JBP clump?

[Dermot]

Hi all.

I have some Japanese black pine seedlings. Is it a waste of time to try and make a clump style from a few? I know they don't layer or fuse well.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

It's not a waste of time.
I'm building a couple multi trunk compositions with scots pines and oaks. Maybe a couple junipers too. I have plenty of seedlings.

Try to use a couple more seedling than you plan on using eventually as trees, because some will die.

 

[Shibui]

The trunks don't need to fuse to be a clump style tree. Concentrate on making a good tree above ground and let the base follow.
If you really want the trunks to fuse together cut a bit of bark from the trunks where they touch and tie the lot together. JBP can graft quite well if there's no bark in the way. You don't need to do that straight away. Plenty of time to strip bark and fuse later as the trunks develop more.