Pines have a unique shoot growth pattern that requires special consideration when caring for them as bonsai. Candle-shaped shoots form in the spring, which subsequently develop into needle-shaped leaves. Generally, the pine makes only one sprout per year.
Often several candles form at the end of the shoot. However, to promote beautiful and uniform branching of the plant, no more than two new shoots should develop. For this reason, the middle and strongest candle is usually removed.
Now you also have the opportunity to limit the length growth of the new shoots. Shortly before the needles develop, the candle is reduced to the desired size. It is best to use your fingers or tweezers here so as not to injure the fresh needle tips.
To achieve balanced growth, the candles are shortened to the same length. This may include shortening one candle more and the other more weakly, or not shortening at all.
In some cases, countless candles form at the end of shoots, especially in young pines. Here, too, all superfluous shoots should be removed. However, if the plant is still developing, the remaining candles are not pruned or are pruned much more lightly.
The pine tree occasionally forms conspicuous flower buds in the lower part of the candle. These male flowers are very undesirable on a bonsai, as they fall off later and leave a bare shoot section without needles. For this reason, such shoots are cut off just above the base in order to obtain a new shoot without flowers.
In summer, the new shoots of the pine sometimes develop quite differently. Often a long, strong and dense shoot develops at the end of the shoot. If you don't slow growth here and thin out the plant, it will grow out of shape and become bald on the inside.
The dense needles often obscure the smaller and weaker shoots inside the plant and should generally be removed. This allows more light to reach the inside of the crown. Not only does this encourage the weak shoots, but new buds may develop.
If the shoot is very dominant and not needed for the plant to grow in size, it should be removed completely. This allows a great deal of light to reach the interior of the crown and, to a special degree, promotes bud formation and the survival of fine shoots.
In addition to pinching in the spring, thinning and thinning out the plant is the most crucial maintenance measure to develop a compact and densely branched pine. The importance of these maintenance measures should not be underestimated, since a white pine in particular very rarely forms new buds inside. So once the plant is bare, the only way to bring back the green is to wire and bend the branches. But the result is usually less satisfactory.
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