One last shot for JBP: 32 euro kotobuki

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I'm betting 32 euros that I'm gonna murder this tree within two years.
JBP and I don't get along. I hate them. Now I have a cultivar with stabby foliage. Great.
But it's not on its own roots, so I'm giving it a shot.

I still think that a king of bonsai is a title worthy of a plant that can handle a beating. JBP are about the most snowflake trees I've ever handled. Look at them wrong and they'll die.

It's a 32 euro lesson for me. Firs things first: letting winter run its course. Or maybe I'll hack it next week. Depends on how tingly the fingers get.

I don't know anything about kotobuki, so I'll have to read up as I go along. Any advice is welcome.



Chop back to the lower two branches and rebuild as a shohin or nah?
Graft looks worse in the pictures than in real life but I know it's going to get uglier. That's fine. It's rare to even find JBP.

 

[River's Edge]

Snowflake tree! BS
JBP the world over object to your fake news. Imagine such nonsense coming from one of the horticultural centres of the universe.

Only reduce branching and foliage if it is creating a design or health issue. Such as shading new desired shoots or creating inverse taper. Keep everything you can during development. Sacrifice leaders, sacrificial branches, additional foliage for the health of the tree. Keep it operating on all cylinders throughout development!

Establish a healthy rootball first, Keep in a grow out size container until sufficient progress on the trunk development, the primary branch development. Most importantly retain lots of foliage throughout the whole development process to keep the tree healthy. Opposite of cut off almost everything and wait for the tree to restart.

Keep sacrifice branches, sacrificial leaders and balance foliage while the desired branches and foliage develop. Worry about reducing needles after the tree is built. Keep it out of Bonsai pot until into the final refinement stage.
Just a couple of kind suggestions.

Did I mention conifers are developed very differently from deciduous. Oh and they love sun, dry feet and free draining soil. Think nicely sieved medium particle inorganic mix. Jonas Dupuich has a great set of pine development articles in the resource section of his Bonsai Tonight website.

Keep don't cut

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Kotobuki is a slightly different critter than your average JBP. Short thick dark green needles that can get very short (and prickly) with candle cutting. Back-buds much more readily than standard JBP. Tends to grow vertically and will get leggy very quickly if you don't wire the branches out horizontally and let light and air reach the interior. Is a little weak and can decline if you don't leave enough foliage on the tree, so don't get too aggressive with your shoot selection and needle plucking. Otherwise all trees are going to be grafts, so make sure you get a good graft union.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Snowflake tree! BS
JBP the world over object to your fake news. Imagine such nonsense coming from one of the horticultural centres of the universe.

Only reduce branching and foliage if it is creating a design or health issue. Such as shading new desired shoots or creating inverse taper. Keep everything you can during development. Sacrifice leaders, sacrificial branches, additional foliage for the health of the tree. Keep it operating on all cylinders throughout development!

Establish a healthy rootball first, Keep in a grow out size container until sufficient progress on the trunk development, the primary branch development. Most importantly retain lots of foliage throughout the whole development process to keep the tree healthy. Opposite of cut off almost everything and wait for the tree to restart.

Keep sacrifice branches, sacrificial leaders and balance foliage while the desired branches and foliage develop. Worry about reducing needles after the tree is built. Keep it out of Bonsai pot until into the final refinement stage.
Just a couple of kind suggestions.

Did I mention conifers are developed very differently from deciduous. Oh and they love sun, dry feet and free draining soil. Think nicely sieved medium particle inorganic mix. Jonas Dupuich has a great set of pine development articles in the resource section of his Bonsai Tonight website.

Keep don't cut

Thanks for taking time to write all that down Frank. I appreciate it.
And you too Greg! Much appreciated.

My relationship with JBP has been hate/hate. Couldn't keep seedlings alive, couldn't keep adults alive either. JRP, Scots, Mugo, Nigra, Banksiana, Halepensis, EWP and even longaeva and rigida all do better in my care. I think I have this pine care thing down.. But a king that's outperformed by its entire empire is not really a king in my book. I get the popularity of JBP. Conifers are my thing, and with one exception they all burst with life.

I'm thinking the upper half of the tree has been a sacrifice, because see below:

One branch on the left, one new apex on the right.
That's about the size I was going for when selecting from the available stock.
The rest of the tree can be compost. The thing is that I'm afraid I'll lose those lower branches and that entire design option if I let it run free next year.
With their backbudding capabilities, I think that that bare branch will fill out, sunlight and a good root system will probably be enough.
The rootbase is decent enough as far as I could judge without digging. Not world class, but OK.

As for needle plucking, reduction and other refinement techniques; I'll keep far from those until I see it's ready. The roots come first in spring, this tree is pot bound.

Thanks again guys. Maybe we can agree to disagree about the 'king' status ;-). As for all other things, I'll stay open for your views on the approach. I had this idea in mind, and now I either have to get it out of my mind or stick with it. I'd like to hear your opinions.

 

[River's Edge]

That can be a good plan, reduce the top branches slowly as needed to give strength to the new apical leader and lower branch you wish to retain. Keep the uppermost branches on the original trunk but reduce the apical buds on the original trunk to one with a smaller bud at its side for reserve! This will allow you to let sunlight in to the lower portion and as the lower portion gains strength gradually reduce the apical leader to look like this below. ( just a rough example) It also helps to wire the original trunk off to the side when developing it as a sacrificial leader. This makes it easier to hide the scar after removal and also to keep more foliage without shading the design portion below. A reasonable guideline for the apical leader is to grow it out till the thickness where it will be cut off is the size you are comfortable with healing the scar in that location. I tend to not like to go beyond 4 cm.
Kotobuki is a slower growing cultivar of JBP so be prepared for a slower journey.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Great idea about the wiring of the sacrifice trunk. I'll give that a go this winter, and I'll probably reduce some branches close to that future cut site so that light will hit it with full force in the dormant season.
Thanks!

 

[River's Edge]

Great idea about the wiring of the sacrifice trunk. I'll give that a go this winter, and I'll probably reduce some branches close to that future cut site so that light will hit it with full force in the dormant season.
Thanks!

When bending the initial trunk it also assists in directing the new apical leader and the possible primary branch in to better positions besides making the scar easier to conceal by putting it to the side. Have fun.