JBP seedling development

[clapper]

Hello. I have a few JBP seedling 12-18mo that I received recently and would like to develop for the first time. My question is should I thin the buds to just the dominant bud or keep 2-3 buds for branches. I was thinking I would keep dominant bud for sacrifice branch and keep one or two small buds to serve as future trunk or branch.

Or should I just keep the dominant bud and hope for some back budding to get branches.

When candles extend this year should I cut or just let them go to help thicken the trunk. I’ve read up on development of mature JBP but harder to get info on seedlings.

I live in San Diego, 9b

Thanks!

 

[Shibui]

I would just let it grow this season. you can still get reliable buds wherever there are healthy needles so can allow to grow for 2 years before pruning back. The future trunk is probably a smaller shoot way down near the lowest needles.
When potting this one spread out the roots. I prune any thick down roots to a spot where there are several good laterals to develop into surface roots and nebari.

 

[Shibui]

You are correct about little pine seedling info. Everyone wants to impress others as to how well they understand later maintenance techniques and don't talk about the early stages.
See if you can find the 6 year JBP seedling competition entries. There's lots of good info on how to develop very young pines in that lot.
There's a few posts on younger JBP on my site - shibui bonsai but you will need to allow for seasonal difference in Southern hemisphere.

 

[Ryceman3]

As suggested, you really need to look in here ...

The 2018 Six Year Japanese Black Pine Contest

This forum will be for contest participants to track and report on their progress.

www.bonsainut.com

There are a plethora of threads in here with golden tidbits on how to get the most from your JBP seedlings. I would advise you to find one (or more) that relate to you in terms of zone etc. and leverage the information to make the most of your little trees.
Good luck, best species for bonsai IMHO.

 

[SeanS]

Here’s Jonas talking about different stages of pine development. Not a whole lot of detailed info but still helpful

 

[Maiden69]

you can also go to Jonas website and search there, he have one of the most extensive "JBP from seedling" material tutorials that I have been able to findd.

 

[sorce]

A few pine seeds, 6 years later.

This thread alone has inspired many to grow from seed. My self included. This is the stuff that we need to be doing as a nation to really build a base. The more people that are growing for the specific purpose of bonsai the better our material will be in the years to come. I'll take this...

www.bonsainut.com

So....

Was that a chicken coop?

Sorce

 

[clapper]

A few pine seeds, 6 years later.

This thread alone has inspired many to grow from seed. My self included. This is the stuff that we need to be doing as a nation to really build a base. The more people that are growing for the specific purpose of bonsai the better our material will be in the years to come. I'll take this...

www.bonsainut.com

So....

Was that a chicken coop?

Sorce

It’s a kids playhouse

 

[clapper]

Thanks everyone. Another question, do you have any recommendations for fertilizer for the JBP seedlings?. I like the idea of organic but have read that it can smell which might not work as I live close to neighbors.

Will a generic bonsai fertilizer like the one sold from eastern leaf do the trick?

 

[SeanS]

Organic fert smells when you’re around it, not if you’re a neighbor. I use a combo of ready tea-bagged fert from a local bonsai supplier, a fish and kelp based pelletized organic and a genera purpose organic pellet on my JBP seedlings. Along with regular fish emulsion during the growing season.
The fish emulsion does smell quite a bit, but the smell usually only lasts a day or 2.

 

[JesusFreak]

Nothing like the fresh smell of seaweed and fish emulsion. Mmm...let’s me know it’s spring time

 

[clapper]

Organic fert smells when you’re around it, not if you’re a neighbor. I use a combo of ready tea-bagged fert from a local bonsai supplier, a fish and kelp based pelletized organic and a genera purpose organic pellet on my JBP seedlings. Along with regular fish emulsion during the growing season.
The fish emulsion does smell quite a bit, but the smell usually only lasts a day or 2.

Dang. That’s a lot of fertilizing! How often do you apply the seaweed and fish emulsion during the growing season?

 

[JesusFreak]

Every Friday for me. They’re in development stage tho. Came from @cmeg1

 

[Shibui]

Trees do not care where their nutrients come from. They are only interested in the food value so any fertilizer is good for developing bonsai.
Because we are watering all the time and pots tend to be small nutrients wash out of the soil very quick. Soluble fert is used every 2-4 weeks. Solid organic ferts tend to release nutrients over a longer time but are still applied every 4-6 weeks in the growing season. Controlled release fertilizers like osmocote come with a range of coatings and release a little every time they get wet for a whole year or whatever the formula says. All these are good for developing bonsai and they are not exclusive. I use soluble fert, some organic solid and the potting mix also has some controlled release once a year.