How low would you cut his JBP?

[TimIAm]

I purchased this JBP as nursery stock at the beginning of the prior year's growing season (so had it for 2 growing seasons now - Southern Hemisphere).

It has a long sacrifice which is now 3 growing seasons long. I'm concerned if I keep this sacrifice growing that I will lose the taper above the lowest marked line (in picture below):



I still want to keep the base getting thicker, but understand that is the long game.

Would love your advice of where and whether or not I should chop?

I think my options are:

1. Don't chop because the top section is OK and will be mostly covered by growth / needles. So, continue to grow.
2. Chop now, but top section is OK and select a new sacrifice to continue growth
3. Chop or air layer lower down. Possibly at the lower line marked above and rebuild the top with greater taper.

Thanks for your input.

 

[Shibui]

I'm sure there are many more options than the 3 you've given. Also not sure the reasons for the options are accurate either.

Some observations of the pine:
Not a great deal of taper above the lowest mark. Also not much difference in thickness below and above that lineso I'd say you've already lost the required taper above the lower mark. I'd definitely be leaning toward the lower chop for taper but the real question is when?
Branches below the lower line are still short and still have healthy needles, which is great. Many pines don't have that but they won't stay that way for long. Need to start looking at increased ramification on those branches and new growing options to ensure branches remain useful.
I note you also have a sacrifice shoot on the lowest branch. That's a great idea as it will add thickness to the lowest section of trunk. Just be wary of overthickening the base of that branch.

Option 1. Leaving the apical sacrifice to grow will probably give the fastest thickening but will also leave a large scar to deal with high on the trunk where there will likely be less growth to heal it after the chop. Also less taper in the upper section where it's needed most.
Option 2: Chop now (or before next mid Summer) at the upper mark: Can't see this doing anything for taper in the upper section. Trunk already appears to lean strongly to the right which may be no problem if you like that look. Might even add some interest but I'd prefer a more conventional informal trunk line with the apex coming back over the base of the tree. Side branch at the lower mark is ideally placed to do this.
Option 3. Chop now (or before next mid Summer) at the lower mark and replace the apex with the side branch: Select another sacrifice shoot and allow it to grow: May temporarily slow trunk thickening but will re-establish upper trunk taper and allow the first trunk chop to begin healing with subsequent upper growth. Lower chop always enhances trunk thickness compared to higher chop. A lower chop should also transfer some growth into the branches. For the next year or 2. I'd probably start decandling them (or even start by pruning hard if they don't already have suitable side buds) to begin ramification down there.

A single 2D photo does not give us any perspective of depth. Do you have any back branches? Or branches that could be moved or grown to provide depth? The photo seems to show all branches either left or right giving a 2D tree?

Nice pine pre bonsai. I'd guess it came from Bonsai World?

 

[TimIAm]

Thanks Shibui. I actually managed to snag this from PlantsPlus in Sydney https://www.plantspluscumberlandforest.com.au/ . They have a large range of natives that they grow on site, so I was looking at their range when I noticed they had a bunch of established JBP. Was told these were from a 3rd party supplier.

Always hard to get a 2D photo that shows everything, was just focusing on the taper. There are plenty of options in the back, and the side branches don't just sit opposite. I'm quite satisfied with the branching.

I haven't decided on the trunk lean yet, noted that it is currently quite angled. I haven't touched the roots since I bought the tree because I wanted to make sure it was growing happy and I needed to do some initial work on the branching. I decandled when it arrived and all branches now have at least 2 additional secondary branches and candles slowly coming through for next Spring season. Will look at the angle when I get to the first repot.

I think I agree that not much can be done for that upper section without chopping, so I will look at a suitable side branch and possibly start a new sacrifice.

Thanks for your time in replying.