Was at the Toronto Bonsai Society show, and of course, I paid a visit to the sales area to see if there were any good finds. I found some Japanese Black Pine seedlings for sale. Since I don’t have a Black Pine yet, I decided to hunt for one. After digging around a bit, I found one with vigorous growth, and decent spreading roots. It felt a bit pricy at $25, but when put into perspective of how much I spent on Orchids in the past, this was a steal.
The tree had a lot of buds at the top. This is where all trees want to naturally focus their energy. I had to re-balance the tree’s energy, or else the lower buds will not fully develop. As well, if all of these buds were left to develop, it’ll quickly form a lump at where they all intersect.
There are buds of all strengths coming out from this one point. Since I want energy to be diverted back down the tree, I removed the strongest buds. The tiny buds which spawned out from underneath the branch probably won’t do too well, so I removed them too.
Leaving only one pair of buds to be developed further.
Now the tree can use more of its energy for developing the lower buds and hopefully produce even more adventitious buds along the trunk. I’m struggling as to repot this one into a colander as well. But given that it’s almost June now, I think I’ll let it sit in the existing medium until Spring next year. The medium is a bit more water retaining than my usual soil mix. I’ll have to adjust my watering frequency accordingly.
Bonsai Workshop 
Reblogged this on Wolf's Birding and Bonsai Blog.