Evan's JRP #1

[jevanlewis]

I have a couple of other threads about this tree asking questions about various topics. So, I’ve decided to bring everything together into a single progression thread. Unfortunately, I didn’t do a great job of documenting and photographing all the work I did on it since I acquired it.

[5 Mar 2020]
Purchased from Bonsai Northwest. I knew this tree would be a challenge with its legginess, but I really wanted a JRP in the early development stage, and there isn’t a lot of availability of JRP.

 

[jevanlewis]

[4 Aug 2021]
To combat the legginess, I did some major cutback into old needles in the Fall of 2020. In the Spring of 2021, the tree responded with lots of backbudding. In the Summer of 2021, I moved from Seattle to Salt Lake. The tree developed a very long horizontal sacrifice branch, which was positioned in a bad spot. Specifically, it was sticking out the front, which means it would leave a front-facing scar when I would remove it. Although this branch was on the tree when I bought it, I should have removed it earlier than I did.

 

[jevanlewis]

[10 Oct 2021]
The tree grew well during the 2021 growing season. Unfortunately, the only photo I have is this one from a pretty poor angle:

 

[jevanlewis]

[Summer and Fall 2022]
Lots of growth over the summer.

26 June 2022


18 Sept 2022

 

[jevanlewis]

[Spring, Summer, and Fall 2023]

30 April 2023
The trunk his thickening up nicely, although I wish the internode from the first branch to the second was a bit shorter.


The sacrifice branch continues to increase in size:


14 May 2023
Finally, I start getting rid of the sacrifice branch by cutting it back partially.


16 Sept 2023
Removed the rest of the sacrifice. You can see the large start in front under cut paste. The next sacrifice is identified and has a much more favorable position (facing upwards and behind the next trunk section). I also did some other pruning and wiring.

 

[jevanlewis]

[Spring and Summer 2024]

3 Apr 2024
For some reason, I don’t document my work as well as most of you on the site. I only have a single repotting image.



7 August 2024
Tree is happy and growing well. The new sacrifice branch is the long extension at the top. The new trunk (hard to see) is positioned right in front of the sacrifice.


Today, the tree isn't perfect, and I am still learning. But, there's quite a difference in 4 years when doing a side-by-side comparison:

 

[moriel]

Congratulations, looks much older than it is. All that fertilizer certainly paid off!