having to selectively prune to thin out congested areas. Ultimately I would like one or two more subtle layers.

Candle-cutting has not been well-tolerated by this tree, but if growth is strong this year, I may give it another try since it’s not a repotting year and it’s been quite a few years since I last tried. Timing would be close to the larger JBP since it is a slower grower.

This tree would be pretty impressive with 1” needles.

When writing my question I forgot I was discussing a corkbark JBP, so the timing and less frequent candle cutting make sense now. Thanks for your thoughts.

One thing that I envy very much in this tree (skillset wise), and which I am starting to get right in some cases but is still a major intellectual challenge overall is the very expert arrangement of pads and overlapping shelves while also minimizing self-shading AND giving a nice sense of asymmetry from the front view AND looking well-distributed from above.

It's helped to have good trees at my teachers gardens to get a monkey-see-monkey-do, try-it-at-home approach, but when someone clearly gets it, I gotta ask: How did you learn branch / pad / shelf arrangement? Would you say it becomes easier as the primaries bifurcate and give you lots of shoots to fill out the volume?

 

[misfit11]

Great Shohin Pine, Brian. Makes me want one!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I gotta ask: How did you learn branch / pad / shelf arrangement? Would you say it becomes easier as the primaries bifurcate and give you lots of shoots to fill out the volume?

Arranging shoots into pads is technical work, mostly pruning to pairs, wiring to spread them out so each has a spot in the sun, and then tweaking them slightly for aesthetics. It does get easier with successive wirings because shoots generally stay in the right place after a while. Then it becomes a matter of fine wiring and usually you can place 2 shoots with one wire if you’re applying the wire in the right direction. Bjorn is much better at the aesthetic placement, so ideally, I’d get it to this spot and hand it to him to tweak and 2 minutes would make all the difference. That’s the hard part to get.

 

[MaciekA]

Arranging shoots into pads is technical work, mostly pruning to pairs, wiring to spread them out so each has a spot in the sun, and then tweaking them slightly for aesthetics. It does get easier with successive wirings because shoots generally stay in the right place after a while. Then it becomes a matter of fine wiring and usually you can place 2 shoots with one wire if you’re applying the wire in the right direction. Bjorn is much better at the aesthetic placement, so ideally, I’d get it to this spot and hand it to him to tweak and 2 minutes would make all the difference. That’s the hard part to get.

Thanks. I’ve got the rote management bits down via Hagedorn’s teachings, but still looking to dial in the 2 minute tweak. Looks like it really is down to experience / practice and studying as many examples as possible.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Been a minute since an update on this one.
Repotted in March:

Grew great…moss and needles:

Took a chance and candle cut, shorter needles would be outstanding. Before and after:

 

[Hartinez]

Been a minute since an update on this one.
Repotted in March:
View attachment 556310View attachment 556311
Grew great…moss and needles:
View attachment 556312
Took a chance and candle cut, shorter needles would be outstanding. Before and after:
View attachment 556314View attachment 556315

I know it’s been asked before Brian. But at this stage of development, ie. More ramification and subsequently more foliage, do you feel the pot is starting to become too overpowered by the foliage? I can’t help but see a phenomenal tree with an underwhelming, undersized pot.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I know it’s been asked before Brian. But at this stage of development, ie. More ramification and subsequently more foliage, do you feel the pot is starting to become too overpowered by the foliage? I can’t help but see a phenomenal tree with an underwhelming, undersized pot.

The pot itself is an IYKYK kind of deal and the shape and size are spot on to me. If anything, I could wish it was slightly darker in color.