An open window into the comings and goings of students and their trees attending our regular weekend and midweek bonsai classes under the ever watchful eyes of John Hanby.
Classroom Corner – Academy Five Session….Pruning Pines…
Pruning pines was the topic of a recent Academy Five class. On this occasion we brought into the classroom a Black Pine, White Pine, Mugo Pine, and a Scots Pine.
Split in to two groups the students were asked to assess what work wanted doing on each of the trees. Each tree was then discussed in turn and the students could put forward their ideas.
Apart from the Black Pine the other trees were in the early stages of their development as bonsai material. Some pruning had already been carried out on the Scots Pine earlier in the season but the other trees had not been touched.
There was no pruning whatsoever required on the Black Pine at this point in time. The other three pines were all pruned back to improve their basic structure and to encourage back budding in the current growing season.
Most students struggle with Pines and how/when to prune them……it is usually the last tree species that students get to grips with. Hopefully practical sessions such as this one which can be followed up at a later date to show how the trees have developed will help the students understand this popular bonsai subject.