Michael rented a van to bring 10 pines from his own collection to the meeting. Wow! Members also filled three long tables with their own pines. The plan was to talk about different kinds of pines, their different needs: how to grow, develop, maintain, and most importantly how to decandle (or NOT!) at this time of year. Here are the members who brought pines:

Michael: Ten pines, along with two of Charlene Fischer’s pines to illustrate his talk:

1. Western White Pine (~100y): larger needles, collected in 1946 from Albuquerque, NM
2. Japanese White Pine (John Planting, ~50y): short needles, 5 needles per sheath, grafted on black pine root stock
3. Lodgepole Pine (35 y): Phil Richardson demo tree; repotted, rewired
-Mugo Pine: Charlene
-Scots Pine: Charlene
4. Japanese Black Pine (75y): from John Planting; strong candles
5. Japanese Black Pine (30y): grown from seed / cutting; working on bulking up top
6. Japanese Black Pine (50y): from John Planting, too weak to candle prune
7. Japanese Black Pine (35y): Richard K; Bunjin, too early/weak to candle prune; 6” needles
8. Japanese Black Pine (50y): (medium) from seed / Lonnie; 50% candle pruned
9. Japanese Corkbark Black Pine (35y): John Planting dense budding
10. Japanese Corkbark Black Pine (35y): John Planting; root over rock; alternate candle pruning

Christine Weigen: Two Japanese Black Pines
Jenn Tan: Japanese Black pine, a Monterey Pine, and a Mugo Pine
Dave Curbow: Japanese Black Pine - in an Anderson flat, ready to transition from development to refinement phase.
Lynne O’Dell: Lodgepole Pine (which was raffled off)
Katherine Glassey: Monterey Pine
Ray Giron: Japanese "Mikawa" Black Pine.

Before the parade of pines brought by members—with Michael’s advice on each: whether to decandle or not and other advice—Michael reviewed for us the different kinds of pines used for bonsai and distinguished Black Pines and Red Pines that are double-flush from other kinds of pines that are single flush. Only double flush candles can be decandled in June or early July. Michael’s target date in this area is July 4, after which there is plenty of time for new candles to develop before cut back to two buds in October.

ONLY HEALTHY PINES SHOULD BE DECANDLED.
ONLY PINES THAT HAVE MOVED FROM DEVELOPMENT TO REFINEMENT STAGES SHOULD BE DECANDLED

The pine should have a trunk with the thickness desired before removing growth (candles) that contribute to primary structure. Let it GROW, healthy and strong, maybe for years before putting into refinement. Michael calls July 4 Lighting the Fuse Day, the day he targets for cutting candles on his pines. Candle cutting stimulates the development of buds, 2-5 usually but on really healthy trees in Japan, they get as many as 12 new buds!

So what’s the point of cutting candles? Three goals actually:

• Energy balance (growth rate): pines are apically (top) dominant

• Ramification (including back-budding): to fill out the tree and prevent long internodes

• Needle reduction: reduce 6” needles to 2” or less

Cutting candles forces a second flush of needles. By varying the length of the candle cut, leaving two diameter widths for stronger candles, usually at the top of the tree; one diameter width for average candles at the middle of the tree, and little or no candle width for weaker, smaller candles near the bottom of the tree, we set the “fuse,” in Michael’s terms, for the development of new candles. Those left with a longer candle base take longer for stimulus to reach to base for bud development; those cut shorter, or very short, begin to develop sooner and stronger—hence, balancing the growth of the tree.

The information reviewed was extracted from a larger presentation on pines we had in 2020, and the full handout is saved on our website HERE. The exact slides reviewed in this meeting were 10, 17, 19-21, 26, 29, and 31.

Many thanks to Michael for this lively, thorough, clear presentation, and all his responsiveness to our questions.

Thank you to all who brought trees for this great program! It’s always wonderful to see trees from our members—in this case, all one species but with many different varieties. A great participatory event in anticipation for July 4, LIGHT THE FUSE Day!

Our June meeting is also the time when the new Board of Directors and Officers are sworn in and confirmed.

 Here is our newest line-up from left to right: Ray Giron, Paticia Lee, Michael Greenstein, Charlene Fischer, Lynne O’Dell, Idris Anderson, Jenn Tan, Katherine Glassey, and Hal Jerman.