July JBP Decandling
Not sure if my practice is aligned with timing. While most of my younger black pines did not have vigorous candles—merely 1” growth.
Reviewing Bonsaify Mastering Shohin Development of Black Pine lessons:
While growing out is the goal, creating compact foliage for Shohin must be maintained. One must let light in and not let the new growth crowd out the inner foliage.
Shortened needle length, selected the best branches from any point—to avoid inverse taper. Removed downward needles, buds or branches.
Left the apex as the sacrifice branch.
Thinned out remaining needles, leaving some from last year, a total of 8 or so pairs on each branch. This is to stimulate back budding.
In hindsight, I’m not sure if all pruning was beneficial. Boon and others say decandling is only a refinement technique. Some pruning is wise to avoid reverse taper and focus growth. That’s Eric’s philosophy. Or it may be left to fall (end of the growing season) for structural pruning. My hope was for each pruning to ramify if cut to a bud. I may have been too aggressive and just cut to needles.
Val gave me this pine. The branches and needles were healthy but flat topped. After thinning and decandling, I wired the branches and aided by a chop stick and guy wires, styled one branch angled down, and the upper branch arched over. Bunjin style, though there is no movement currently in the trunk.
Andrej Bonsai
Learned At Aichi-en
Decandling is one of those techniques that sounds simple (cutting off this year’s growth, called the candle), but there’s actually a lot going on behind the scenes. We’ve been working on it recently at Aichi-en nursery in Japan, and wanted to share some key things I’ve learned:
The “candle” is just this year's new growth—bright green needles compared to last year’s darker ones. Decandling means cutting those off to control energy and encourage new buds.
It’s not just about cutting—you also reduce the number of old needles to help light get in and push new, balanced growth.
Timing is everything. Too early and the new growth gets too strong. Too late and it won’t mature before frost. For black and red pines, it’s roughly:
Large trees: 4 months before frost
Medium: 3.5 months
Shohin: 3 months
But you adjust depending on how much sunlight you get and how healthy the tree is. Weak trees shouldn’t be decandled at all.
Why we decandle: balance weak and strong branches, shorten needles, and build more ramification over time.
Cuttings
Cuttings, stronger hormones, bagged, on a heat mat.
English Oak
Partial defoliation for ramification.
