JBP questions....

[chris78]

I was recently given a JBP. It has great character in the lower trunk but all the branches on it are terrible. I was thinking about air layering all of them, including the upper trunk. My question is, is it the right time to air layer jbp at this time in melbourne, and, is it too stressful on the tree to do all the branches and the upper truck at the same time?

[Scott Roxburgh]

"It has great character in the lower trunk but all the branches on it are terrible." If all of the branches are terrible why do you want to layer them off?

[chris78]

they're all chop stick straight and have no needles except on the ends. i figured i could get a few trees out of this one. Also, the thickness of the branches are all messed up. my thickest branch is near the apex and the thinest branch is the lowest.

[Bretts]

The main thing with propagation in any regard is vigour and age. The younger and more vigourous the growth and tree is the more you can achieve. It may be better to only layer one section at a time but younger more vigourous trees and shoots will allow you to get away with more.

[Scott Roxburgh]

If you have a picture upload it and I am sure we can find something in it without the airlayer.

I say this because I have never airlayered a pine and have heard that it is quite hard to get it to take.

[chris78]

Thanks for the replies. I'll upload a pic tomorrow.

[Jarrod]

The issue with JBP and what it sounds like your proposing is that if you cut off the foilage, your tree probably won't survive. I am also waiting for the picture, and I am sure we can help sort out this problem with you.

[chris78]

This is a photo i took of it.

[Bretts]

gallery/image.php?album_id=128&image_id=780
Try that?

[chris78]

yeah thanks bretts. i got computer illiterate for a bit there

[Jarrod]

It's hard to see where the branches originate in the photos but I think there is enough there to create a tree, or at least enough to develop a tree for the future. None of the branches I see in the pic are big enough nor worthy of airlayering.

With out having the tree in front of me I don't dare suggest what to remove though I think it's worth playing with. Do you have a club nearby? If yes, go and talkto them about what you can do with it.

Cheers

[craigw60]

Hi Chris, your tree has a great future but what you need to concentrate on for the next few years is growing it on and bulking it out heaps. If you start to make a finished bonsai out of it now it will never gain the rugged, masculine feel associated with this species.
Craigw

[Graeme]

Hi Chris, your tree has a great future but what you need to concentrate on for the next few years is growing it on and bulking it out heaps. If you start to make a finished bonsai out of it now it will never gain the rugged, masculine feel associated with this species.
Craigw

Yes Chris, as Craig said, your tree shows some great signs of being a bloody good tree in the future. Just not tomorrow, but then what baby JBP is? I am absolutely hopeless when it comes to Pines (prolly something to do with a Tropical background ), but I would start by repotting it into a nice open, rich mix, in a larger pot - maybe the open ground if you have a suitable area. I would also consider cutting the trunk off above the second left branch, although as Jerrod said, it's a bit hard to see from the photo and would probably require a better look to decide. Removing the present apex of the tree should redirect a bit of the vigour back into those lower two branches. Remember if you do cut the top off to leave a fair bit of a stubb on the trunk to prevent dieback into the main trunk, I did remember that bit about pines.
Please remember, I don't know a lot about Pines, so someone will correct me if I am wrong in my thinking.

[SimonL]

Hi Chris,

As Craig said, you certainly need to grow that on. I wouldn't take off any branches just yet, the trunk and Nebari (roots) will be your first thing to get right and it'll add girth quicker with branches intact.

Just throwing this out there, I'm actually field growing a bunch on bonsai's myself in the hope of starting a nursery so if you dont have any room where you are your welcome to come over to my property and field grow it along side mine. Depending on where you live in Melb of course.

I'm thinking about offering a similar service when i get up and running, you can be my "guinea pig" if you like?

[chris78]

Thanks Simon. Lets work something out.