Sean’s JBPs

[SeanS]

Thread documenting my JBPs. These are saplings I bought from local growers.

First up a 4 year old shohin I bought last year. This was bought from a local bonsai outlet/supplier located in Cape Town. Every year he releases a batch of his seedling cutting grown JBPs. This was a 3 year old shohin starter, now 4 years old. One of my first JBP. I learnt a lot about how JBP grow and what everything I learnt online meant on a real tree over the last year.

 

[SeanS]

Next up a neagari shohin I bought from the same Cape Town grower. Last year he only releases 3 neagari (and 3 ROR) and I was lucky enough to grab one of them.

When I bought it had a small exposed root section and the trunk emerging uninterestingly from the roots



In May of this year I decided I’d change the angle 90° and bend the trunk right over on itself



New angle. My plan is to expose the roots more in the future.





Repotted at the new angle. The candles have bent up towards the sun while in the old orientation so they’ll need to turn right-way up again

 

[SeanS]

Lastly 2 young trees from a different grower. These were not seedling cuttings and were grown in nursery bags in terrible sandy soil. They had very few roots so I’m not sure how they’ll respond this season after the repot

Future mini bunjin



This one I wired and twisted quite heavily in fall. I wired the roots and twisted them up under the trunk when I repotted today

 

[SeanS]

Happy pines

 

[SeanS]

It's been a while since I updated this thread!
My JBPs have been growing well for the last 2 seasons since I repotted them in spring 2021. Here's a little update on my neagari pine first documented in post #2

I've slowly been exposing the roots and decandled the future branches earlier this season along with removing the main sacrifice. It responded brilliantly and has produced loads of new buds. The biggest shoot that I left untouched has clearly taken over as a new leader and has produced a lot of usable buds at it's base. I wish I'd bent it forward or put some movement in the base of it earlier this season when I decandled the tree as now it's thickened a bit too much be bend forward into a better position. I'm contemplating either trying to bend it as much as it will allow in winter or just leaving it as is and reducing it once the buds emerge next season. Thoughts?
I'd also like to get it into a training pot next spring, it seems healthy enough to make the move.



Possible bend, the shoot is pretty thick now though to get a bend in such a short space. Also the buds and the proximity to the roots behind it would make it really tricky to get some big copper wire around the base of the shoot. I'm not sure the minimal amount of movement I'd be able to get into it makes it worth it. I'd eventually cut the shoot back right above the last 2 buds either way so it's not like I'd be getting massive movement into the shoot if I did try to bend it forward.




Planned pot

 

[Stella]

When do you start repotting your pines?

 

[SeanS]

When do you start repotting your pines?

Once they start growing

 

[SeanS]

Long time no update…

Neagari JBP got moved from its colander to a smaller training pot. Time to start building a bonsai

 

[Maiden69]

Neagari JBP got moved from its colander to a smaller training pot. Time to start building a bonsai

I do like this one, looks like an octopus rolling over a reef.

 

[SeanS]

I do like this one, looks like an octopus rolling over a reef.

Maybe I should put it in one of those Fisherman’s wife painted pots

 

[SeanS]

Decandling time for some of my JBP. Here are 2 of them.

Small shohin JBP that I repotted into a bonsai pot this spring. It grew strongly enough that I was happy to decandle and remove the sacrifice on the top of the trunk. I left the bigger sacrifice lower down on the trunk but reduced it to 2 shoots and pulled needles.



My exposed root shohin grew exceptionally well after the spring repot with 2-3” candles across most of the tree. The sacrifice was starting to push a natural 2nd flush. Decandled and sacrifice removed.

 

[Dabbler]

JBP are just so much fun! I need more of them in my life

 

[SeanS]

Been a while since I updated my JBP thread, I’ll have a few updates in the coming weeks as I do a bit of fall work.

First up a little JBP I’m kind of “meh” about so decided to switch it up a bit. Still very much in development

 

[SeanS]

Fall work on my neagari JBP. Bud selection, needle plucking, a bit of pruning and wiring.
Decided to reduce the height, took off the upper trunk section that had a load of buds on it
The reduction of height (in my opinion) helps emphasise the root structure just above the new aphical area.

 

[SeanS]

Decandling season is upon us in my neck of the woods (for shohin JBP at least)!



Drinks for scale (not both mine, GF’s wine, my beer )



Removed the lower sacrifice, it had done its job and I want to minimise the size of the scar




After

 

[SeanS]

Another twisty JBP that started from a small 2 year old season about 3 seasons ago. Good bark starting to form on this one

 

[SeanS]

And another one from the same batch of 1 year old seedlings (bought from a local grower). I wedge cut and bent the trunk 2 winters ago.
Left a few small shoots uncut as they need to extend a bit more.