Microscopic cork bark Japanese Black Pine (JBP)

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Around Nov of 2019 there was an ad on Craigslist for this JBP and it was really cheap. But I knew the catch was its health though. From the pics, the needles was all yellowy and stuff. I was like, what the heck, lets try and save this thing since the bark was pretty awesome! Once I got there almost 2hrs away, the tree wasn't as yellow looking. It had a pretty bad case of needle cast however. But I went for it anyway since I only have a box store mugo I can afford to lose. The candle was pretty short last year compared to this year. But I think it grew okay.

These where the pics on the ad. He said he had it in that pot and in the ground when he bought the house 20yrs ago.


Whe nthe pot was out the ground, all there was was this one tiny root looking thingy sticking out a drainage hole! That's a cause for alarm I think. After 20yrs one would think a bunch of roots would have escaped. The bark and lichen are nice though lol

 

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Lots of needles where affected! last pic was after initial clean up.


Heeled in for the winter

 

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Repot spring of 2020 was pretty horrible. Rootball was non existent! The original rootball appear to be all pumice and the rest in the pot was potting soil. not a single root grew on the potting soil. Now I think the man was lying about it in the pot for 20yrs. But who know. I was so disgusted with what I saw, I didn't even take any pics. Even thought I should have for record keeping. Repotted it in pumice lava and topped off with 8822. I know I know, but i ran out of stuff and that's what i thought was the next best thing. fast forward to today this is where it stand. This one is very challenging to me. All the growth points to one side and tbranches are brittle as hell! I actually snapped a little twig trying to bend it a bit. Pardon the crappy photos.

If anybody have tips on how to handle these corkers, please share, and much appreciated. Oh, the tree stand at around 27" from soil to top of that arching main branch. And 4" base


At first I thought there was a bunch of buds but these are flowers and cones? Are there such thing as yellow lichen? Or the small patch dyeing?

 

[Adair M]

Cork bark JBP branches are really brittle. You can wire the young shoots, but after a year or so, you can’t. They’re also known to be weak growers. They put all their energy into producing bark.

Actually, for the most part, they don’t make very good bonsai. They’re kept for “the novelty factor”.

You can spray vinegar to kill the lichen. You should. The lichen will destroy the bark! And the only reason to keep a Corker is for the bark.

 

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Ah yes. I tried to reposition a small shoot that was pointed downward and it snapped on me. I've been afraid to touch it since. It looks like it'll grow better this year judging from the candle length. Still fighting casting though.

I got something which actually has cool bark, AND a pine also! Always wanted a JBP. Then after reading about difficulty and just crappy experience others had I was like, Oh well, that's just great lol.

Thanks for the tips Adair. It'll get a vinegar treatment tomorrow!

 

[Potawatomi13]

Actually interesting looking tree and decent bark clear down to substrate. Seems clip and grow and very young wiring needed but CAN be done from what seen on here. Good score.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

They’re frustrating to be sure, if you expect them to grow like standard JBP. But they have cool bark, and can be enjoyed more as a novelty than a properly-trained bonsai with good taper and short needles on refined pads. Yours has some interesting trunk movement in a couple of those angles.

I have had better results growing corkers like white pines, which is no summer candle-cutting, fall pruning and (minimal) wiring, removing old needles in the fall, reducing whorls of multiple candles to similarly-sized pairs in late spring. Feed heavily mid-summer through late fall. Deep pots, inorganic soil, and infrequent repotting.

I’d suggest attaching (blue) rebar (red) and some guy-wire (yellow) to gradually raise a horizontal branch and develop it into an apex. This is fall work.

 

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Hey thanks for the suggestion BVF! I was actually thinking of the opposite but now I'm going with your plan. Do you guys think the slow bending is still possible on the main branch? It's corking up a bit. All the way to near the end of the branch too.

First pic is beginning of main branch and second one is near the end.


Are there different types of corkers out there. This one has like 3 or 4 cork "wings" around 1.5" or so. Seems to be quite delicate. Like a squirrel can really go to town if it decides to climb around.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Are there different types of corkers out there

Mind bogglingly many. Not just trees buts kinds of bark.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Hey thanks for the suggestion BVF! I was actually thinking of the opposite but now I'm going with your plan. Do you guys think the slow bending is still possible on the main branch? It's corking up a bit. All the way to near the end of the branch too.

I do, or I wouldn’t have recommended it. You’ll need to be careful and pick the right fulcrum and attachment points, and go slow; moving it a little bit at a time over several weeks. You may also need to remove a little bark at the bend, but it will return. Again, this is fall work.

 

[Adair M]

The bark is extremely fragile. Chunks will fall off... on their own. You can mitigate that, somewhat, by tying small wires around the trunk to keep it from falling off. The chunks may still delaminate and separate. if that happens, you can glue them back on. But, over time, the tree will have chunks missing, and the trunk will become very irregular, with sections of reverse taper and bulges. It is what it is.