KBP_AC

[Adamski77]

Korean black pine purchased when I used to live in Korea. Probably most promising among all my pines. Finally made it to China… took off wires today after reporting after trip between the countries. Now the season of growth… let’s see how does it like new home.
When purchased:

 

[Adamski77]

And now… pot much smaller… hope it will help to get needles much shorter. Not sure I can decandle this year after moving countries and almost bear root repotting. Time will tell. Opinions and options welcomed

 

[Adamski77]

Have a question regarding this tree. It was not pruned for couple of years… one year being “stored” in Korea getting ready for move and this season when moved over to China (late winter)… tree was bare-rooted for transport so I put it in new pot and let it rest this season.
It seems to be doing really well… holding a lot of old needles… last three years if I get this right (picture with example of the branch… plenty of them like this).
Question: I’m planning to style it next season… and want to cut back to needles from two years ago… should get some back budding hopefully. What is the best timing for this? I see three options… (1) late winter/early spring when getting out of dormancy, (2) at candle pruning time (early July for me) or maybe (3) late summer/early autumn.
So much would appreciate some guidance here. After what I read I know there might be more than one option.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Possibly/Likely since tree just had MAJOR repot this year should rest/recover with no more work 2023. 3 year needles should shed 2023.(did many needles shed past 2 months?) Cutting back to there does not seem at all wise. Tree might be leafless. Might be best to cut off year 1(this years only)back TO year 2. Also this might cause buds at both 2,3 year needles. One more possibility is last year tree MAY have double flushed and year 2/3 are both year 2 needles.

 

[Adamski77]

Possibly/Likely since tree just had MAJOR repot this year should rest/recover with no more work 2023. 3 year needles should shed 2023.(did many needles shed past 2 months?) Cutting back to there does not seem at all wise. Tree might be leafless. Might be best to cut off year 1(this years only)back TO year 2. Also this might cause buds at both 2,3 year needles. One more possibility is last year tree MAY have double flushed and year 2/3 are both year 2 needles.

First of all thank you for having a look at my question. I absolutely agree... nothing more to be done this year... I thought I said somewhere next season. Never mind... 100% agreement. I'm just trying to think about next season already.
You might also have a point regarding two flushes that left untouched creating impression of two-year-growth. I wasn't watching the tree last year so impossible to judge.
And thank you for some opinion... we obviously don't want to make it "no green at all" so probably cutting-off back to year 2 makes more sense... will create some safety. Regarding your question... no needles are falling off at present... as a reference my JWP is shedding old needles right now. This KBP is like a big green ball (picture below).
Regarding timing for next year cut... would this be at the de-candling time? or some other timing?

 

[Potawatomi13]

Regarding last question: this years growth needles longer than last year? Also how much Summery weather left your location(months, weeks)?

 

[Adamski77]

So this year needles are probably half an inch up to one inch longer than previous year. Regarding the weather it will stay in Shanghai at 20C+ for another 60 days or so. Mid October will go to teens (in Celsius).

 

[Potawatomi13]

Since current years needles longer/very healthy perhaps "could" remove current year growth only, fertilize very well to set new buds for next year. However IF doing do without delay for best bud development before Winter shut down.

 

[Adamski77]

Thank you for having patience with me. It did cross my mind … IF I decide not to do anything this year… is the next window of opportunity at decandeling time next season? I guess cutting in early spring will do nothing to pine.

 

[Adamski77]

Was contemplating this move for a while but decided to move on and got the tree today on the table. As it was growing freely last season after repotting I was hoping to get some back budding but what I saw surpassed my most optimistic expectations. There are literally a 100+ buds on the tree… pretty much everywhere. In order to promote their growth I cut off the branches on the top of the tree to last year(s) needles that are still very strong. Left only bottom branches pretty much untouched to make them stronger. Considering the number of back buds and fact that most of the branches are still very pliable (plus I’ll get a lot new fresh branches from back buds) didn’t wire tree at all but put few guy wires instead to open interior for more sun and air. Structure is there in terms of primary branches… secondary can be done later when back buds develop to longer shoots.
Still have much more on this tree than I need but for cutting there is always time. Let’s see the response in spring.

 

[Adamski77]

Was recently doing autumn/winter work on this one... I think it's coming along quite nice. Wired pretty much entire tree except for apex... not really happy with what's going on there so will need to solve it at some point of time next year. First probably will let it go wild and see how much back budding I can get... hope on the top should be easy.

 

[Adamski77]

Strategy did work... got really nice back budding this spring. A lot of new shoots deep inside the tree... these branches might be 3-4 years old... yet, still back budding. I didn't really do de-candling for 2-3 years... just autumn cut of what I considered not needed for future shape. The other element was wiring and opening up the interior for light and air. Now will let it go and probably de-candle this summer in attempt to balance the energy.

 

[Shibui]

The profuse back buds show the benefit of waiting until the tree is strong.
Hard pruning to shorten overgrown branches is the correct strategy to promote ramification and usually gives plenty of back buds from remaining needles and often back along bare branches. Decandling is used when the branches are already compact. Decandle in Summer IF these shoots grow well but if there are any that don't grow you can let them grow which will help balance the tree's energy. I'd probably also pull some needles on stronger shoots now (that's usually an Autumn job but has not been done on this tree yet so won't hurt to do it now) which will also begin to balance energy distribution. The aim is to have similar numbers of needles (solar panels) feeding each shoot so they all receive equal food and resources.

 

[Adamski77]

thanks Shibui... didn't know about the tactic of pulling needles when candles are in development... but can see how that does redirect more energy to new shoots/back buds. I assume you mean last year needles? Is cutting the strong candles resulting in the same outcome?... as I thought about doing that.

100% agree with IF ... was actually contemplating two courses of action (1) de-candle, (2) cut back to new shoots... both assuming the shoots are strong enough to support (even more for option 2)

 

[Shibui]

We usually pull needles in Autumn to even up the amount of solar panels each shoot has which will regulate relative strength. That does not mean needle pulling is only in Autumn. Extra needles will mean more strength for some shoots - usually already strong shoots getting even stronger. They have had all winter but we can reduce their Summer excess by pulling now.

Is cutting the strong candles resulting in the same outcome?... as I thought about doing that.

Do you mean decandling? - removing the entire candles? I've seen some cut strong candles in half to restrict growth which is a different technique. The latter will slow a shoot relative to uncut candles but will still leave that shoot with a long, bare neck unless it is also decandled later in the season - at the appropriate time. I have not tried cut in half then decandle but it may be effective?

Decandling strong candles will have some affect but if you cut them early the resulting new buds will also be strong which defeats the purpose. Wait until the appropriate time to decandle. Removing excess needles will restrict energy production any time you do it so worth doing even if later than recommended.

 

[Adamski77]

Thank you. And yes… I meant cutting strong candles (not de-candeling) … understand now from your explanation what are the implications of that. I’ll take a deeper look at the tree to see how much needles I can remove at this stage.