AusBonsai

This is my 1st attempt at growing a JBP.
I picked up this starter a few months ago. There was little in the way of nebari and no movement in the trunk, but I thought the profusion of low branches (5 in total!) would give me a fair bit to work with.

I've repotted, added some movement to the trunk and wired a leader. I'm hoping those low branches will help thicken the base quite substantially. The main question is, if most (or all) of these will be sacrifices should I let them all grow unhindered now or do I need to identify any that I may want to keep and apply wiring and decandling this season to keep them in check?

I'm very new to bonsai in general so any other styling advice is also welcome!

Hi matty,

I think you are off to a good start -- paying attention to rootage! How deep is the grow box?

On the question of fatting up the trunk, if we let portion of a tree grows strongly, other parts of the tree will slow down.

Pines will not bud on bare branches. So if we let a branch grows for too long, without any secondary branches closer to the trunk, it is virtually impossible to grow them later on. So this need to be taken into account fairly early on. Obviously this is not a problem for sacrificed branches: they will be cut off anyway.

If I were you, I would still attention to the branches that you want to keep too. The more secondary branches closer to the trunk the better.

I have some JBPs that are undergone the same thing. My plan is to let the sacrificed branches grow strong for a while, then cut off the tip. Let other branches grow. Then choose a strongest candle on the each of the sacrificed branches and let them grow.

I am sure you receive more advices from very experienced pines growers on the forum.

Good luck and welcome

Thanks for the advice and encouragement

I think you're right that if there are any branches I want to keep then I should work on them now to ensure secondary branching without having to try and force back-budding in the future.

I guess the main problem is that I don't really have a definite plan in mind for the future design. It's difficult doing this for the first time as I don't really know what's possible with the material I have! Maybe it's time to learn how to do some virts.

Assuming I decide to keep only one or two low branches, does anyone know if it's beneficial to have as many sacrifices as possible or is this likely to cause problems with reverse taper or excessive scarring in the future?

Hi matty and what a great start
You obliviously have th long term view with this tree in mind and that is great.
Planting in a Box
Wiring it in so it does not move around
Wiring the trunk for movement and placement of the future leader

Any other newbie reading this take note. this is the way to Bonsai in a few years. they do not happen overnight

As Daviet mentioned, any branches you might wish to keep in the future ( the one opposite your new future leader is a prime candidate) then keep it under control and get movement in that on too.

The only other thing is low on the trunk, you have 4 branches coming from the same area. Beware that these branches will thicken the trunk there and will create reverse taper there. you will more than likely have to remove some of these ones

Ken

Thanks Ken. It's good to know I'm moving in the right direction.

This is definitely a long-term project, but I see it as a learning excercise as much as anything. I'd like to get some more advanced stock in the future but not until I'm confident in the basics... primarily keeping them alive

I've spent most of the last year trying to learn as much as possible but without access to any real-life trees until just recently. Ausbonsai has been invaluable so far. I'm constantly amazed at the amount of great information on here and thanks to everyone who has contributed!

Now I just need to put all of theory I've learnt into practice...