A lanky Pine
Late in the autumn of 91, I dug this tree from a rocky area close to Gothenburg
in Sweden. A new apartment area was to be erected, so I practically did a good
deed!
Now, one can wonder why I bothered. It was growing in very shallow soil and
only had routs on one side. It was pretty thin and had an ugly bend far down on
the trunk. Its merits included lots of branches and that the bark was beginning
to look old.
I planted it in a garden bed and had to prop a rock under the side without
roots to prevent it from falling over.
Already the next spring, I potted the tree in a wooden box. Still supported on a rock.
After some structural pruning and wiring, I took this picture in the spring of
93.
I felt that the tree was to tall for its girth, and decided to cut it at the
spot indicated by the line. I bent the right hand branch as a new top.
Here you see the result. The purpose was to achieve an older and more powerful
looking tree. What a dismal failure!
Why give up when there still are live branches left? In the autumn the same
year I cut it again, now at the new line, and utilized the branch behind to the
left as new leader.
The picture was taken directly after the last reduction of height and I started
feeling that the work was beginning to pay off. Also during about a year I had
applied a clamp in an attempt to straighten out the bend in the lower part of
the trunk.
I gave a lot of fertilizer and as a soil mix I was using cat litter and
ordinary houseplant soil in a 50/50 mix. The cat litter works very well since
it retains lots of humidity without making the soil wet. Unfortunately, it
decomposes after about two years.
In the spring of 94, the tree got a relatively large bonsai pot. The tree still
needs support, but instead of the hidden rock, I now introduced a "rock" from
Holmenkollen in Norway. I tried to wrap some small roots around the rock.
The photo is from the autumn of 94. The tree is obviously healthy and grows
well. The big branch high up on the left is too strong. My intended design does
not allow for it to be removed, so I will lower it with pull down wires.
The clamp caused quite a lot of damage to the bark, but at least the bend
became a little softer.
Also the top needed straightening out. The photo is from the spring of 95. Very
carefully, I had leaned the plant more forward in the pot and have just
finished removing all new candles in the low part of the tree. Two weeks later
I cut of the stronger ones in the top of the plant. That way, The development
of the low weaker part gets an advantage.
A very disappointing attempt at a good looking background!
In the autumn of 96, this is what the tree looked like. I concentrate on
maintenance and try to achieve compact
new growth and shorter needles.
All in all, I am quite pleased with the development.
Two growing seasons later, a picture from early 99, now the plant looks sparser
and more out of shape. Partly the reason is that I try to remove all old
needles during the winter.
The best method is to pull out the needles one by one, not in pairs. That way, resting buds that are located in between the needle pairs
are saved and can be induced to grow in the future and create new twigs.
In the fastest growing areas, I also pull some of this years needles to balance
the strength of the plant and to ensure that light and air can reach the inner
area of the plant.
In the autumn of 99, it was time for a major workout and restructuring.
Throughout the growing season, all shoots, except in a few areas that needed
weakening, were allowed to grow unchecked. This is needed from time to time so
that the plant can benefit from the photosynthesis and recharge energy depots.
Now, all new growth was removed and a large branch on the right hand side was
jined. The reason being that it emerged on the same level as another large
branch on the left side, which never looks good in the long run. In addition, I
thin out the foliage and tried forming more individual layers.
In the middle of August 2000, during the annual exhibition of the Swedish Bonsai Society in Gothenburg, the foliage has filled out again and the tree looks presentable. I need to extend the branches on the top right third.
The root that wraps the rock is slowly gaining some credibility. In a few years, it will get a flaking bark and then it will look more natural. A big flaw is the negative taper, I will try some tricks to fix that. The accent plant is a common Swedish cowberry, Vaccinium vitis-idaea
Time for a vitamin injection! I let the tree grow freely and intend to shorten each new shoot in the middle of August. This way, the tree will gain maximum benefit from the photosynthesis and will fill its reserves. It is necessary to give ones bonsai a rest period like this once in a while. If you always pinch for minimum needle length and force a second budding each year, then the tree will continuously weaken.
Next years buds will be very small and abundant which will give a good base for next year. The picture was taken at the end of July 2001 and this year's new growth has hardened. It goes quickly to convert a bonsai to a bush!
Thank you for your interest! It would be very interesting to get your views, on
what could have been done differently, and what I should do with the tree in
the future.